Editing Downing Street Declaration (section)

{{Short description|Part of the Northern Ireland Peace Process}}
{{Use British English|date = March 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date = March 2019}}
 
The '''Downing Street Declaration''' was a joint declaration issued on 15 December 1993 by the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], [[John Major]], and the Irish [[Taoiseach]] ([[English language|English]]: [[Prime minister|Prime Minister]]), [[Albert Reynolds]], at the British Prime Minister's office in [[10 Downing Street]].

The declaration affirmed both the right of the people of Ireland to [[self-determination]], and that [[Northern Ireland]] would be transferred to the [[Republic of Ireland]] from the [[United Kingdom]] only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move. It also included, as part of the prospective of the so-called "Irish dimension", the [[principle of consent]] that the people of the [[island of Ireland]] had the exclusive right to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent.<ref>Peatling, Gary (2004). ''The failure of the Northern Ireland peace process''. Irish Academic Press, p. 58; {{ISBN|0-7165-3336-7}}</ref><ref>Cox, Michael, Guelke, Adrian and Stephen, Fiona (2006). ''A farewell to arms?: beyond the Good Friday Agreement''. Manchester University Press, p. 486; {{ISBN|0-7190-7115-1}}<!--page(s) needed--></ref>

The latter statement, which later would become one of the points of the [[Good Friday Agreement]],<ref>Clark, Desmond and Jones, Charles (1999). ''The rights of nations: nations and nationalism in a changing world''. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 168; {{ISBN|0-312-22595-4}}<!-- page(s) needed --></ref> 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.<ref>Cox & Guelke, pp. 487-88</ref>