Sinn Fein office Belfast. Bobby Sands starved himself to death in prison as part of the campaign to obtain "Political status"

Sinn Fein office Belfast. Bobby Sands starved himself to death in prison as part of the campaign to obtain "Political status" The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste or Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta, Ulster-Scots: Bilfawst Greeance or Guid Friday Greeance), sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process. The Agreement was made up of two inter-related documents, both signed in Belfast on 10 April 1998 (Good Friday): a multi-party agreement by most of Northern Ireland's political parties, and an international agreement between the British and Irish governments. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was the only major political group in Northern Ireland to oppose the Agreement. The Belfast Agreement set out a complex series of provisions relating to a number of areas, including: the future status and system of government within Northern Ireland; the relationship between Northern Ireland and institutions in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom; human rights; the principle of respect for each of Northern Ireland's communities and their traditions; the decommissioning of arms held by the various paramilitary groups, the release of members of paramilitary groups from prison; and the normalisation of British security arrangements within Northern Ireland. The Agreement was approved by voters in Northern Ireland at a referendum held on 23 May 1998, while on the same day the Agreement was tacitly approved by voters in the Republic of Ireland at a referendum to amend the Constitution in conformity with the Agreement. The Agreement came into force on 2 December 1999. The present constitutional status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland's devolved system of government (made up of the Northern Ireland Assembly and a joint executive based on cross-community power-sharing) are based on the Belfast Agreement.