III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 157 

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday 

Agreement, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WELCH, 

Mr. KING, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SCHUMER, 

and Mr. BROWN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 3, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment 

MAY 9, 2023 

Considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the 

Good Friday Agreement, and for other purposes. 

Whereas, 25 years ago, on April 10, 1998, the Government 

of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom 

signed the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the 

‘‘Belfast Agreement’’, giving birth to a new era of peace 

in Northern Ireland; 

Whereas former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, 

Jr., of Maine, was appointed by President William J. 


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Clinton to be United States Special Envoy for Northern 

Ireland and chaired the peace negotiations, which produced the Good Friday Agreement, marking the end of 

decades of conflict in Northern Ireland; 

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement stands as a historic and 

groundbreaking success that remains critical to peace in 

the future; 

Whereas the goals of the Good Friday Agreement remain to 

bring a new era of devolved government and democracy 

to Northern Ireland, end violence, and ensure enduring 

peace and stability for the people of the island of Ireland; 

Whereas a restored, fully functioning, Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive are essential to the facilitation of 

new opportunities and prosperity for the people of Northern Ireland; 

Whereas Congress continues to support the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent implementation agreements and arrangements in order to 

support peace on the island of Ireland; 

Whereas the new Windsor Framework, agreed in principle on 

February 27, 2023, by the United Kingdom and the European Union, will help ensure trade within the United 

Kingdom remains smooth, while protecting Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom and safeguarding its 

sovereignty as well as maintaining an open border on the 

island of Ireland and protecting the integrity of the European Union’s single market; 

Whereas, despite the historic progress in implementing the 

Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, including the Stormont House Agreement agreed to in December 2014, important issues remain unresolved in 


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Northern Ireland, including the passage of a bill of 

rights, securing justice for all victims of violence, including violence by state and nonstate actors, and reducing 

sectarian divisions and promoting reconciliation; 

Whereas the Good Friday Agreement (‘‘Rights, Safeguards 

and Equality of Opportunity’’) recognizes ‘‘the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation 

to linguistic diversity,’’ and, in 2022, the United Kingdom Parliament passed the Identity and Language 

(Northern Ireland) Act providing for the official recognition of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ireland, and for the appointment of an Irish Language 

Commissioner and a Commissioner for the Ulster Scots 

and the Ulster British Tradition; 

Whereas Congress played a prominent role in support of negotiations of the Good Friday Agreement and has taken 

a leading role in promoting peace on the island of Ireland 

more broadly; 

Whereas Congress stands steadfastly committed to supporting the peaceful resolution of any and all political 

challenges in Northern Ireland; and 

Whereas the United States has a special relationship with the 

United Kingdom, including partnership on diplomatic, security, trade, economic, and foreign assistance issues: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 

3 signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 

4 1998, and celebrates the historic compromise that 


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1 marked the beginning of a new era of peaceful polit2 ical engagement in Northern Ireland; 

3 (2) welcomes the Windsor Framework agree4 ment between the United Kingdom and the Euro5 pean Union, and urges all parties to continue to sup6 port peace on the island of Ireland and the prin7 ciples, objectives, and commitments of the Good Fri8 day Agreement; 

9 (3) urges all parties in Northern Ireland to re10 commit urgently to power-sharing and restoration of 

11 a fully functioning Northern Ireland Assembly and 

12 Executive; 

13 (4) expresses support for the full implementa14 tion of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent 

15 agreements, including the Windsor Framework; 

16 (5) urges all parties in Northern Ireland to 

17 work collectively to ensure the implementation of all 

18 commitments of the Good Friday Agreement and 

19 subsequent agreements so that all of the institutions 

20 of the Good Friday Agreement can operate success21 fully and sustainably and that ongoing political chal22 lenges can be overcome; 

23 (6) urges the United Kingdom Parliament and 

24 the European Union to support and implement in 

25 good faith the new Windsor Framework in order to 


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1 ensure trade continues to flow smoothly within the 

2 United Kingdom and maintain an open border on 

3 the island of Ireland, while protecting the European 

4 Union’s single market; 

5 (7) supports the passage of a bill of rights for 

6 Northern Ireland and the principle of consent in re7 lation to the right of self-determination for all the 

8 people on the island of Ireland, in line with the pro9 visions of the Good Friday Agreement; 

10 (8) calls for continuing attention and action to 

11 resolve the injustices of past violence, including vio12 lence by state and nonstate actors; 

13 (9) observes that victims, survivors, and family 

14 members of victims of Troubles-era violence must be 

15 able to fully pursue justice; 

16 (10) encourages renewed attention to edu17 cational and cultural efforts that will ensure the rich 

18 language, literature, and arts of Northern Ireland 

19 endure and are not diminished, in line with the Good 

20 Friday Agreement commitments on ‘‘Rights, Safe21 guards and Equality of Opportunity’’; 

22 (11) expresses support for the new Windsor 

23 Framework, part of the European Union-United 

24 Kingdom Withdrawal Agreement, which ensures 


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1 through international agreement that no ‘‘hard bor2 der’’ will be reintroduced on the island of Ireland; 

3 (12) greatly values the close relationships the 

4 United States shares with both the United Kingdom 

5 and Ireland; and 

6 (13) takes into account, as relevant, conditions 

7 requiring that obligations under the Good Friday 

8 Agreement be met as the United States seeks to ne9 gotiate a mutually advantageous and comprehensive 

10 trade agreement between the United States and the 

11 United Kingdom. 

Æ 


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