North/South Consultative Forum

Last updated

The North/South Consultative Forum is a planned civic forum on the island of Ireland envisioned as part of the Good Friday Agreement. The Forum is envisioned as an independent consultative forum appointed by the Government of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Executive "comprising the social partners and other members with expertise in social, cultural, economic and other issues" and being representative of civil society.

The Government of Ireland is in favour of the creation of the forum and the forum and, as part of the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement, the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to support its establishment. The establishment of the forum has been raised at every planetary meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council since 2007. Its creation, however, is delayed in part due to outstanding report to be prepared by the Northern Ireland Executive on the Civic Forum for Northern Ireland. [1]

Ahead of the creation of the North/South Consultative Forum, the Government of Ireland convened three "North/South Consultative Conferences" in Farmleigh House in Dublin between October 2009 and January 2011. Participants were drawn from across civil society sectors in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

At the 15 June 2012 plenary meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC), the Council "noted the background and recent developments on the North South Consultative Forum and agreed to resolve this issue at the next NSMC Plenary." The date of the next meeting was set for 2 November 2012. [2] At the November 2012 meeting the Council "noted the current position on a North South Consultative Forum and to agree[d] to review this issue at a future NSMC Plenary." [3] A decision was further delayed at the July 2013 plenary. [4] As of 2015, the issue is simply noted in joint communiqué as, "Ministers noted the current position on a North South Consultative Forum." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British–Irish Council</span> Intergovernmental organisation

The British–Irish Council (BIC) is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment, and energy. Its membership comprises Ireland, the United Kingdom, the devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the governments of the Crown Dependencies of the UK: Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. England does not have a devolved administration, and as a result is not individually represented on the council but represented as a member of the UK.

The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement. The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the assembly and is an example of consociationalist ("power-sharing") government.

In England and Wales, charter trustees are set up to maintain the continuity of a town charter or city charter after a district with the status of a borough or city has been abolished, until such time as a parish council is established. Duties are limited to ceremonial activities such as the election of a mayor, and various other functions depending upon local customs and laws.

The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) is a body established under the Good Friday Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Australian Governments</span> Defunct Australian intergovernmental forum

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association, it managed governmental relations within Australia's federal system within the scope of matters of national importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings</span>

The Anglican Communion Primates' Meetings are regular meetings of the primates in the Anglican Communion, i.e. the principal archbishops or bishops of each ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion. There are currently 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. The primates come together from the geographic provinces around the world for discussion and consultation. As primus inter pares of the communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury chairs the meetings, with the Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) serving as secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Since at least the 1600s, Great Britain and Ireland have been connected politically, reaching a height in 1801 with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. About five-sixths of the island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom in 1921 as the Irish Free State. Historically, relations between the two states have been influenced heavily by issues arising from their shared history, the independence of the Irish Free State and the governance of Northern Ireland. These include the partition of Ireland and the terms of Ireland's secession, its constitutional relationship with and obligations to the UK after independence, and the outbreak of political violence in Northern Ireland. Additionally, the high level of trade between the two states, their proximate geographic location, their common status as islands in the European Union until Britain's departure, common language and close cultural and personal links mean political developments in both states often closely follow each other.

The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly is a deliberative body consisting of members elected to those national legislative bodies found within Ireland and the United Kingdom, namely the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the British crown dependencies. Its purpose is to foster common understanding between elected representatives from these jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation</span>

The Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, sometimes shortened to Civic Chamber, is a consultative civil society institution with 168 members created in 2005 in Russia to analyze draft legislation and monitor the activities of the parliament, government, and other government bodies of Russia and its Federal Subjects. It has a role similar to an oversight committee and has consultative powers. A convocation of the chamber is in power for a three-year term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IBSA Dialogue Forum</span> Commonly known as IBSA, a three-country alignment

The IBSA Dialogue Forum is an international tripartite grouping for promoting international cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South–South cooperation and greater understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia, and South America. The forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade, culture, and defence among others.

The Civic Forum for Northern Ireland was a consultative body in Northern Ireland created in 2000 under the Good Friday Agreement and consisting of members of various civil bodies. It had no legislative or governmental powers. It last met in 2002. The 2014 Stormont House Agreement envisages recreation of the forum on a smaller scale with the title Civic Advisory Panel.

The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland are the joint heads of government of the Northern Ireland Executive and have overall responsibility for the running of the Executive Office. Despite the different titles for the two offices, the two positions have the same governmental power, resulting in a duumvirate; the deputy First Minister is not subordinate to the First Minister. Created under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, both were initially nominated and appointed by members of the Northern Ireland Assembly on a joint ticket by a cross-community vote, using consociational principles. That process was changed following the 2006 St Andrews Agreement, meaning that the First Minister is nominated by the largest party overall, and the deputy First Minister is nominated by the largest party in the next largest community designation.

The British–Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) is an intergovernmental organisation established by the Governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It first met in London in 1999, and the latest meeting took place at Lancaster House in London on 7 October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Good Friday Agreement</span> Two 1998 pacts between UK and Ireland

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement, is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the late 1960s. It was a major development in the Northern Ireland peace process of the 1990s. It is made up of the Multi-Party Agreement between most of Northern Ireland's political parties, and the British–Irish Agreement between the British and Irish governments. Northern Ireland's present devolved system of government is based on the agreement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">INGOs Conference of the Council of Europe</span>

The INGO Conference is the body representing civil society in the Council of Europe, a European organisation founded in 1949. The Council of Europe has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens and its seat is in Strasbourg, France. The current president is Gerhard Ermischer.

Safefood, stylised safefood (Irish: An Bord um Chur Chun Cinn Sabháilteachta Bia; Ulster-Scots: Tha Mait Safétie Fordèrin Boord or The Meat Sauftie Forder Buird), is the public body responsible for raising consumer awareness of issues relating to food safety and healthy eating across the Ireland and Northern Ireland. Founded in 1999, Safefood is one of six North-South implementation bodies established jointly by the British and Irish governments under the terms of the British-Irish Agreement Act.

The North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association is an inter-parliamentary forum created between the national parliament of the Republic of Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly. The association has 48 members, drawn equally from members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Oireachtas and will meet twice annually on a rotational basis.

Piracy has taken place in a maritime area bounded by Suez and the Strait of Hormuz, in the region around the Horn of Africa, and waters surrounding the Arabian Peninsula; in the region of the Indian Ocean from the Red Sea through the Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Oman.

References

  1. "North-South Consultative Forum". Written Answers. Oireacthas. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  2. "Plenary Joint Communiqué 15 June 2012". Plenary Joint Communiqués. North/South Ministerial Council. 15 June 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  3. "Plenary Joint Communiqué 02 November 2012". Plenary Joint Communiqués. North/South Ministerial Council. 2 November 2012.
  4. "Plenary Joint Communiqué 05 July 2013". Plenary Joint Communiqués. North/South Ministerial Council. 5 July 2013.
  5. "Plenary Joint Communiqué 05 June 2015". Plenary Joint Communiqués. North/South Ministerial Council. 5 June 2012.