Opportunity to eradicate paramilitary presence in Northern Ireland should not be squandered once more
In the post-Good Friday Agreement era, a significant milestone was reached in 2018 with the Loyalist Declaration of Transformation. This declaration, made by loyalist paramilitary groups, marked a commitment to ending violence and engaging in political and social transformation, marking an essential step towards lasting peace and political stability in Northern Ireland.
The declaration, which followed months of close engagement with a small team of interlocutors and the paramilitary leaderships of the UDA, UVF, and Red Hand Commando, received widespread media attention and was welcomed by prominent political figures, including then Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who recognized it as a serious commitment to change.
The declaration aimed to reduce paramilitary influence by transforming loyalist communities politically and socially rather than through violence. This shift is crucial in helping reshape Northern Ireland’s peace process by addressing the role of loyalist paramilitary groups and seeking sustainable political transformation.
However, since the declaration, there has been a significant amount of criminality involving loyalist paramilitaries, including drugs, controlling prostitution, and extortion in their own communities. These activities have contributed to deprivation and growing anxieties in loyalist areas, a situation exacerbated by the abdication of social and political responsibility by London, shared with unionist political leaders.
The eradication of paramilitarism is conditional on paramilitary groups disappearing, a process that will require support. To achieve this, an expert is to be appointed to report on the dismantling of Northern Ireland's paramilitary groups, and it would be a mistake not to revisit the 2018 declaration and talk to those who brought it about.
Unionist political leaders have long ignored loyalist communities and must work to improve them. The best way to isolate, expose, and deal with criminals is through changes that isolate them in their own communities, backed and supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Improved education and increased investment in loyalist communities are urgently needed.
The three-stranded structure of the Belfast Agreement should involve the people it serves, not just politicians. The Civic Forum, legislated for after the Belfast Agreement, should be reborn and expanded to include communities from all parts of Ireland and between Ireland and Britain. This would provide a platform for the voices of loyalist communities to be heard and for their concerns to be addressed, helping to foster a more inclusive and sustainable peace in Northern Ireland.
In conclusion, the Loyalist Declaration of Transformation has contributed to advancing peace by promoting non-violent political engagement within loyalist communities and encouraging leadership to distance themselves from paramilitarism. Its significance lies in helping reshape Northern Ireland’s peace process by addressing loyalist paramilitary groups' role and seeking sustainable political transformation.
- The Loyalist Declaration of Transformation, a remarkable step in 2018, not only focused on ending violence but also aimed to transform loyalist communities socially and politically, aligning it with policy-and-legislation, general-news, and politics.
- However, despite the promise of the declaration, there has been a rise in criminal activities like drugs, prostitution control, and extortion among loyalist paramilitaries, highlighting the need for crime-and-justice reform and intervention in these communities.
