Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, by the British and Irish Governments and the political parties of Northern Ireland, provided a comprehensive framework for the political settlement of a long-standing and violent conflict between different national, cultural, and religious identities in Northern Ireland; Whereas at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement was the principle of consent, whereby any future change to the status of Northern Ireland can only come about with the consent of the majority of its people; Whereas in the Good Friday Agreement, the British and Irish Governments agreed to recognize the legitimacy of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom and to conditions in and procedures by which that could be changed in the future; Whereas in the Good Friday Agreement, the political parties of Northern Ireland, together with the British and Irish Governments, agreed on Northern Ireland Government structures, decommissioning of paramilitary weapons, British demilitarization, the release of prisoners, and implemented these aspects of the Agreement; Whereas implementation of aspects of the Agreement concerning devolution of authority, reform of policing, dealing with the past, and addressing the suffering of victims has proven more difficult; Whereas Northern Ireland has not been under direct rule from London since May 2007, yet the devolved Government has frequently been unable to constitute itself or function, including since January 2017; Whereas the implementation of police reform, made necessary by the involvement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary in abusive policing practices, continues to be marked by disagreement over whether elements of the security services opposed to the peace process improperly influence the new Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the relative proportion of officers from the Catholic and Protestant communities