Building a Charter of Rights for the island of Ireland our next goal
Good Friday Agreement – 10 years on
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) made a presentation today to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Agreement. The presentation focused on the implementation of the human rights elements of the Agreement.
Dr Maurice Manning, President of the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said "the protection of human rights is at the core of the Good Friday Agreement, and 10 years on, we can say that progress has been made in implementing the human rights elements of the Agreement including the establishment of both the IHRC and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC). The Commissions have a strong working relationship and meet regularly by means of a Joint Committee to advance common human rights concerns."
Dr Manning continued "the IHRC also welcomes the opportunity for more sustained work to begin on the development of a Charter of Rights for the island of Ireland once the Bill of Rights process in Northern Ireland is concluded".
While progress has been made, there remain some concerns for the IHRC. The Good Friday Agreement also contains a commitment by both the Irish and British Governments to "a normalisation of security arrangements and practices". Commissioner Michael Farrell pointed out "while the use of Diplock courts is reducing in Northern Ireland, there have been no significant developments in relation to the use of the Special Criminal Court in this jurisdiction. The Irish Government should not appear to make greater demands of others in this area than it is prepared to meet itself."
Both Human Rights Commissions have also in the past called on the Irish and British Governments to establish a review into the Omagh Bombing and to appoint a serving or retired judge of international standing to determine whether its is appropriate to institute an independent, cross-border, public enquiry into the atrocity.
Speaking on the issue of Migrant Worker’s Rights, Commissioner Michael Farrell said "The IHRC and the NIHRC are committed to working together on migrant rights. The Commissions have called on their respective governments to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers and their Families. We are examining what changes in law and policy are required in both jurisdictions to ratify the Convention.
Human rights education is key to the development of human rights culture on the island of Ireland. Both the IHRC and the NIHRC support ongoing work through the Lift-OFF Initiative to integrate human rights into primary curriculum and education settings north and south. Commissioner Farrell said "education in and for human rights is a right in itself – the right of people to learn about the rights and dignity of all and about the means to ensure their respect. Lift-Off is a template for how human rights education should be mainstreamed in our schools."
ENDS
For further information contact
Fidelma Joyce
Irish Human Rights Commission
Tel: 01 8589628/ 087 783 4939
Notes to Editors
The Good Friday Agreement laid down not only a mandate for the founding of the two Human Rights Commissions on this island, but also the means to ensure that strong cooperation was institutionalised between them. The Agreement specifically envisaged the establishment of a joint committee comprising representatives of the two Human Rights Commissions, north and south, as a forum for considering human rights issues on the island of Ireland, and the respective legislations under which both Commissions were established created a statutory basis for this Joint Committee.
The IHRC has raised concerns about the Special Criminal Court in its report to the UN Human Rights Committee on the Irish State’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is particularly concerned that the law establishing the Special Criminal Court clearly specify does not specify clearly the cases which are to be assigned to that Court but leaves it to the broadly defined discretion of the Director of Public Prosecutions. In 1999, the Committee to Review the Offences Against the State Acts 1939-1998 ("Hederman Committee") took the view that the threat posed by organised crime is not sufficient alone to justify the maintenance of the Special Criminal Court.
The two Commissions actively support the Lift-OFF Cross-Border Primary Human Rights Education Initiative which is a partnership between Amnesty International Irish Section, Amnesty International UK, Irish National Teachers Organisation, Ulster Teachers Union and Education International. The Initiative has developed human rights education material that supports the integration of human rights in the primary curriculum in the Republic and Northern Ireland, and which supports many of the processes associated with Human Rights Education including school democracy, active learning, linking projects and whole school practices. The IHRC and the NIHRC are members of the steering group that oversees this initiative.