Getting on with it
From: Fortnight April 2000
There is now a chance for the people of Northern Ireland to let the Human Rights Commission know what the way forward should be. The Commission will reflect on all the views submitted and will send its draft advice to the Secretary of State around the end of 2000. It will then be up to Westminster (not to the Assembly, even if it is revived) to decide whether to enact the proposed Bill. No doubt there will be nervousness within the ranks of politicians in Great Britain, who will fear that if the people of Northern Ireland to get a Bill of Rights then it won't be long before the rest of the people of the UK campaign for one too. But what would be so wrong with that?
Whether or not there is a case for enacting a Bill for the UK as a whole, the Good Friday Agreement specifically commits the British Government to consider the Human Rights Commission's advice on a Bill for Northern Ireland. The Bill is supposed to draw on international instruments and experience and is to reflect the need to respect the identity and ethos of both communities in Northern Ireland. Mindful of the fact that there are many more than just two communities here, the Commission intends to interpret its remit broadly. But even on a strict reading of the words in the Agreement there is still room for an exciting project to be carried out.
The challenge for the Commission is to produce a draft Bill of Rights which
is inspiring and yet realizable, effective and yet practicable. It must
also be grounded in the knowledge that rights are meaningful only if supported
by the idea of responsibilities. We all owe a responsibility to one another
to protect one another's rights. It is hard to expect people to respect
our own rights if we ourselves are determined to deny them theirs. Common
respect for everyone's rights will be the foundation for a peaceful and
harmonious future. |
