"We have been given a commitment by representatives of the UDA and the UDA South East Antrim group that they will complete the decommissioning of their arms”. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning in Northern Ireland has verified that the Ulster Defense Association (UDA) and a UDA splinter group in South Antrim –the last loyalist paramilitary groups– will deliver their weapons within the timeframe of the Commissions current and final mandate next February. UDA put down arms in November 2007.

The Commission’s report, dated September 4, also confirms that the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) has completed decommissioning, which had been overseen last June by the IICD. After consenting to Northern Ireland’s Good Friday Agreement signed by main Northern Irish parties, both UVF and UDA announced in 2007 they would disarm.

As regards the republican side, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the first organisation abandoning armed struggle back in 2005, a step resulting in total decommissioning later on. However, splinter groups Continuity IRA and Real IRA keep on opposing the peace agreement and carrying out violent actions.

Further information:

• RTÉ: Loyalists groups to fully decommission - IICD
• Belfast Telegraph: Loyalist guns handover ‘on course'
• BBC: The long road to decommissioning