What we do. Human Rights, Human Rights Act 1998, European Court of Human Rights

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission carries out a wide range of functions. This section details:

Our mission statement
Our statutory powers and functions,
Our work with the Irish Human Rights Commission
Access to minutes of Commission meetings, and
Other information relevant to the governance of the Commission.

Use the menu on the left to navigate through this information.

The Commission's role is to promote awareness of the importance of human rights in Northern Ireland, to review existing law and practice and to advise the UK government on what steps need to be taken to fully protect human rights in Northern Ireland.

It is specifically charged with drafting a Bill of Rights to supplement the European Convention on Human Rights (which is part of the law in Northern Ireland as a result of the introduction in October 2000 of the UK Human Rights Act 1998).

In addition, the Commission has the power to conduct investigations, to assist individuals when they are bringing court proceedings, and to bring court proceedings itself.

The Commission welcomes enquiries from people who believe that their human rights have been violated or who have suggestions as to how law and practice in Northern Ireland could be improved as far as the protection of human rights is concerned. More information on our role and function can also be found here.

Background

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent public agency – it is not an NGO, and not a government body. It was established by Parliament through the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and started its work on 1 March 1999. There are currently 10 Commissioners, appointed to be broadly representative of the community in Northern Ireland, and a staff of 21. As Human Rights and Equality were deemed to be central to the conflict in Northern Ireland so the creation of a Human Rights Commission (and an Equality Commission) was a key outcome of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998.

Currently the only UN-recognised National Human Rights Institution in the United Kingdom, the Commission has four main functions – litigation, investigation, education and promotion, and advising government. The Commission bases all of its work on international human rights standards including those of the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Four key issues

Bill of Rights: of all the international standards, the only one enforceable in Northern Ireland courts is the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commission has the legal duty to advise Government on the scope for a constitutional-level Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, to include rights not protected by the European Convention. We submitting our advice to government on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland on 10 December 2008. More information on the Bill of Rights process is available here.

Dealing with the past: the Commission has done a great deal of work around the investigation of deaths, particularly in the context of the 3,500 deaths from the Northern Ireland conflict. The Commission believes that any future “truth process” needs to be based on widespread consultation, in order to command the greatest possible public confidence.

It has concerns around the adequacy and independence of the inquiry system set up to investigate, in particular, cases where state collusion in killings has been alleged.

Counter-terrorism: the Commission is convinced of the need to protect human rights in the context of combating terrorism. It wants to see rapid progress towards normalisation of security and policing arrangements in Northern Ireland, including proper oversight of intelligence operations. It opposes “extraordinary rendition”.

Conflict intervention: as a body created by the peace process, the Commission encourages dialogue and a human rights-based approach as the way forward in resolving community tensions. It will seek to contribute its expertise to the range of organisations already dealing with such issues.

Other issues of concern to the Commission

Human rights in the criminal justice system, particularly as regards women, children and immigration detainees.
Poverty and social exclusion.
Racism and the protection of the rights of migrants and ethnic minorities, including Travellers.
The persistence of sectarianism, leading to hate crimes, discrimination and public order problems around parades and protests.
Mechanisms for the oversight of covert policing and surveillance, including the expanded role of the intelligence service.
Insufficient awareness of human rights standards across society as a whole, and the public sector in particular.
The failure of the UK Government to ratify a number of human rights instruments, and its resort to derogations and restrictive interpretations.
Problems of resourcing in the health service, including inadequate provision for children with mental health problems.

Recent examples of our work include:

Mounting major investigations examining prison conditions for women and girls in Northern Ireland, which have resulted in many improvements in prison management.
The production of a major resource on human rights education for Post Primary Schools with the Department of Education and Education and Library Boards.
Contributing to improvements in the Police Service by monitoring and advising on the delivery of human rights training.
Conducting major research projects investigating the rights of victims of violence, including violence by non-state actors such as paramilitary organisations.
Reviewing the restorative justice schemes operating in Northern Ireland, in particular their compatibility with internationally recognised human rights standards.
Reviewing human rights issues affecting older people, such as adverse impacts of policy and practice in the health service.
Reviewing the law as it affects mental health and learning disabilities in Northern Ireland.
Research into the current state of the law on inquests in Northern Ireland.
Winning a significant victory in a case presented to the House of Lords, giving the Commission the power to intervene in court cases. The Commission has since exercised the power in a number of cases, including a case in the House of Lords (the Amin case) where we successfully argued that all deaths in custody require a thorough investigation compatible with the requirements of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Launching one of the largest consultation programmes yet seen in Northern Ireland on what should be contained in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, as required by the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, involving the publication of two consultation documents, scores of other discussion papers and a “training the trainers” programme involving over 600 people.
Proofing much proposed legislation (at Westminster and the Northern Ireland Assembly) and lobbying for change, in line with established international human rights standards, where appropriate. This work has been widely recognised with for example government acknowledging our advice in the formulation of legislation such as the Special Educational Needs and Disability Order.
Providing evidence to Parliamentarians at Westminster on the human rights aspects of many bills and contributing to numerous local and international fora.
Creating a specialist library containing nearly 4,000 items on all aspects of human rights available to the public with other materials posted on this website.
Securing full UN recognition as a National Human Rights Institution reflecting the high international standing of the Commission.

The Human Rights Commission is based at:

Temple Court
39 North Street
Belfast BT1 1NA

Tel: 028 9024 3987
Fax: 028 9024 7844

Textphone: 028 9024 9066
Email: Contact Us