On 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, the Commission presented its advice on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland to the Government. The Bill of Rights consultation process was launched by the Human Rights Commission on 1 March 2000. Since then the Commission has engaged in an extensive range of consultations with all sectors including, for example, the establishment of nine Working Groups, a publicity campaign around the Bill of Rights, engagement with political parties, NGOs, and the voluntary and community sectors. In September 2001 the Commission published its consultation document Making a Bill of Rights: A Consultation.
There followed a widespread debate on the content of this consultation paper. A Summary of Submissions was published in July 2003 and in April 2004 the Commission published Progressing a Bill of Rights: An Update. As the title suggested, it was intended as a progress report only in the light of the comments and criticisms made of the 2001 consultation paper. The document also contained a proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The Commission has received a number of responses to its 2004 document and has taken full account of this work. These responses can be viewed on the dedicated Bill of Rights website. The current Commission is not, however, bound by either the form or content of positions taken in earlier consultation documents. The following documents provide feedback on the consultation process employed by the Commission in this work.
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Summary of Submissions on a Bill of Rights - July 2003 |
| PDF File - 1.09 MB |
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What You Said: Young People's Views on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland - May 2002 |
| PDF File - 517.28 KB |
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Young People's Rights in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, Report of a Conference of Senior Schools, November 2001 |
| Word File - 139.5 KB |
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| PDF File - 176.85 KB |
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Women's Rights in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, Report of a Consultative Conference, November 2001 |
| Word File - 304 KB |
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| PDF File - 258.47 KB |
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A number of important reports on the project are also included below including a database containing submisions received on the consultation process.
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