Devolution in Northern Ireland is dependent upon participation by members of the Northern Ireland executive in the North South Ministerial Council, which co ordinates areas of co operation (such as agriculture, education and health) between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

On all other matters, the Northern Ireland Executive together with the 108 member Northern Ireland Assembly may legislate and govern for Northern Ireland.

Sign languages The most common sign language in Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland Sign Language (NISL).

Protestants have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to the latest Northern Ireland Census.

Likewise, in Ireland the Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871.

Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland.

The website of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency also refers to Northern Ireland as being a province as does the website of the Office of Public Sector Information and other agencies within Northern Ireland.

The largest island of Northern Ireland is Rathlin, off the north Antrim coast.

She left Bangladesh as a teenager for school in Northern Ireland.

Politics Background The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between Unionists or Loyalists, who wish to see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom, and Nationalists or Republicans, who wish to see Northern Ireland join the rest of Ireland, independent from the United Kingdom.

Ireland was partitioned between Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland in 1921 under the terms of Lloyd George's Government of Ireland Act 1920 during the Anglo Irish War between Irish republican and British forces.

Publications of HM Treasury and the Department of Finance and Personnel of the Northern Ireland Executive, on the other hand, describe Northern Ireland as being a region of the UK .

Northern Ireland law developed from Irish law that existed before the partition of Ireland in 1921.

Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just over 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.

It can only legislate for the Republic of Ireland and not for Northern Ireland, or anywhere else.

Of the four, football is the most popular in Northern Ireland.

The former Northern Ireland flag, also known as the Ulster Banner or Red Hand Flag , is a banner derived from the coat of arms of the Government of Northern Ireland until 1972.

As to the questions on the situation of the ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, the Government accepted the principle of protection for persons in Northern Ireland who suffered from discrimination on the grounds of race.

In the 2009 survey by Northern Ireland Life and Times, 47 of Northern Irish Catholics supported Northern Ireland remaining a part of the United Kingdom, either by direct rule (8 ) or devolved government (39 ).

His greatest achievement was the peace deal in Northern Ireland.

Most of the population of Northern Ireland are at least nominally Christian.

Governance Since 1998, Northern Ireland has devolved government within the United Kingdom.

Northern Ireland itself forms a single constituency for elections to the European Union.

Sport In Northern Ireland, sport is popular and important in the lives of many people.

In 2011, 88.8 of the population were born in Northern Ireland, with 4.5 born in other parts of the United Kingdom, and 2.9 born in the Republic of Ireland.

Sports tend to be organised on an all Ireland basis and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland often field a single team.

Northern Ireland can be called from the Republic of Ireland at trunk rates, as opposed to international rates, using the 048 prefix.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is responsible for education in Northern Ireland though responsibility at a local level is administered by 5 Education and Library Boards covering different geographical areas.

The make up of the Northern Ireland Assembly reflects the appeals of the various parties within the population.

Windsor Park is a football stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland The system in place in Northern Ireland resembles that in place in England Wales, but there are notable differences.

In the same census in Northern Ireland 167,487 people (10.4 ) stated that they had some knowledge of Irish (see Irish language in Northern Ireland), almost exclusively in the nationalist (mainly Catholic) population.

Alongside the violence, there was a political deadlock between the major political parties in Northern Ireland, including those who condemned violence, over the future status of Northern Ireland and the form of government there should be within Northern Ireland.

The Attorney General for Northern Ireland reports to the Northern Ireland Executive, and, accordingly, the Advocate General advises the UK Government on matters of Northern Ireland law.

This was true of Zionism, of the Italian Risorgimento, and most recently of the Catholics in Northern Ireland.

However, there are some important differences in law and procedure between Northern Ireland and England and Wales.

In the three decades following 1969, the Army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland, to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland) in their conflict with republican paramilitary groups, called Operation Banner.

Such rules also featured high on the agenda of the recent G 8 Summit in Northern Ireland.

English The dialect of English spoken in Northern Ireland shows influence from the lowland Scots language.

The highest ranked Northern Ireland professional on the world circuit presently is Mark Allen from Antrim.

In March 2009, two soldiers and a Police Officer were killed in separate dissident republican attacks in Northern Ireland.

Botanic Gardens is a public park in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland and similarly in parts of Scotland, there is a sectarian divide between Roman Catholic and Protestant communities.

Human Rights Standards Applicable to the United States' Interrogation of Detainees (06 04)

Peace has come to Northern Ireland because both sides realized that the zero sum game couldn't work.