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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 07/04
Monitoring the Northern Ireland Ceasefires: Lessons from the Balkans
January 13, 2004
Abstract
This briefing compares the mandate of the Independent Monitoring Commission for Northern Ireland (IMC) with those of two recent European examples of the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with peace agreements: the unsuccessful Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) of 1998-1999, and the much more fruitful mission of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995. It attempts to identify lessons from those earlier experiences that may help the IMC carry out its mission in the context of carrying forward the Good Friday peace process.
The IMC in Northern Ireland has two significant advantages over the Kosovo mission. The broader range of sanctions available enables it to recommend penalties appropriate to the seriousness of the violation, creating a more sophisticated deterrent, and it enjoys direct links to military and police intelligence on both sides of the Irish border. However, like the KVM, it is not fully accepted by some key local political actors. The IMC should establish lines of communication with all political parties and paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland as a matter of priority.
