10 December 2008
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission today presented its advice on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland to the Government.
Speaking at the handover to Minister Paul Goggins, the Chief Commissioner, Professor Monica McWilliams, said:
“This is International Human Rights Day and it is appropriate therefore that the Commission presents its advice to the Government on a Bill of Rights, as mandated by the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. Having considered the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, we are recommending that the contents of a Bill of Rights reflect the safeguards and protections of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement. The Government should consult on its response to this report as soon as possible.”
The Commission has provided its independent advice in compliance with international human rights standards. It has made a number of recommendations for inclusion in a Bill of Rights, such as: the right to equality and prohibition of discrimination; education rights; freedom from violence, exploitation and harassment; the rights of victims; the right to identity and culture; language rights; democratic rights; right to liberty and fair trial rights.
Professor McWilliams added:
“The Commission guarantees that all of the recommendations for a Bill of Rights supplement those already provided for by the European Convention on Human Rights. The Commission also carefully considered how its recommendations reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity and ethos of both communities and parity of esteem. At the same time, we have acknowledged that the rights and needs of others must be protected. Both objectives can be best achieved through a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland which reflects a common commitment to fairness, equality and justice for all.”
ENDS
Further information
For further information, please contact Claire Martin, Press and Public Affairs Worker: (028) 9024 3987.
Notes to editors
1. The Commission will present its advice at event taking place in the conference room, Block B, Castle Buildings, Stormont Estate, Belfast at 1pm on 10 December 2008. The Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Paul Goggins MP, on behalf of the UK Government, will formally receive the advice document from the Commission. All media crews to be in place by 12.45pm.
2. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body first proposed in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) and established in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act (1998). It is answerable to Parliament at Westminster.
3. The Commission currently comprises a full-time Chief Commissioner and nine part-time Commissioners. The Commissioners, as a group, are representative of the community in Northern Ireland.
4. Under the terms of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 and in accordance with the Northern Ireland Act 1998, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland wrote formally to the Commission inviting it to provide advice of the kind referred to in paragraph 4 of the relevant section of the Agreement, namely:
“…to consult and to advise on the scope for defining, in Westminster legislation, rights supplementary to those in the European Convention on Human Rights, to reflect the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland, drawing as appropriate on international instruments and experience. These additional rights to reflect the principles of mutual respect for the identity and ethos of both communities and parity of esteem, and – taken together with the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] – to constitute a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.”
Issues for consideration by the Commission were to include:
“the formulation of a general obligation on government and public bodies fully to respect, on the basis of equality of treatment, the identity and ethos of both communities in Northern Ireland; and a clear formulation of the rights not to be discriminated against and to equality of opportunity in both the public and private sectors.”
5. Further information about the Commission's functions and activities is available from its website: www.nihrc.org. The full advice on the proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is available here. |
