Human rights in Northern Ireland

A long road to travel

How far is Northern Ireland from becoming the society envisaged under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Lucy McRoberts, intern at Law Centre (NI), reports on a Human Rights Day conference which examined this important question.

The importance of human rights has long been recognised and one of the outcomes of the Good Friday Agreement was the establishment of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) in 1999. This was seen as a landmark in the development of the protection and promotion of these human rights.

On 10 December 2004, in Belfast City Hall, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission hosted the first of what is intended to be an annual series of human rights conferences. This conference focused on key human rights issues in the region, and discussion took place on what has been done to date in protecting and promoting human rights, and what still needs to be done.
While it is clear there has been positive progress in human rights, more still requires to be done to see Northern Ireland becoming the society envisaged under the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is hoped that the next step will include the introduction of a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights.

Over the past year, there have been important decisions of the European Court of Human Rights regarding the rights of prisoners and the right to fair trial. Unfortunately, at the domestic level some of the precedents laid down by the House of Lords have not been so favourable to human rights. Most notable is the decision taken in the McKerr1 case, in which it was held that the duty to investigate killings to a standard complying with the European Convention on Human Rights did not apply to those occurring before the Human Rights Act came into force on 2 October 2000.

There have, however, been positive court decisions. The Court of Appeal ordered the Department of Health to draw up guidelines on when abortions may be carried out under existing law.

The past year also brought long awaited legislative developments regarding the right to bail, the disclosure of evidence and the recognition of male rape as a crime. There have been positive developments regarding economic and social rights, and children and young people have been afforded more protection under the Sexual Offences Act 20032 and the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003.
2004 was also marked by the disturbing findings of Judge Cory of evidence of collusion3. Professor Brice Dickson has stated ‘There is nothing which more seriously undermines the rule of law than the active involvement by law enforcement bodies in the activities of terrorists and/or criminal organisations.’

We are also aware of the Finucane family’s long struggle for justice. The findings of Judge Cory were expected to lead to the establishment of a public inquiry without further delay, but the government has indicated its intention to change the legal framework for such inquiries. The Finucane family is convinced that the Inquiries Act4 now passed by Parliament does not comply with the Cory recommendations. Geraldine Finucane argues that the legislation gives too much power to government ministers and undermines the independence of the inquiry process. The Commission also has concerns about the Act.

In Northern Ireland, paramilitary organisations are currently carrying out the most serious and systematic human rights violations. So-called punishment attacks continue across Northern Ireland, and generally appear to have widespread acceptance. Without available statistics relating to the numbers of people arrested or charged in connection with punishment attacks, the scale and severity of these attacks will remain hidden and the correct mechanisms will not therefore be put into place to tackle these gross human rights violations.
The recently appointed Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY), Nigel Williams, has highlighted the effect these attacks are having on children and young people. Victims of punishment attacks suffer mental trauma, which may result in suicide. As there are over 50 children per year involved, the need to end this paramilitary torture of children has never been more urgent.

A study for NICCY, co-ordinated by a group from Queen’s University, has highlighted 52 issues concerning children’s human rights. Over the next three years, the Commissioner will prioritise fourteen of these concerns, which include mental health issues and the need for improvement of services to children with a disability.

Unfortunately, the government cuts in the budget allocations over the next three years to the Education and Library Boards will severely disadvantage children and young people. This may seriously undermine the work of the Commissioner and present great difficulties. To protect the most vulnerable in society, government should recognise that more money and dedicated funding to specific areas are essential.

While 2004 saw the end of the UN Decade for Human Rights Education, the United Nations is planning to follow on with a world programme on this issue. There is a need to develop a wider human rights education programme in primary and secondary schools, and the Human Rights Commission will be working towards achieving this in 2005.

The Commission will also continue the development of proposals on a draft Bill of Rights. Unfortunately, the political parties were not willing to come together in 2004 to discuss the Bill. It is hoped that 2005 will bring the necessary action and commitment by those parties, as their participation is vital for the successful creation of a Bill of Rights.

The Equality Commission has an important role in Northern Ireland and there have been positive legislative developments regarding equality in the workplace. Since the introduction of new legislation relating to sexual orientation in the workplace, employers have shown interest in working with the Equality Commission regarding this legislation and importantly, their duties under it.5 The Commission is also responsible for promoting racial equality and there is now the need to develop good workplace practice on migrant workers issues, to ensure that the necessary support and protection is provided.

There have been significant improvements regarding equality generally; for example, the representation of Catholics in the workplace has considerably increased,6 and there is an increasing proportion of women in the workforce.7 However, this equality culture must be expanded to include everyone. At present, the Traveller community is the most excluded group. Travellers have long suffered discrimination and prejudice although there have been some improvements in the law over the past few years, to provide redress for discrimination. This has afforded the Traveller community more protection, and they are no longer invisible to policy and decision makers, but much more is needed to eliminate social exclusion and discrimination.

‘The Troubles’ have meant that other problems, such as racism, have received little attention. However, we have a growing ethnic minority community and there has recently been a deplorable increase in racist attacks.8 These range from intimidation and threats to actual physical abuse and are taking place everywhere, be it in schools, streets, prisons or hospitals. Unfortunately, institutions and legislation do not reflect our growing ethnic minority community and fail to provide the necessary protection. The Belfast Islamic Centre has highlighted institutional racism in public services, for example in education where 96% of teachers in Northern Ireland do not have any information on ethnic minorities.

It appears that the collective approach is the best way forward in tackling racism. It may be that a partnership of government, non-governmental organisations, the various commissions and Church leaders could spearhead a public awareness campaign working to eliminate discrimination on racial grounds and empower ethnic minorities to integrate peacefully and build bridges with all the people of Northern Ireland.

There have been notable developments regarding policing and prisons and promising progress on the human rights front in relation to the police and army. Plastic bullets have not been used since September 2002 and in the training of police officers great importance is now attached to human rights. However, there has not been the same progress in the prison service and the NIHRC has raised concerns regarding the number of people who die in custody. There are also concerns about women prisoners, many of whom are imprisoned inappropriately and would be better placed in a more therapeutic environment. The Commission had been refused access to Rathgael Juvenile Justice Centre and as a consequence took court action against the Northern Ireland Office. The case was settled and access to Rathgael granted from 1 May 2005. The Commission had raised these concerns both nationally and internationally, including at the recent examination of the United Kingdom’s compliance with the UN Convention Against Torture. This forum has also been used to express the Commission’s alarm at the potential use of evidence extracted under torture within the UK immigration tribunal system.
Northern Ireland remains the only part of the UK to house immigration detainees, including some asylum seekers, in prisons with convicted criminals. Although the Human Rights Commission and many others have campaigned against this practice, and most prisoners are no longer held routinely in the high-security conditions at Maghaberry, the alternative accommodation in Belfast and Hydebank Wood prisons is still unacceptable.

The work and dedication of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission, the Commissioner for Children and Young People and many other organisations and individuals have ensured that Northern Ireland has advanced on human rights issues. However, if a human rights and equality culture is to be fully developed, the British government must show its commitment and support for the Human Rights Commission. To date, the government has continually failed to give the deserved status to human rights issues and had refused until recently to enhance the powers of the Commission to meet the international benchmarks.

The need for co-operation and support between the human rights institutions cannot be overemphasised. The significant turnout at the 2004 Human Rights Day event in Belfast, and the evident commitment by those present to work together to create the society envisaged under the Universal Declaration, provided reason for optimism. Human Rights Day 2005 will give us an opportunity to take stock of progress this year.

FOOTNOTES

1 R McKerr [2004] UKHL 12.

2 This Act, which came fully into force on 1 May 2004, applies mainly to England and Wales but provisions applicable in Northern Ireland include those dealing with ‘sexual grooming’ of children, abuse of trust, child pornography, child prostitution and trafficking for sexual exploitation.

3 Retired Canadian Judge Peter Cory recommended a public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding Patrick Finucane’s murder and set out the ‘basic requirements’ for a public inquiry.

4 Legislation passed into law in April 2005.

5The Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (NI) 2003 gave effect to the EU directive requiring member states to outlaw discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of sexual orientation.

6 The Catholic share of the workforce in 1990 was 34.9%. This rose to 40.8% in 2003.

7 In 1992, women made up 45% of full-time employees; by 2003, this figure had increased to 47.2%.

8 In Northern Ireland, recorded racial attacks rose by 444% from 1999-2001