Policy paper

The Legacy of the Troubles: A Joint Framework between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland

A Joint Framework between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland

• From: Northern Ireland Office and The Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP
• Published: 19 September 2025

Documents

The Legacy of the Troubles: A Joint Framework between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland

PDF, 301 KB, 12 pages

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LARGE PRINT - The Legacy of the Troubles: A Joint Framework between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Ireland

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Details

This Joint Framework on addressing the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is published today by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The Framework is guided by the principles of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, namely promoting reconciliation; upholding the rule of law; acknowledging and addressing the suffering of victims and survivors; facilitating the pursuit of justice and information recovery; ensuring human rights compliance; and putting in place arrangements that are balanced, proportionate, transparent, fair and equitable. It sets out what the two Governments will do on the basis of reciprocal cooperation. Some of these matters are devolved and this will be fully taken into account in the implementation phase of this Framework.

Both Governments recognise that, across the diverse communities affected by the Troubles, trust in the belief that legacy issues can be properly addressed has been damaged and must be rebuilt.

Once faithfully implemented, the measures outlined will establish ECHR-compliant mechanisms in pursuit of the shared goal of securing truth, accountability and, where possible, justice for victims, families and survivors, and for society.

Published 19 September 2025