Lord Laird – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Laird on 2016-02-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Dunlop on 24 February (HL5812) concerning the Belfast Agreement 1998, why they did not answer the question and whether equality between those islands” includes parity of esteem for all on those islands.”

Lord Dunlop

I have previously responded to the Noble Lord’s question by explaining that paragraph three of the Declaration of Support in the Belfast Agreement commits the participants involved in the multi-party negotiations that led to the Agreement ‘to partnership, equality and mutual respect as the basis of relationships within Northern Ireland, between North and South, and between these islands’. I also explained that the United Kingdom Government is committed to affording due respect and parity of esteem to all the people in Northern Ireland as underpinned by the Agreement and in accordance with the obligations on the Government to promote equality and prevent discrimination across the United Kingdom. I have nothing to add to this.