Report Urges Talks on Paramilitary Disbandment
An independent review commissioned by the British and Irish governments concludes there is “sufficient merit in and support for a formal process of paramilitary group transition” in Northern Ireland, and recommends no financial rewards for taking part. Its author warns that “inaction is not a neutral option”.
Fleur Ravensbergen, a Dutch conflict-resolution specialist who spent a year on the scoping exercise, found “significant willingness to engage” but also “limited support for the term disbandment” — objections that “appeared to be less about what transition should achieve and more about the wording”. She recommends credible monitoring and robust law enforcement alongside any process, and warns that “a window of opportunity exists… but this may weaken over time”. The Northern Ireland secretary Chris Bryant said the groups “may pose as protectors of their communities” but are “largely engaged in criminality… blighting the very communities they perversely claim to protect”, and will consider the report with Dublin before responding — so neither government has accepted it. Dublin has said nothing. The justice minister Naomi Long, who criticised the appointment, has argued the idea that paramilitaries can become law-abiding entities “has long since moved beyond the point of credibility”. The report names no individuals or organisations, and its author declined to comment on the Drumcree standoff.