The Irish and British governments have announced plans to appoint an independent expert to evaluate the feasibility of directly engaging with paramilitary groups still active in Northern Ireland. This move aims to encourage these groups to disband, more than 26 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) published a report today, highlighting that paramilitary groups continue to operate and exert significant influence in various areas.

The IRC report underscores that coercive control and threats linked to paramilitary groups “persist and remain a real concern.” The report calls for an agreed formal process of “Group Transition,” which would involve direct engagement with paramilitary groups to facilitate their disbandment. According to the report, paramilitary activities include intimidation, financial extortion, sexual exploitation, and stifling alternative voices and leadership. Some groups use their membership for overt criminal activities like drug dealing and have increasing interactions with organized crime groups.

The decision to appoint an expert was announced in separate statements by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris and Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn. In his statement, Mr. Harris said, “We are pleased to announce that we have agreed to jointly appoint an independent expert in the period ahead to carry out a short scoping and engagement exercise to assess whether there is merit in, and support for, a formal process of engagement to bring about paramilitary group transition to disbandment.”

“It is my hope that this initiative will advance us towards our shared objective of ending paramilitarism once and for all,” Mr. Harris added.

Mr. Benn clarified that the appointment of the expert is not the start of a formal engagement process. He emphasized that this scoping exercise is not part of, or an alternative to, existing law enforcement and criminal justice measures. “I also want to be clear that no financial offer will be made to paramilitary groups or to individuals involved in them in exchange for an end to violence and ongoing harms,” Mr. Benn stated.

The IRC report provides a grim picture of paramilitary activities, including the attempted murder of a 49-year-old man in west Belfast over the weekend. The victim, a member of the Republican Network for Unity, was shot twice as he sat in his taxi. It is believed he was targeted as part of a feud. Dissident republican paramilitary groups, including the New IRA, remain active and continue to target police officers in Northern Ireland. Members of the Irish National Liberation Army are heavily involved in a range of criminal activities, including drug dealing. The main loyalist groups, the UVF and UDA, continue to recruit and have thousands of members across Northern Ireland, many of whom are involved in drug-related criminality.

A recent poster campaign in republican and loyalist areas highlighted the ongoing threat as part of a Stormont initiative aimed at reducing paramilitary influence. The IRC report stated that 214 households were deemed to be homeless as a result of paramilitary intimidation during the year 2023-24. The vast majority were in areas where loyalist groups have a strong presence.

The report also revealed that 18% of survey respondents agreed or strongly agreed that paramilitary groups create fear and intimidation in their area, while 27% agreed or strongly agreed that these groups contribute to crime, drug-dealing, and anti-social behavior in their area. The Commission praised efforts by the Stormont Executive to address the deep-rooted problem, noting more than 100 projects and initiatives to tackle socio-economic conditions linked to paramilitarism, such as poverty, access to services, and barriers to education.

The IRC also reiterated the need for an agreed formal process of “Group Transition.”

Critics, including Stormont’s Justice Minister Naomi Long, have described the decision as “madness.” Ms. Long said, “I have no confidence in this for two reasons. First of all, despite asking repeatedly, I have not had the IRC or anyone else identify a single credible barrier to these organisations disbanding, or transitioning, if that is what they want to do.”

“Secondly, I am unclear when people talk about group transition what they see the end product of that being. When I ask that question nobody can define it for me.”

“I am very clear it is about individuals stopping the harm they are causing in communities and behaving like ordinary citizens.”

“Could you imagine the government engaging in this way with any other criminal gang? It is unthinkable. I think it is madness, I don’t think it will work because I don’t believe there are barriers to those who wish to stop.”

Naomi Long, Stormont’s Justice Minister

Ms. Long also expressed concern that the scoping exercise could cause harm in Northern Ireland. “It is hard to say it is not part of a process if you are talking about appointing an independent person to engage with illegal organisations. That in itself is a process that could cause harm. This idea that you can spin the wheel and see if it works, I think is absolutely flawed.”

Ms. Long hopes the initiative by the Irish and UK governments “does not unpick” good work which has been done to tackle paramilitarism in Northern Ireland. “These people [paramilitaries] have nothing to offer communities. They are not bringing protection, they are not bringing anything positive into communities. What they are doing is exploiting the most vulnerable, often women and children, for their own ends.”

“They are interested in two things – power and money. I think to have an interlocutor is to suggest at some level there is some conversation to be had. The only conversation to be had with paramilitaries at this point of time is to tell them they need to exit the stage.”

In the context of American readers, this situation in Northern Ireland can be compared to efforts to dismantle organized crime syndicates in major U.S. cities like Chicago or New York. While the specifics differ, the underlying issues of coercion, violence, and criminal activities are similar.

One notable example is the RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) in the U.S., which has been used to prosecute organized crime groups. The act allows for the prosecution of both the criminal organization as a whole and the individuals involved, providing a legal framework to dismantle these groups. The Irish and British governments’ approach, while different, aims to achieve a similar goal of ending paramilitary activities through engagement and transition.

Critics argue that engaging with paramilitary groups could legitimize their actions and provide them with a platform to further their agendas. However, proponents of the approach believe that direct engagement could lead to a more stable and peaceful Northern Ireland by addressing the root causes of paramilitary activities.

As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the appointment of an independent expert will lead to a meaningful process of engagement and transition for paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland. The outcomes of this initiative will be closely watched by both local and international observers, including those in the U.S., who are familiar with the challenges of dealing with organized crime and paramilitary activities.