The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons in Ireland, as part of the peace process. When discussing the history of Northern Ireland, the peace process is generally considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 IRA ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of The Troubles, the Belfast (or Good Friday) Agreement, and subsequent political developments. ...

An earlier international body, set up during the ceasefires to report on how decommissioning might be achieved, presented its report on 22 January 1996. This recommended that the decommissioning process should take place "to the satisfaction of an independent commission". The Decommissioning Act, 1997 in Ireland and the Northern Ireland Arms Decommissioning Act 1997 in the United Kingdom enabled such a body, which was then set up in an agreement between the British and Irish governments on 26 August 1997. In experimental physics and elsewhere, decommissioning is the formal process intended to shut down an apparatus such as a particle accelerator. ... January 22 is the 22nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Commission was made up of:

• (Ret) General John de Chastelain, the Chairman, from Canada
• Brigadier Tauno Nieminen, from Finland, and
• Andrew D. Sens, from the USA

Its objective was to facilitate the decommissioning of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, by: A General is an officer of high military rank. ... John de Chastelain General Alfred John Gardyne Drummond de Chastelain, OC, CMM, CD, CH, LL.D., BA (born July 30, 1937) is a retired Canadian soldier and diplomat. ... Brigadier is a rank which is used in different ways by different countries. ...

• consulting with the two governments, the participants in the ongoing negotiations in Northern Ireland, and other relevant groups,
• devising and presenting to the governments a set of proposals on how to achieve decommissioning,
• facilitating the process by observing, monitoring and verifying decommissioning, and receiving and auditing arms, and
• reporting periodically on progress.

In the Belfast Agreement, signed in 1998, the participants reaffirmed their commitment to the total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations, and confirmed their intention to continue to work constructively and in good faith with the Independent Commission, and to use any influence they may have, to achieve the decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years following endorsement in referendums North and South of the agreement and in the context of the implementation of the overall settlement. Motto: (French for God and my right)2 Anthem: UK: God Save the Queen Regional: (De facto) Londonderry Air Capital Belfast Largest city Belfast Official language(s) English (De facto), Irish, Ulster Scots 3 Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP  - First Minister Office suspended... The Belfast Agreement (the Good Friday Agreement and, more rarely, as the Stormont Agreement) was a political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... A paramilitary organization is a group of civilians trained and organised in a military fashion. ... A referendum (plural: referendums or referenda) or plebiscite (from Latin plebiscita, a decree of the Concilium Plebis) is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. ...

In the event, progress on decommissioning was disappointingly slow, and the two-year target was not met. Decommissioning of PIRA weaponry was often used as a necessary condition before Unionists would agree to the full implementation of the Agreement including power sharing.

Decommissioning of Republican paramilitary weaponry

PIRA weaponry

On 26 September 2005, the commission published its fourth and final report on acts of Provisional IRA (PIRA) decommissioning. The decommissioning process has taken place using estimates of PIRA weaponry submitted by the British and Irish Governments.^[1] General John de Chastelain and his colleagues reported that they were "...satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal". This was confirmed by two witnesses independent of the Commission, Catholic priest Father Alex Reid, and former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Reverend Harold Good. September 26 is the 269th day of the year (270th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 96 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) is a paramilitary group which aimed, through the use of violence, to achieve three goals: (i) British withdrawal from Ireland, (ii) the political unification of Ireland through the merger of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland , and (iii) the creation of an all... Modern logo of the Methodist Church in Ireland The Methodist Church in Ireland has approximately 80,000 members across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. ...

Among the weaponry estimated (by Janes Intelligence) to have been destroyed as part of this entire process were:

• 1,000 rifles,
• 3 tonnes of Semtex,
• 20-30 heavy machine guns,
• 7 Surface-to-air missiles (unused),
• 7 flame throwers,
• 1,200 detonators,
• 20 rocket-propelled grenade launchers,
• 100 hand guns, and
• 100+ grenades.^[2]

There had been three previous acts of decommissioning by the PIRA which were also overseen by the commission. The first act was in October 2001, the second in April 2002, the third in October 2003 and the fourth and final in September 2005.^[3] In the fourth and final act of decommissioning, General de Chastelain reported that he had seen rifles, particularly AK-47s, machine guns, ground-to-air missiles, explosives, explosive material, mortars, flame throwers, hand guns, timer units and ballistic caps, and some weaponry that was "very old", including a Bren machine gun.

The panel stated to the press:^[4]

"We have observed and verified events to put beyond use very large quantities of arms which we believe include all the arms in the IRA's possession... Our new inventory is consistent with these estimates. We are satisfied that the arms decommissioning represents the totality of the IRA's arsenal."

and while they could not report on the quantity or types of weapons destroyed the witnesses said:

"The experience of seeing this with our own eyes, on a minute-to-minute basis, provided us with evidence so clear and of its nature so incontrovertible that at the end of the process [PIRA weapon decommissioning] it demonstrated to us - and would have demonstrated to anyone who might have been with us - that beyond any shadow of doubt, the arms of the IRA have now been decommissioned."

It is worth noting that the 10th (latest as of May 2006) report from the IMC has stated that it believes that the PIRA completed the process of decommissioning all the weapons "under its control" during the final act of decommissioning in 2005.^[5]

See Also Provisional IRA arms importation The Provisional Irish Republican Army imported large quantities of weapons and ammunition into Ireland for use in Northern Ireland since the early 1970s. ...

Decommissioning of Loyalist paramilitary weaponry

As this point (May 2006) only a tiny fraction of the weaponry under the control of Loyalist paramilitaries has been decommissioned. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Unionists (Ireland). ...

The only group to have liased with the commission leading to decommissioning of a small number of weapons is the now defunct Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF). The LVF act of decommissioning took place in December 1998 and involved the decommissioning of smallarms and ammunition.^[6] The Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) is a loyalist terrorist group in Northern Ireland which broke away from the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and was led by the late Billy Wright. ...

No decommissioning of weaponry has taken place by other loyalist paramilitary groups, namely:

• Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)
• Ulster Defense Association (UDA)

and groups assumed to be covernames for these organisations ie. the: The Ulster Volunteer Force (more commonly referred to as the UVF) is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. ... The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is a loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland, outlawed as a terrorist group in the UK and Republic of Ireland, which is perceived by its supporters as defending the unionist community from Irish Republican terrorism. ...

• Red Hand Commandos (RHC) and
• Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF)

Whilst other loyalist paramilitary groups exist, these groups are thought to have control over the majority of weapons in the collective loyalist paramilitary arsenal. The UVF having liaised with the IICD since 1997 suspended its contact with the Commission in January 2003. The UDA views are being communicated to the IICD via a community group called Ulster Political Research Group(UPRG). Wall mural in Ulster The Red Hand Commando are a Northern Ireland loyalist paramilitary (terrorist) group with links to the Ulster Volunteer Force. ... The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is a Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary organisation outlawed as a terrorist group in the UK and Republic of Ireland, which is perceived by its supporters as defending the unionist community from Irish nationalism. ... The Ulster Political Research Group are an advisory body connected to the Ulster Defence Association, providing advice to them on political matters. ...

Both the UVF and UDA have refused to decommission their weaponry and are still engaged in violence as stated by the Independent Monitoring Commission in its latest series of reports.^[7] On 12 February 2006, The Observer reported that the UVF refused to decommission its weapons. The Independent Monitoring Commission is an organisation, founded on 7 January 2004, to promote peace and stability in Northern Ireland. ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Most recently, loyalist paramilitaries were blamed for a rise in attacks on East European migrants to Northern Ireland including racially motivated attacks, pipe bombs, bricks hurled through windows and physical assaults.^[8]

Legally held weapons in Northern Ireland

Both Nationalist and Republican politicians while condemning the lack of Loyalist decommissioning have also voiced concern over the amount of legally held weapons in Northern Ireland ^{[citation needed]}. As of 2004, the number of weapons including shotguns, currently held on licence in Northern Ireland is 144,554. Figures cited in the media circa 2005 put the figure of licensed weapons as:

• 89,600 shotguns,
• 23,000 airguns,
• 16,600 rifles and
• 14,200 handguns.^[9]

Around 1 gun for every 9 citizens over the age of 16. It is undisputed that the majority of weapons licence holders are Protestants ^{[citation needed]}, who are generally speaking, Unionist or loyalist in their political views. The word Unionist, simply meaning one espousing a union, has a number of connotations, depending on context: Unionists are people in Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales who were historically in favour of uniting their nations into a United Kingdom, or who in modern times wish their nations to remain part...

Legally held weapons are not under consideration by the IICD, but the issue is sometimes raised when decommissioning is talked about.

FootNotes

1. ^ Colonel al-Gaddafi is known to have given the British Government a detailed inventory of weapons he gave to the PIRA in the 1970s and 1980s, this list was handed to British intelligence in 1995. See Bowyer Bell J, The secret Army - the IRA Page 578, 3rd edition ISBN 1-85371-813-0
2. ^ Security estimates/Jane's Intelligence Review | BBC, 26 September 2005
3. ^ See here for details.
4. ^ The September 2005 IICD PDF report on the final act of PIRA decommissioning is available | here.
5. ^ Tenth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission April 2006 available in PDF here NOTE: the IMC report is issued every six months.
6. ^ See press report on the act of LVF decommissiong overseen by the commission at the time | RTE News 14 December 1998
7. ^ See | UTV/ITN April 2006 news report and | April 2006 BBC News report on IMC.
8. ^ See Guardian reports dated 30 May 2006 available here.
9. ^ These figures appear to be the 2004 figures, which saw a rise upwards of 5,634 on the 2001 figures. See "Belfast Telegraph" report quoted at UUP here

May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ...

External links

• The British-Irish agreement setting up the IICD
• Reports and Statements by the IICD