The Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), which monitors ceasefires, said in its report that "the armed conflict is completely over and the [IRA] leadership structures have definitely ceased to function in the way they did during the time of conflict", adding that "the process of change might not and need not necessarily involve their being formally or publicly abandoned."
The report further said that the IMC, set up by the British and Irish Governments in January 2004, is "convinced" that the IRA is "committed to following an exclusively political path." IMC is headed by four commissioners from Northern Ireland, the Irish Republic, the U.K., and the U.S.
The Provisional IRA was formed in 1969 and sought to overthrow the Northern Ireland and the south's Republic of Ireland and create an independent Irish state. A terrorist organization, the IRA carried out an active bombing and terrorist campaign in Northern Ireland and mainland Britain up until 1997 when a ceasefire was introduced, which was followed by signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 by the British and Irish governments.
