Belfast Agreement
| Type | Multilateral agreement |
|---|---|
| Signed | 10 April 1998 |
| Location | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Effective | 2 December 1999 |
| Parties | British Government Irish Government Political parties of Northern Ireland |
| Type | Bilateral international agreement |
|---|---|
| Signed | 10 April 1998 |
| Location | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Effective | 2 December 1999 |
| Original signatories |
United Kingdom Republic of Ireland |
| Ratifiers | United Kingdom Republic of Ireland |
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Irish: Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance) was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s.
Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement. The agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
The agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on Good Friday, 10 April 1998:
The agreement set out a complex series of provisions relating to a number of areas including:
Issues relating to sovereignty, civil and cultural rights, decommissioning of weapons, justice and policing were central to the agreement.
The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums held on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, voters were asked whether they supported the multi-party agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, voters were asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and allow necessary constitutional changes to facilitate it. The people of both jurisdictions needed to approve the agreement in order to give effect to it.
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