Hence the International Monitoring Commission (IMC) works to make sure that the democratic vote system keeps the ballot and not the bullet.
About the IMC
The Independent Monitoring Commission was set up by the British and Irish Governments on 7th January 2004. Its purpose is to help promote the establishment of stable and inclusive devolved government in a peaceful Northern Ireland. It does this by reporting to the Governments on activity by paramilitary groups, on the normalisation of security measures in the province, and on claims by Assembly parties that other parties, or Ministers in a devolved Executive, are not living up to the standards required of them. The four Commissioners are entirely independent of both Governments.
In the course of our work we have met the following categories of organisations of people in Ireland North and South: political parties; government officials; police; community groups; churches; charities; pressure groups and other organisations; businesses; lawyers; journalists; academics; victims; private citizens, individually and as families; and former combatants.
Who we are
The four Commissioners are John Alderdice, Joe Brosnan, John Grieve and Dick Kerr. You can find out more about them by clicking on their names below.
Lord Alderdice Former Assembly Speaker
Dick Kerr Former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Joe Brosnan Former Secretary General of the Department of Justice in Dublin
John Grieve Former Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Metropolitan Police
http://www.independentmonitoringcommission.org/