Chris Smith: “Mr. Speaker, next week the British and Irish governments will resume talks with the major political parties of Northern…”

“Mr. Speaker, next week the British and Irish governments will resume talks with the major political parties of Northern Ireland in an attempt to move the promises held in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, to try to move them from good rhetoric to actual implementation. This resolution that is being offered by the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley) is really a message of encouragement and hope. It urges all those who have worked so hard to achieve the Good Friday Agreement on paper to now rededicate themselves to the actual implementation of its provisions so that peace and justice will take root in the north of Ireland. Last year, by overwhelming majorities, the people of Ireland, both north and south, embraced the ideals put forth by this peace agreement. Only those who are enemies of peace and justice in Northern Ireland could be content with the prospect that the agreement may be stalled or parked as a result of new time lines and deadlines injected into the process. Instead, as friends of Northern Ireland and sponsors of this resolution, we call on the leaders of all parties to move beyond the current impasse, to stick to the agreement as approved, resist renegotiating or clarifying the promises it holds, and do whatever can be done to ensure that the guarantee of fundamental human rights for both communities of Northern Ireland remains the driving force behind all that is done and worked for.”