Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Belfast Agreement 1998 applies to members of the British security forces.

The Belfast Agreement paved the way for power-sharing in Northern Ireland and set out a plan for devolved government in Northern Ireland on a stable and inclusive basis.

The Agreement is made up of two inter-related documents, both agreed in Belfast on 10 April 1998:

1. a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland's political parties;
2. an international agreement between the British and Irish governments (the British-Irish Agreement).

The Agreement set out a series of provisions relating to a number of areas including:

• The status and system of government of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. (Strand 1)
• The relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. (Strand 2)
• The relationship between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. (Strand 3)

Key provisions of the Belfast Agreement 1998 were brought into effect by the Northern Ireland Act 1998.