H. Res. 547

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

September 26, 2000.

Whereas the April 10, 1998, Good Friday Agreement established a framework for the peaceful settlement of the conflict in Northern Ireland;

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement stated that it provided

‘‘the opportunity for a new beginning to policing in

Northern Ireland with a police service capable of attracting and sustaining support from the community as a

whole’’;

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement provided for the establishment of an Independent Commission on Policing to

make ‘‘recommendations for future policing arrangements

in Northern Ireland including means of encouraging

widespread community support for these arrangements’’;

Whereas the Independent Commission on Policing, led by Sir

Christopher Patten, concluded its work on September 9,

1999, and proposed 175 recommendations in its final report to ensure a new beginning to policing, consistent

with the requirements in the Good Friday Agreement;

Whereas the Patten report explicitly ‘‘warned in the strongest

terms against cherry-picking from this report or trying to

implement some major elements of it in isolation from

others’’;
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Whereas section 405 of the Admiral James W. Nance and

Meg Donovan Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 (as contained in H.R. 3427, as

enacted by section 1000(a)(7) of Public Law 106–113,

and as contained in appendix G to such Public Law) requires President Clinton to certify, among other things,

that the Governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland are committed to assisting in the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the Patten

Commission report issued on September 9, 1999 before

the Federal Bureau of Investigation or any other Federal

law enforcement agency can provide training for the

Royal Ulster Constabulary;

Whereas a May 5, 2000, joint letter by the British Prime

Minister and the Irish Prime Minister stated that ‘‘legislation to implement the Patten report will, subject to

Parliament, be enacted by November 2000’’;

Whereas on May 16, 2000, the British Government published

the proposed Police (Northern Ireland) bill, which purports to implement in law the Patten report;

Whereas many of the signatories to the Good Friday Agreement have stated that the proposed Police (Northern Ireland) bill does not live up to the letter or spirit of the

Patten report and dilutes or fails to implement many of

the Patten Commission’s key recommendations regarding

accountability, such as, by limiting the Policing Board

and Police Ombudsman’s powers of inquiry, by failing to

appoint a commissioner to oversee implementation of the

Patten Commission’s 175 recommendations and instead

limiting the commissioner to overseeing those changes in

policing which are decided upon by the British Government, and by rejecting the Patten Commission’s rec-
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ommendation that all police officers in Northern Ireland

take an oath expressing an explicit commitment to uphold human rights;

Whereas Northern Ireland’s main nationalist parties have indicated that they will not participate or encourage participation in the new policing structures unless the Patten report is fully implemented; and

Whereas on June 15, 2000, British Secretary of State for

Northern Ireland Peter Mandelson said, ‘‘I remain absolutely determined to implement the Patten recommendations and to achieve the effective and representative policing service, accepted in every part of Northern Ireland,

that his report aimed to secure’’: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) commends the parties for progress to date in

implementing all aspects of the Good Friday Agreement

and urges them to move expeditiously to complete the

implementation;

(2) believes that the full and speedy implementation

of the recommendations of the Independent Commission

on Policing for Northern Ireland holds the promise of

ensuring that the police service in Northern Ireland will

gain the support of both nationalists and unionists and

that ‘‘policing structures and arrangements are such

that the police service is fair and impartial, free from

partisan political control, accountable * * * to the community it serves, representative of the society that it po-
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lices * * * [and] complies with human rights norms’’, as

mandated by the Good Friday Agreement; and

(3) calls upon the British Government to fully and

faithfully implement the recommendations contained in

the September 9, 1999, Patten Commission report on

policing.

Attest:

Clerk.