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Nieminen, T, John de Chastelain and Andrew D, Sens. 2005 ‘Decommissioning of IRA Weapons.’ Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, pp. 1-2. Belfast: Independent International Commission on Decommissioning. 26 September

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Report on the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning

To:
The Rt. Hon. Peter Hain, MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
BELFAST

From:
Mr. Michael McDowell, TD
Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
DUBLIN

1. Over the past number of weeks we have engaged with the IRA representative in the execution of our mandate to decommission paramilitary arms.

2. We can now report that we have now observed and verified events to put beyond use very large quantities of arms which the representative has informed us includes all the arms in the IRA's possession. we have made an inventory of this material.

3. In 2004 the Commission was provided with the estimates of the number and quantity of arms held by the IRA. These estimates were produced by the security forces in both jurisdictions and were in agreement. Our inventory is consistent with these estimates and we believe that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal.

4. The manner in which the arms were decommissioned is in accordance with the remit given us by the two governments as reflected in their Decommissioning Acts of 1997.

5. A Protestant and a Catholic clergyman also witnessed all these recent events: the Reverend Harold Good, former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, and Father Alec Reid, a redemptorist priest.

6. The new single inventory of the decommissioned IRA arms incorporates the three we made during the preceding IRA events. This lists all the IRA arms we have verified as having been put beyond use. We will retain possession of this inventory until our mandate is complete.

7. We can report, however, that the arms involved in the recent events include a full range of ammunition, rifles, machine guns, mortars, missiles, handguns, explosives, explosive substances and other arms, including all the categories described in the estimates provided by the security forces.

8. In summary, we have determined that the IRA has met its commitment to pull all its arms beyond use in a manner called for by the legislation.

9. It remains for us to address the arms of the loyalist paramilitary groups, as well as other paramilitary organizations, when these are prepared to cooperate with us in doing so.

26 September 2005

[IRA = The Provisional Irish Republican Army]

ID: Q6850

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