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Writing Peace: George J. Mitchell Collection

Record of informal discussion on procedural guidelines and agenda for plenary session on 17 June 1996 in the evening

Wednesday, 19 June 1996

i24731

This document contains the summary record of the informal discussion on procedural guidelines and the agenda for the plenary session that took place on 17 June 1996. The exact starting time of the meeting is unknown, but it commenced approximately half an hour after the adjournment of the previous meeting at 17.32. The meeting began with the continuation of a discussion on the mechanism for defining and achieving sufficient consensus, which had been carried over from the previous meeting. Peter Robinson and Gary McMichael recommended that sufficient consensus be derived from a mathematical formula involving the percentage of votes achieved by participating delegations, either in terms of the total votes cast or the total vote, while Bronagh Hinds suggested that a set number of parties be used to establish a majority. The Chairman raised two issues regarding the percentage of vote test, including whether the participants wanted to include parties with votes who were not represented at the meeting and how non-aligned parties could be used to counter the unionist/nationalist question. Alex Attwood and Seamus Mallon commented on the problems with employing a mathematical formula based on vote percentage and instead argued that the Chairman should use his discretion to determine sufficient consensus. Sean O'hUiginn similarly noted that the Irish Government did not conceptualize the majority on the basis of a mathematical formula, and that sufficient consensus would be clear when it came into view, though it was hard to describe in abstract terms. The participants also discussed mechanisms for the plenary to refer subjects to the Forum, arrangements for the Irish Government to be informed about developments in strand 1, arrangement of comprehensive consultations between the two Governments and the parties regarding developments in strand 3, the drafting and approval of meeting records, the timing of the talks, and the possibility of the participation of non-elected persons in the talks.

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