The above derided Home Office tweet and other official Brexit communications overlook the part of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) where the UK recognises the birthright of those born in Northern Ireland to be accepted as Irish and hold Irish citizenship. Given this recognition it is hardly compatible with the GFA to casually imply…Continue reading Will NI-born Irish citizens have to pay a £65 or £437 fee to keep some EU rights after Brexit? Guest post by Daniel Holder, Deputy Director, CAJ
Tag: Belfast Agreement
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…Continue reading The Agreement at 20 Guest Post by Kevin Hanratty
15 YEARS AFTER REFERENDUM, UK GOV URGED TO DELIVER BILL OF RIGHTS
Fifteen years ago today people in Northern Ireland took to the polls to vote in the Good Friday Agreement referendum. From an exceptionally high voter turn-out of 81.1% a resounding 71.1% voted in favour of the Agreement, with all of its provisions. The Agreement was firmly anchored in human rights and equality and a key…Continue reading 15 YEARS AFTER REFERENDUM, UK GOV URGED TO DELIVER BILL OF RIGHTS
Still Waiting for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
Fourteen years after the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement set in place the groundwork for a future Bill of Rights, the people of Northern Ireland continue to wait. Yesterday, Professor Colin Harvey, as part of a UU Transitional Justice Institute panel discussion on the Bill of Rights debate, likened the situation to Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Certainly…Continue reading Still Waiting for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
Scrapping the Human Rights Act: The Northern Ireland Dimension
The Home Secretary, Theresa May, has called for the Human Rights Act 1998 to be scrapped on the basis that it prevents the British government from deporting foreign terror suspects or those convicted of crime. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has also expressed his unease about the Human Rights Act and has stated: I agree…Continue reading Scrapping the Human Rights Act: The Northern Ireland Dimension