IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 777 
Strongly reaffirming support for the Good Friday Agreement, urging the 
British and Irish Governments to vigorously implement certain aspects 
of the Agreement, and urging the Secretary of State to appoint a Special 
Envoy for Northern Ireland and to continue to promote full implementa-
tion of the Agreement. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 13, 2018 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. NEAL, 
and Mr. MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Strongly reaffirming support for the Good Friday Agreement, 
urging the British and Irish Governments to vigorously 
implement certain aspects of the Agreement, and urging 
the Secretary of State to appoint a Special Envoy for 
Northern Ireland and to continue to promote full imple-
mentation of the Agreement. 
Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 
1998, by the British and Irish Governments and the po-
litical parties of Northern Ireland, provided a comprehen-
sive framework for the political settlement of a long- 
standing and violent conflict between different national, 
cultural, and religious identities in Northern Ireland; 
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•HRES 777 IH 
Whereas at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement was the 
principle of consent, whereby any future change to the 
status of Northern Ireland can only come about with the 
consent of the majority of its people; 
Whereas in the Good Friday Agreement, the British and 
Irish Governments agreed to recognize the legitimacy of 
Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom and to 
conditions in and procedures by which that could be 
changed in the future; 
Whereas in the Good Friday Agreement, the political parties 
of Northern Ireland, together with the British and Irish 
Governments, agreed on Northern Ireland Government 
structures, decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, 
British demilitarization, the release of prisoners, and im-
plemented these aspects of the Agreement; 
Whereas implementation of aspects of the Agreement con-
cerning devolution of authority, reform of policing, deal-
ing with the past, and addressing the suffering of victims 
has proven more difficult; 
Whereas Northern Ireland has not been under direct rule 
from London since May 2007, yet the devolved Govern-
ment has frequently been unable to constitute itself or 
function, including since January 2017; 
Whereas the implementation of police reform, made necessary 
by the involvement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in 
abusive policing practices, continues to be marked by dis-
agreement over whether elements of the security services 
opposed to the peace process improperly influence the 
new Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the relative 
proportion of officers from the Catholic and Protestant 
communities; 
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•HRES 777 IH 
Whereas the Good Friday Agreement provided that ‘‘it is es-
sential to acknowledge and address the suffering of the 
victims of violence as a necessary element of reconcili-
ation’’; 
Whereas the task of dealing with the past, including pro-
viding accountability for past violence and abuses, has 
been advanced by the Commission for Victims and Sur-
vivors, the Historical Enquiries Team, the Police Om-
budsman for Northern Ireland, and the Saville Inquiry 
on Bloody Sunday, which have brought some measure of 
truth and closure to many victims and surviving family 
members; 
Whereas many other conflict-related deaths, injuries, and 
abuses have not been adequately dealt with, and further 
progress in dealing with the past has been impeded by 
the insistence of the British Government on retaining na-
tional-security exemptions to the investigation and adju-
dication process; 
Whereas in the Good Friday Agreement the British and Irish 
Governments bound themselves ‘‘to support, and where 
appropriate implement’’ the Multi-Party Agreement be-
tween the political parties of Northern Ireland; 
Whereas the United Kingdom’s negotiations to exit the Euro-
pean Union have created much uncertainty and concern 
on all sides as to how this would affect Northern Ireland 
and the Good Friday Agreement; 
Whereas the British Government bound itself, in the Imple-
mentation Plan issued by the British and Irish Govern-
ments on August 1, 2001, to establish a judicial inquiry 
into collusion in the murder by paramilitaries of human 
rights lawyer Patrick Finucane; 
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•HRES 777 IH 
Whereas a public inquiry into Patrick Finucane’s murder has 
yet to occur despite the conclusion in a 2012 British Gov-
ernment report that ‘‘a series of positive actions by em-
ployees of the State actively furthered and facilitated 
murder and that, in the aftermath of the murder, there 
was a relentless attempt to defeat the ends of justice’’; 
Whereas the House of Representatives has repeatedly called 
on the British Government to establish a full, inde-
pendent, and public judicial inquiry into the murder of 
Patrick Finucane, in H.Con.Res. 102 (105th Congress), 
H.Res. 128 (106th Congress), H.Res. 740 (109th Con-
gress), and H.Con.Res. 20 (110th Congress); 
Whereas the United States Government played a facilitating 
role during the negotiation of the Good Friday Agree-
ment, and, since the signing of the Agreement in 1998, 
has played a supportive role which has been welcomed by 
both the British and Irish Governments; and 
Whereas the United States Government established the posi-
tion of Special Envoy for Northern Ireland in 1995, 
which position has been filled with distinction by George 
Mitchell, 
Richard 
Haass, 
Mitchell 
Reiss, 
Paula 
Dobriansky, Declan Kelly, and Gary Hart, and proved 
itself useful in supporting the implementation of the 
Good Friday Agreement and Northern Ireland peace 
process: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly reaffirms its support for the Good 
Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, in Bel-
fast, as a blueprint for sustainable peace in North-
ern Ireland; 
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