Gerry Kelly MLA will this week travel to Washington and New York. While in Washington he will brief Congressional offices on political developments and the urgent need to re-establish the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. He will then travel on to New York to speak at the inaugural dinner of the Martin McGuiness Foundation.

Speaking in advance of the trip, Gerry Kelly MLA said:

“The US has facilitated and acted as a guarantor of our agreements. These agreements have delivered almost 25 years of peace and progress. The recent unilateral actions of the British government to dishonor agreements and break international law are a challenge to us all.

“The way forward for the new British Prime minister Liz Truss is to respect the agreements and international law. The British Government’s proposed legislation on covering up the past and denying victims access to the courts and justice must be withdrawn. Their proposals to unilaterally overwrite the Brexit protocol must be replaced with a commitment to resolve issues of implementation in agreement with the EU.

“Political progress has been made by all parties finding and honoring agreements.

“The British Government under Boris Johnston walked away from that process. It remains to be seen if Liz Truss will return to the international consensus and order or continue with the unilateral approach.

“The US, Congress and President Biden has made clear that the Good Friday Agreement and progress must be protected.”