The Downing Street Declaration was a joint declaration issued on December 15, 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major and Albert Reynolds, the Taoiseach (prime minister) of the Republic of Ireland. It affirmed the right of the people of Northern Ireland to self-determination, and that the province would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom if and only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move. It included for the first time in the history of Anglo-Irish relationships, as part of the prospective of the so called Irish dimension, the principle that the people of the island of Ireland as a whole has the right, without any outsider interference, to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent^[1]. The latter statement was key to produce a positive change of attitude by the Republicans towards a negotiated settlement. The joint declaration also pledged the governments to seek a peaceful constitutional settlement, and promised that parties linked with paramilitaries (such as Sinn Féin) could take part in the talks, so long as they abandoned violence. December 15 is the 349th day of the year (350th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar). ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is, in practice, the political leader of the United Kingdom. ... Sir John Major, KG, CH, PC (born 29 March 1943) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the British Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. ... Albert Reynolds (born November 3, 1932), was the eighth Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland, serving one term in office from 1992 until 1994. ... The Taoiseach (IPA: or ) — plural: Taoisigh ( or ), also referred to as An Taoiseach[1], is the head of government of Ireland or prime minister. ... Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom lying in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square miles (14,139 km², about a sixth of the islands total area). ... Self-determination is a principle in international law that a people ought to be able to determine their own governmental forms and structure free from outside influence. ... For pre-Arthur Griffith use of the political name, see Sinn Féin (19th century). ...

The declaration, after it was 'clarified' sufficiently by the Northern Ireland Office, was considered sufficient by the Provisional Irish Republican Army to announce a ceasefire on August 31, 1994 which was then followed on October 13, by an announcement of a ceasefire from the Combined Loyalist Military Command. The most vociferous opponent of the Declaration has been Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), saying that it was a betrayal of the loyalists by the British government. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is an arm of the United Kingdom government, responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. ... Provisional Irish Republican Army (Irish name: Óglaigh na hÉireann) (PIRA; more commonly referred to as the IRA, the Provos, or by some of its supporters as the Army or the RA) is an Irish Republican left-wing paramilitary organisation that, until the Belfast Agreement, sought to end Northern Ireland... A ceasefire is a temporary stoppage of a war or any armed conflict, where each side of the conflict agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. ... August 31 is the 243rd day of the year (244th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Combined Loyalist Military Command was an umbrella body for Loyalist paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland set up in the early 1990s. ... Ian Richard Kyle Paisley MP MLA (born 6 April 1926) is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland. ... “DUP” redirects here. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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Notes

1. ^ The British government agree that it is for the people of the island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively, to exercise their right of self- determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to bring about a united Ireland, if that is their wish. See the following link to the parliamentary debate:
   • www.publications.parliament.uk