One of the realities of the legacy of the past and moving forward the institutions created in the Stormont House Agreement is that they are the only game in town. There is no plan ‘B’ and no realistic prospect of any alternative arriving in the foreseeable future. The Commission welcomes the draft consultation and legislation […]
BREXIT – Sleepwalking into second class EU citizenship? Guest post by Daniel Holder, CAJ
Despite earlier commitments, recent UK and EU statements now point to Northern Ireland (NI)-resident Irish passport holders being stripped of access to almost all active EU rights following BREXIT. Should a recent EU Commission response to a question by Martina Anderson MEP stand it would leave NI resident citizens with only the same ‘dormant’ EU […]
RUC Walker Report: The Wall of Silence Loses Another Brick Guest post by Brian Gormally, CAJ
On 16 January 1980, the then Chief Constable of the RUC commissioned a report on the interchange of intelligence between Special Branch (SB) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and on the staffing and organisation of various other RUC units. This was written by one Patrick J. Walker, then a senior officer in the Belfast […]
New border policing powers proposed Guest post by Brian Gormally, CAJ
A Draft Bill introduced into the House of Commons by the UK Government proposes new powers for police, customs and immigration officers along the Border. In a mile-wide strip along the Border between North and South, people will be liable to stopped, searched and detained in order to check whether they are entering or leaving […]
UK found to be in ‘grave and systematic’ violation of women’s human rights due to restrictive abortion laws in Northern Ireland Guest Post by Dr Catherine O'Rourke
Dr Catherine O’Rourke is Senior Lecturer in Human Rights and International Law at Ulster University Transitional Justice Institute and School of Law. She co-authored the submission requesting the CEDAW Committee to conduct an inquiry into access to abortion in Northern Ireland with Jude Cross (Alliance for Choice), Ann Marie Gray (NIWEP) and the Audrey Simpson […]
The Agreement at 20 Guest Post by Kevin Hanratty
(This personal reflection is a cross posted article from the Irish News and The Human Rights Consortium) 20 years ago today I sat with friends in our student accommodation in Belfast and watched as politicians emerged to announce the new peace deal that was the Good Friday Agreement. We were all students at Queens, had grown up in the […]
The Return of the Bill of Rights? Guest Post by Professor Colin Harvey and Dr Anne Smith
The Northern Ireland Bill of Rights appears to have made a comeback. A process that involved much collective effort seemed to have ended in the vague language of paragraph 69 of the Stormont House Agreement (SHA). With no one prepared to take responsibility for its advancement, hope had faded; like much else relating to rights […]
The Good Friday Agreement at 20 Event Invitation - 10 April 2018
To Register for the event and details of the upcoming seminars please go to the eventbrite page HERE This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. As we reach this milestone, we believe that it is time to not only celebrate the achievement of the Agreement and the role that civic […]
A pension for seriously injured victims of the Troubles – a human rights issue Guest Post by Dr Luke Moffett
Today and tomorrow injured victims from the WAVE Trauma Centre will hold a series of talks in Westminster to advance the issue of a pension for those seriously injured during the Troubles. The move to Westminster comes in the wake of the collapse at Stormont, but also a lack of leadership to deliver redress to […]
CAJ Initial comments on draft Withdrawal Agreement protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland Guest Post by Brian Gormally, CAJ
Synopsis of the Contents The Protocol begins with a lengthy preamble dealing with the context which has led to it. The vital points are: The GFA must be protected “in all its parts” The commitment of the UK to protect North-South cooperation and the guarantee to avoid a hard border are “overarching requirements” and any […]
#CAREDAY18 – TIME TO GET SOCIAL, GET VOCAL AND GET TOGETHER Guest Post by Ruth Barry, VOYPIC
VOYPIC (Voice of Young People in Care) invited everyone to be part of Care Day on Friday 16 February. The feedback is simple – “Best ever Care Day” and it really was an A to Z of activity from early morning till late in the evening. From awards for achievements to a Zoom call […]
Brexit and the Leaked Full Draft Agreement Text Guest post by Dr Amanda Kramer
This Blog piece is cross posted from BrexitLawNI The leaked Full ‘Draft Agreement Text’ was published on Eamonn Mallie’s website on 20 February 2018 and can be found here. It passed from DUP to Sinn Fein on 9 February 2018 – just five days before the talks collapsed and Arlene Foster asked the Secretary of […]