Why Northern Ireland still needs a Bill of Rights…

Dr Anne Smith and Professor Colin Harvey A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland remains part of the unfinished work of the Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement (the B/GFA). It is still needed, and its absence is felt in the mess that this society is currently in. Reflecting the B/GFA’s mandate, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) launched the Bill of Rights process on 1 March 2000, and submitted its advice on 10 December 2008. The advice includes recommendations which …

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“the Commission… continues to consider that the advice it delivered constitutes a strong basis on which to proceed…”

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, reconstituted in July last year, has released a new weapon in the long-running battle over a Bill of Rights for NI – “Is that Right?” [pdf file].  Chief Commissioner Professor Michael O’Flaherty claims that the document “addresses the misunderstandings and misinformation concerning what a bill of rights would mean if one were to be introduced.”  Is it a genuine attempt at engaging with those who are sceptical? Well, it’s not funded by Atlantic Philanthropies, which is a …

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“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 or that such appetite only comes from ‘one side of the house’. In fact, the headline findings from Ipsos/MORI are that: the vast majority (83% …

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Hugo Swire: “This divergence of views was also reflected in the submissions made by political parties…”

For what it’s worth, Northern Ireland Minister of State, Hugo Swire, has published the responses to the consultation on ‘A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Next Steps’.  You can find those responses here. As the ministerial statement says “A total of approximately 36,492 responses were received. There were 232 substantive responses and approximately 36,260 email and mail/freepost mailshots that were sent as part of campaigns by various groups. Individual mailshot responses have not been published on the NIO website due …

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