Today saw the launch of the programme for the 2014 Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival (NIHRF). The festival, which will take place from 8-13 December, consists of a series of events on a range of human rights issues from home and abroad in celebration of International Human Rights Day on 10 December . All events […]
Tag: Human Rights Consortium
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 […]
SECOND CHANCE TO LISTEN: UK BILL OF RIGHTS COMMISSIONS SECOND CONSULTATION
Back in 2007 the Conservative party clearly outlined its vision for the future shape of human rights protections in the UK.[1] It stated that, ‘the Human Rights Act 1998 has not proved to be effective in protecting fundamental rights in Britain…A Conservative Government will repeal the Human Rights Act and replace it with a modern […]
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 […]
Bill of Rights gets the Presidential Treatment at ICTU Women’s Conference
In the last year, the experience of women in the workplace has become more precarious as the recession’s chokehold tightens. Female redundancy rates are increasing and female unemployment figures climb higher. According to 2008 According to CSO 2011 figures, the figure for unemployed women in the Republic of Ireland rose sharply from around […]
“The vast majority of people in Northern Ireland consider a Bill of Rights to be important”
Fascinating public attitudes research from Ipsos/MORI, on Northern Ireland public attitudes towards a NI Bill of Rights, was published earlier this week as part of a new report (PDF) from the Human Rights Consortium. It seems to explode the myth that there is no appetite from the Northern Ireland public for a Bill of Rights […]