Professor
Brice Dickson, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights
Commission (1999-2005) |
The
protection of human rights is at the centre of the Good Friday Agreement and
two institutions, the Equality Commission and the Human Rights Commission,
have been established to ensure that the new government in Northern Ireland
is "founded on principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil,
political, social and cultural rights". Human rights abuses fuelled
the social unrest which in its present phase began with the establishment
of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association in 1968. Organisations,
such as the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, set up by successive
governments to tackle the problem had limited success.
When
the multi-party talks that led to the Agreement resumed in September 1997,
it was clear that a Human Rights Commission would have to be part of the
settlement. In political terms, an institution guaranteeing human rights
was essential if nationalists and republicans were to sign up to a political
settlement that allowed Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom.
The
Declaration of Support commits all participants to the "protection
and vindication of the human rights of all". In the section on Rights,
Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity the signatories affirm their commitment
to "the mutual respect, the civil rights and the religious liberties
of everyone in the community" and affirm in particular the following
core rights:
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the
right of free political thought, |
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Promoting
equality and affirmative action |
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the
right to pursue democratically national and political aspirations, |
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the
right to seek constitutional change by peaceful and legitimate means, |
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the
right to freely choose one's place of residence, |
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the
right to equal opportunity in all social and economic activity, regardless
of class, creed, disability, gender or ethnicity, |
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the
right to freedom from sectarian harassment, |
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the
right of women to full and equal political participation. |
The
Agreement makes no commitment to enshrine these rights in any legal form
but the British Government did agree to enshrine the European Convention
on Human Rights into UK law on 2 October 2000 and promised a Bill of Rights
tailored to meet the needs of Northern Ireland's divided society. The
commission was given the function to consult and advise on rights that
might be contained in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland supplementary
to the right within the European Convention on Human Rights and to reflect
the particular circumstances in Northern Ireland.
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Campaign
poster for the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights |
On
the 1 March 2000 the NIHRC launched a public consultation exercise to
seek views and to encourage debate on what rights might be contained in
the Bill of Rights. However, the Agreement does not commit the Government
to having a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The Agreement and Section
70 (7) of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 only commit the Human Rights Commission
to providing advice to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on
the scope for such a Bill of Rights. There is no guarantee that such advice
would automatically translate into the provision of a Bill of Rights.
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