Following the murders of two men in Belfast during the summer of 2015, the UK Government published an assessment of the current activities of paramilitary groups. In line with the conclusions of the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), the assessment concluded that none of the paramilitary groups which have long been on ceasefire were involved in planning or conducting terrorist attacks. However, individual members, or former members, of paramilitary groups continue to engage in criminal activity.
In December 2015 we, the members of the Panel, were appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive to produce a report by the end of May 2016 with “recommendations for a strategy to disband paramilitary groups”. This task flowed from the Fresh Start agreement which included commitments to help bring about an end to “paramilitary activity”.
The Fresh Start Panel report on the Disbandment of Paramilitary Groups