Human Rights
Thinking beyond Finucane
I’m surprised, both that a public inquiry into the Finucane murder has been refused, and that the response to the refusal so far has been quite muted. Perhaps it’s only the calm before the storm. I would guess that the decision was finally taken on political grounds, namely that the UK government can get away with [...] more »
Cameron’s decision on Finucane case insults family, betrays us all
When a lawyer is murdered in any country, it should be a matter of great public concern, seen rightly as an attack on the entire legal system. When there is clear evidence pointing towards the collusion of a range of agents of the State in that murder, then the mood should become one of national [...] more »
Mary Lynch in the Impartial: saying things that need to be said
Mary Lynch was mentioned on slugger a couple of months ago when there were complaints about her column in the Impartial Reporter. Ms. Lynch refers to those comments in her latest piece saying: “I may not say things that people want to hear but these things need to be said.” On this occasion one of [...] more »
NI Human Rights Commission and Council for Minorities clash over racism
Mark Devenport has a very interesting entry on his blog on the BBC. The United Nation’s Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination has been taking evidence in Geneva from various UK pressure groups, including a number of Northern Ireland-based lobbyists. The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities and the Northern Ireland [...] more »
Time to end the war in Afghanistan?
Yesterday was the deadliest day so far for the United States of its 10-year war in Afghanistan, as thirty members of the American special forces were killed when the Taliban shot down a Chinook helicopter. That brings the US death toll since the start of the conflict to over 1,000. The UK has lost over 300. [...] more »
We, the Norwegian society, will strike back
Saw this comment on the Amnesty International Norge Facebook page: We, the Norwegian society, will strike back. We will strike back by giving the defendant a fair trial, we will strike back by giving him decent treatment. This way we will demonstrate to him, to ourselves and to the rest of the world that our [...] more »
Belfast Pride: repugnant or still needed after all these years?
The fact that Jim Wells MLA apparently finds me and other participants in the Belfast Pride parade “repugnant” would cause me scarcely a thought if he were not the Deputy Chairperson of the Health Committee at the Asssembly and scheduled by Peter Robinson to take over as Minister for Health in 2013. As reported by [...] more »
Taoiseach’s speech: This is not Rome… this is a republic of laws
A sea-change in Irish government-Catholic Church relations took place yesterday. In the government’s official response to the Cloyne Report, Taoiseach Enda Kenny gave an unprecedented speech to the Dáil, excoriating the Vatican for its efforts to block co-operation with the investigation by civil authorities of clerical child abuse: … for the first time in Ireland, [...] more »
Paterson: “The outgoing Chief Commissioner and Commissioners have made a valuable contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights in Northern Ireland”
The BBC notes the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson’s announcement of the appointment of the 8 new members of the NI Human Rights Commission. And, with the possible exception of the replacement for Monica McWilliams as Chief Commissioner, Professor Michael O’Flaherty, what a fine collection of legal minds special interest groups they represent. Owen Paterson’s press [...] more »
There are some lessons for Catholics in the unionist tradition
The time is overdue to review the historic reputation of opposition to Home Rule as Rome Rule in the light of the latest report on the Catholic Church’s continuing saga of abuse, on events in the diocese of Cloyne. Can we admit to the uncomfortable thought that some of what the early Paisley said was true? [...] more »
Time for a clerical child abuse inquiry in Northern Ireland
Momentum is building for an inquiry into clerical child abuse in Northern Ireland. With four inquiries now completed south of the border – Ferns, Ryan, Dublin and now Cloyne – northern abuse victims are rightly asking: what about us? Their calls have now been echoed by SDLP MLA Conall McDevitt and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness: [...] more »
How poetry fuelled the Arab Uprising
‘Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found its words’, like all great maxims, this musing of Robert Frost may seem on the face of it too suspiciously beautiful to hold any real truth. But with recent events in Egypt, the world watched as a nation which had long [...] more »
Police to step up “stop and search of ‘suspicious’ cars and people” in Oldpark area
According to the North Belfast News, “police have agreed to step up their stop and search of ‘suspicious’ cars and people” in the Oldpark/Ardoyne area of North Belfast. Apparently at the request of the local Marrowbone Residents Group. According to the report, John McAlea from Marrowbone Residents Group said, “After talking about the drugs problem with [...] more »
“The Resurrection of Hungary: A Parallel for Ireland”? No, fortunately not.
Within the restraints of 140 characters, he somehow manages to deliver a full range of cod fireside homilies; GAA-related similes stretched well beyond their natural snapping point and (naturally) playground stylee anti-Brit insults… but nevertheless for his myriad of Unionist followers on Twitter Barry McElduff is a must-read, the gift which simply refuses point-blank to [...] more »
War crimes: caught on camera?
Jon Snow says it is “one of the most important” stories he has ever reported. It may not be on TV until 11.05 pm, yet the screening tonight of Channel 4’s Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields (trailer here) has not exactly gone unnoticed. The programme was shown to the United Nations Human Rights Council at the [...] more »
Institutional child abuse: a timely reminder from Geneva
There came a timely reminder from Geneva this week. It got a mention en passant in Mick’s piece earlier, and the Prime Time programme (available on RTE Player until 28 June) does provide an excellent catch-up / analysis, but the subject matter truly merits much closer study. That’s the Concluding Observations by the UN Committee on [...] more »
Smithwick Tribunal: Former Provisional IRA leaders met Tribunal’s legal team “in recent weeks”
The BBC reports that, at today’s public hearing, the Smithwick Tribunal was told that its legal team had held “a face-to face meeting with three former members of the Provisional IRA in recent weeks.” From the BBC report It was told the three former IRA leaders, one of whom had a command role in the attack, had met the tribunal. Their [...] more »
“nor does it sit comfortably with the transparency expectations of a modern society”
As the BBC reports, in response to a written question from TUV leader, Jim Allister, MLA, the Northern Ireland Justice Minister, David Ford, has revealed that, in the last 4 years, there have been 4 ‘super-injunctions’ granted in Northern Ireland - that is, court orders made “prohibiting publicity on the granting of injunctive relief”. From the BBC [...] more »
Legal Aid Fees Dispute: “necessary to go outside Northern Ireland to bring in other lawyers”?
As the BBC reports, Northern Ireland Justice Minister, Alliance Party leader, David Ford, has detailed the number of cases where solictors have come “off record” to date in the dispute over legal aid fees [134 between 13 April and 27 May]. Although the Minister adds that It is not the court practice to record the reason given [...] more »
Bahrain Grand Prix: money vs human rights?
The World Motor Sport Council – Formula One’s ruling body – is to decide today whether or not to hold the Bahrain Grand Prix in the face of violent suppression of human rights protests in the country. The oil-rich state was due to host this year’s opening race back in March, but this was postponed [...] more »
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Books
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Lessons in Cute Hoorism: “Graft was accepted, for you were taking from the British…”
I’ve been catching up on some reading, recently. Most pleasantly surprised by John Drennan’s latest opus from Gill and Macmillan, Cute Hoors and Pious Protestors… It’s early days yet, but I was struck by this paragraph, part of a dissection of Fianna Fail near the beginning: One of the more fatal consequences of our colonial [...] read our review »
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The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday (Neil MacFarquhar)
With perhaps the longest title of any book I’ve read this year, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You a Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East gives an insight into the lives of people living in Middle East through the eyes of journalist Neil MacFarquhar. MacFarquhar’s father was a chemical engineer [...] read our review »
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The Earl Bishop
Interesting BBC article on an upcoming presentation and talk [Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, 17 August] by lecturer and broadcaster Stephen Price on the subject of his new book – The Earl Bishop. The 18th Century ”Earl Bishop” was Frederick Augustus Hervey, fourth Earl of Bristol and Church of Ireland Bishop of Derry. Hervey was also elected [...] read our review »
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