IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 596 

Calling for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2023 

Mr. LAWLER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern 

Ireland. 

Whereas, on May 5, 2022, elections were held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, the region’s devolved legislature; 

Whereas, in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, 

the Sinn Fein party won the largest number of seats, 27 

out of 90, entitling the party’s Vice President and former 

Deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, to accede to the 

position of First Minister of Northern Ireland; 

Whereas, following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, the Democratic Unionist Party, which was the largest party prior to the election, has effectively prevented 

the convening of the new Assembly, the Executive, and 

the operation of the North/South Ministerial Council; 


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•HRES 596 IH 

Whereas the Democratic Unionist Party has failed to make 

explicit its demands for reestablishing the power-sharing 

government in Northern Ireland, other than its protests 

against Northern Ireland Protocol, which was brokered 

by the United Kingdom independent of the devolved government bodies of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, in response to the United Kingdom’s exit 

from the European Union and sets out post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland to ensure an open border on the island of Ireland and in the spirit of protecting the gains of the Northern Ireland peace process; 

Whereas the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein disagree on the merits of the Northern Ireland Protocol, 

with Sinn Fein generally supportive of the Protocol as a 

necessary means to maintain an open border with the Republic of Ireland and to uphold the fundamental principles underpinning the Good Friday Agreement; 

Whereas, on February 27, 2023, the United Kingdom and 

the European Union announced the Windsor Framework 

to address challenges posed by the Northern Ireland Protocol; 

Whereas the Windsor Framework was formally adopted by 

the United Kingdom and the European Union on March 

24, 2023, but the Democratic Unionist Party continues 

to undermine its full implementation; 

Whereas the Government of the United Kingdom continues to 

engage with all of the political parties in Northern Ireland, including the Democratic Unionist Party, to facilitate the establishment of a new power-sharing government in Northern Ireland consistent with the results of 

the 2022 elections; 


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•HRES 596 IH 

Whereas, during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s speech for the 

25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, he stated that the Government of the United Kingdom ‘‘stand[s] 

ready to work with our partners in the Irish government 

and the local parties to ensure that the institutions are 

up and running again as soon as possible,’’ and that the 

Government of the United Kingdom ‘‘must keep working 

to persuade all parts of the community that returning to 

the institutions is the best path.’’; 

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, adopted in 1998, established the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland and institutions to facilitate communication and cooperation among Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Government of the United Kingdom; 

Whereas blocking the work of the current Assembly and Executive in Northern Ireland as a bargaining chip to resolve an external policy matter between the Democratic 

Unionist Party and the United Kingdom violates the spirit and intent of the Good Friday Agreement’s powersharing provisions and represents an undermining of the 

political process in Northern Ireland and a disserve to 

the Northern Ireland community that the Democratic 

Unionist Party claims to represent; 

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement and other past progress 

concerning Northern Ireland has been facilitated and 

moved forward with the support of civic institutions and 

leaders in the United States; and 

Whereas the appointment of a new U.S. Special Envoy to 

Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs on December 19, 

2022, reaffirms the United States Government’s commitment to the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, including a power-sharing government, and the advanceVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Jul 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR596.IH HR596

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•HRES 596 IH 

ment of peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) calls on the Democratic Unionist Party to 

3 support in good faith the re-establishment of govern4 ment institutions in Northern Ireland, as obligated 

5 under the power-sharing arrangements made in the 

6 Good Friday Agreement; 

7 (2) calls on all participants of the Good Friday 

8 Agreement to honor their obligations to this agree9 ment in full; 

10 (3) supports democratic elections in Northern 

11 Ireland and the restoration of the power-sharing 

12 government in line with the election results; 

13 (4) supports the Government of the United 

14 Kingdom’s continued determination to bring about 

15 the restoration of the devolved institutions in North16 ern Ireland as set out in the Good Friday Agree17 ment; and 

18 (5) calls on the President and the U.S. Special 

19 Envoy to Northern Ireland to use their influence 

20 and longstanding commitment to the Good Friday 

21 Agreement to urge all relevant parties to restore 

22 power-sharing in Northern Ireland. 

Æ 


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