The issue of the decommissioning of paramilitary arms is addressed in section seven of the Good Friday Agreement which was signed on Friday 10 April 1998.

The Agreement says decommissioning is "an indispensable part of the process of negotiation".

It says all the participants in the new political arrangement must "reaffirm their commitment to the total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations".

Participants must also "confirm their intention to continue to work constructively and in good faith with the Independent Commission, and to use any influence they may have, to achieve the decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years"

The decommissioning section also links back to paragraph 25 of the Strand 1 section which says that "An individual may be removed from office following a decision of the Assembly for failure to meet his or her responsibilities including, inter alia, those set out in the Pledge of Office."

The five points of the Good Friday Agreement section on decommissioning are as follows:

1. Participants recall their agreement in the Procedural Motion adopted on 24 September 1997 "that the resolution of the decommissioning issue is an indispensable part of the process of negotiation", and also recall the provisions of paragraph 25 of Strand 1 above.

(Paragraph 25 of Strand One reads: An individual may be removed from office following a decision of the Assembly taken on a cross-community basis, if (s)he loses the confidence of the Assembly, voting on a cross-community basis, for failure to meet his or her responsibilities including, inter alia, those set out in the Pledge of Office. Those who hold office should use only democratic, non-violent means, and those who do not should be excluded or removed from office under these provisions.)

2. They note the progress made by the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning and the governments in developing schemes which can represent a workable basis for achieving the decommissioning of illegally-held arms in the possession of paramilitary groups.

3. All participants accordingly reaffirm their commitment to the total disarmament of all paramilitary organisations. They also confirm their intention to continue to work constructively and in good faith with the Independent Commission, and to use any influence they may have, to achieve the decommissioning of all paramilitary arms within two years following endorsement in referendums north and south of the agreement and in the context of the implementation of the overall settlement.

4. The Independent Commission will monitor, review and verify progress on decommissioning of illegal arms, and will report to both governments at regular intervals.

5. Both governments will take all necessary steps to facilitate the decommissioning process to include bringing the relevant schemes into force by the end of June.

The Northern Ireland political parties who signed the Agreement were: Sinn Fein, the Progressive Unionist Party, the Ulster Democratic Party, Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Alliance Party, the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.