Building a Human Rights Culture in a Political Democracy: The role of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
by Colin Harvey
From: Human Rights, Equality and Democratic Renewal in Northern Ireland edited by Colin Harvey
Hart Publishing 2001
Human rights protection on the island of Ireland
The Agreement's provisions are not confined to one jurisdiction. Its adoption has implications for the protection of human rights on the island of Ireland as a whole. This will happen both formally and informally. The formal commitments are described below. Informally there are already networks in the human rights sphere which function on an all-Ireland basis. Less tangible is the spill-over impact of the Agreement. It is difficult to imagine that the human rights transition in the north will not have an impact on the south. There will be opportunities for NGOs in the south to make active use of the principles and practices being developed in the north.
The Agreement commits the Irish government to taking "steps to further strengthen the protection of human rights in its jurisdiction".1 It is to bring forward measures, drawing upon constitutional reform proposals,2 to strengthen and underpin the constitutional protection of human rights.3 These proposals are to draw upon the European Convention on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.4 These steps are to lead to "at least an equivalent level of protection of human rights as will pertain in Northern Ireland".5 In addition to this, it committed itself to: the establishment of a Human Rights Commission with a mandate and remit equivalent to that established in Northern Ireland; proceeding, as quickly as possible, with the ratification of the Framework Convention on National Minorities; implementing enhanced employment equality legislation; introducing equal status legislation; "continue to take further active steps to demonstrate its respect for the different traditions in the island of Ireland".6 The Agreement makes provision for co-operation between the two Commissions.7 It envisages the establishment of a joint committee of representatives of the two Commissions "as a forum for consideration of human rights issues in the island of Ireland".8 In addition:
"The joint committee will consider, among other matters, the possibility of establishing a charter, open to signature by all democratic political parties, reflecting and endorsing agreed measures for the protection of the fundamental rights of everyone living in the island of Ireland."9
The reference to the rights of everyone living in the island of Ireland is of some significance given the heated debates in Ireland on immigration and asylum in recent years.10 There will be difficult issues to address, including how this instrument would be distinct from, and relate to, the proliferating body of human rights norms. At the time of writing the Irish government is in the process of appointing the Commissioners to its Commission. It had also announced a time-scale for incorporating the European Convention on Human Rights. The Agreement will have an impact on political and legal life in the north and south of Ireland.
A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
The Human Rights Commission has placed significant weight on the importance
of drafting a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The adoption of a Bill
of Rights would be a good signal of the fresh start brought about by the
Agreement. There has been discussion of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
for some time.11 It was recommended as an appropriate response by a number
of bodies in the past. While there appears to have been widespread consensus
among the political parties on the need for such an instrument, it never
materialised in practice. There are a variety of reasons for this. The most
convincing explanation is that the British government was opposed to it.
The Conservative government was not as open to the discourse of human rights
and equality as the Labour government which came to power in May 1997. In
addition, there was a belief that a Bill of Rights might have to await a
constitutional settlement for Northern Ireland. |
