Belfast Agreement @25: Brian Walker - The major achievements of 1998 should be celebrated by unionists

Who owns the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement? The answer to this question, on one level, is that the Belfast Agreement is owned by all the individuals, parties and governments who designed the Agreement which was accepted finally on Good Friday, 10 April 1998.

On another level, however, the answer is that the Belfast Agreement is strongly claimed today by some individuals and parties and reluctantly embraced by others. It is fair to say that there is a certain reticence in some unionist quarters to claim ownership of the Belfast Agreement.

This is a serious error by unionists. Shortly we will mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement. Not only here in Northern Ireland but internationally the Agreement will be heralded as a major achievement which others should emulate. Unionists will be wrongfooted if they don’t join in these acknowledgements.

The Belfast Agreement brought benefits for all but also compromises for all. In the case of unionists the Belfast Agreement brought most significantly the acceptance of the principle of consent.

In fact, unionists in 1998 won greater security for the constitutional position of Northern Ireland than had ever been achieved by former unionist leaders, such as Craig and Brookeborough.

The Government of Ireland Act of 1920 established Northern Ireland, with its own government and parliament. Straightaway, however, the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, agreed between the British government and the new Irish government, without unionist consent, included a boundary commission which could have drastically reduced the territory of Northern Ireland.

This threat did not materialize in the end but it showed a serious weakness in the unionist constitutional position. The outbreak of the second world war brought another incident which highlighted graphically their vulnerability. The British government, over unionist heads, offered De Valera a united Ireland on two occasions in return for the south joining the allied war effort. This move failed, not because of unionist protests but because De Valera did not take up the offer.

In 1949 the constitutional position of Northern Ireland was strengthened by the Ireland Act. Thanks to Northern Ireland’s vital role in the war effort, and in response to the south declaring a republic, Westminster passed this act which affirmed that in no event would Northern Ireland cease to be part of the UK ‘without the consent of the Parliament of Northern Ireland’.

In 1972, however, the Northern Ireland parliament was prorogued and direct rule introduced. An assembly and a convention followed but failed to survive. In 1998 the Belfast Agreement set down new constitutional and political arrangements for the government of Northern Ireland.

These arrangements included important constitutional guarantees of Northern Ireland’s future. The Belfast Agreement acknowledged that ‘the present wish of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland….is to maintain the union’ and that ‘it would be wrong to make any change to the status of Northern Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its people’. (by voting in a border poll).

This constitutional status was ratified in subsequent British legislation. It was a stronger position than that stated under the 1949 Ireland Act which had talked of the consent of the Northern Ireland parliament. Unionist parties no longer have a majority in the assembly but the ARIS political opinion poll from early December showed clearly that a big majority of the people of Northern Ireland are in support of the union with Great Britain.

Crucially, these new constitutional arrangements were accepted by all the participants at the talks, including Nationalists and Republicans. At referenda, north and south, the Belfast Agreement was approved by sizeable majorities. Important also were changes to the Irish constitution which replaced territorial claims on Northern Ireland with acceptance of the principle of consent.

Unionists should view the Belfast Agreement as a win for them. Of course, Nationalists and Republicans can also view the Agreement as a win for them. These arrangements give them a clear democratic

path to a united Ireland. If they win the support of a majority of the people in Northern Ireland and in the Irish Republic for a united Ireland then a united Ireland will happen. The recent opinion poll reveals that they face a considerable challenge.

At the same time, in addition to its constitutional advantages, the Belfast Agreement brought other significant achievements, most importantly, its rejection of violence. By this stage the terrorist groups had been weakened by successful security force infiltration but a complete cessation of violence was not possible, due to the legal restraints of our liberal democracy. The Agreement resulted in these groups finally renouncing violence.

The Agreement laid the grounds for a new Northern Ireland government and assembly, based on an innovative form of power sharing which embraced all parties and communities. It established sensible north-south and east-west bodies.

Subsequent efforts to maintain a stable assembly and executive have enjoyed mixed success. At present both are suspended. It is essential to get these up and running again, with full party support and real enthusiasm. Failure to do so will not only cast a shadow over the Belfast Agreement but will reveal us as a seriously dysfunctional society.

Clearly there are aspects of the Belfast Agreement which could be improved but its overall value must not be underestimated. The Agreement has brought failures but it has also brought considerable success. It has provided us with a form of government which can help to deal with the problems of a deeply divided society. There is no realistic alternative.

Today we have much to celebrate. Twenty five years on, Northern Ireland enjoys a very successful society and economy. A film from Northern Ireland has just won an Oscar, after a Bafta award, and three restaurants have recently been added to the Michelin Guide list. Northern Ireland is home to some of the leading industries and businesses in the UK, such as Wrightbus of Ballymena and Norbrook of Newry.

Shortly we will mark the 25 th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement. It will be widely lauded, nationally and internationally. Unionists should enthusiastically embrace this occasion, not only because the Agreement has given a solid base for their constitutional rights, but also because it has provided us with the means to create a Northern Ireland which works for all and of which we can all be proud.

This anniversary of the signing of the Belfast Agreement will be an opportunity to acknowledge the prodigious efforts, over months, twenty five years ago, of many individuals, parties and the two

governments to find a way to deal with our deep differences and resolve our conflict. They have given us an important road map for the present and the future. We remain very grateful for their endeavours.

Professor Emeritus Brian M. Walker, formerly a member of the Politics School at Queen’s University Belfast.