Letter to the Clerk of the Committee from
Caroline Parkes, Researcher, British Irish Rights Watch, dated
24 November 2008
British Irish Rights Watch (BIRW) is an independent
non-governmental organisation that has been monitoring the human
rights dimension of the conflict, and the peace process, in Northern
Ireland since 1990. Our vision is of a Northern Ireland in which
respect for human rights is integral to all its institutions and
experienced by all who live there. Our mission is to secure respect
for human rights in Northern Ireland and to disseminate the human
rights lessons learned from the Northern Ireland conflict in order
to promote peace, reconciliation and the prevention of conflict.
BIRW's services are available, free of charge, to anyone whose
human rights have been violated because of the conflict, regardless
of religious, political or community affiliations. BIRW takes
no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the conflict.
BIRW welcomed the Joint Committee on Human Rights'
recent report, Monitoring the Government's Response to Human
Rights Judgments: Annual Report 2008. We made a short submission
to the Committee's inquiry on this issue.
BIRW share the Committee's disappointment at
the limited response from the government on the JCHR's previous
recommendations, which indicates a disregard for the views of
both the Committee and the European Court. This disregard undermines
the UK's reputation as a protector of human rights and sends a
message to wider society that devalues human rights. Our hope
and expectation is that the Government would respond to the European
Courts judgments, and by association, the Committee's recommendations,
with urgency. It is not acceptable that the UK is one of the top
ten states in terms of delays in respect of leading cases or that
it has the highest proportion of leading cases awaiting an acceptable
resolution for longer than five years. Such a poor record robs
the UK of any claim it might make to being a world leader when
it comes to respect for human rights.
We acknowledge the Committee's comments regarding
the need for the Government to co-ordinate their response to the
Court's judgments in a more centralised manner. We agree that
the Ministry of Justice is the most appropriate place for this
to occur.
We welcome the Committee's continuing concerns
in relation to the implementation of judgments relating to the
effective investigation of the use of lethal force in Northern
Ireland. The United Nations' Human Rights Committee recently criticised
the delays in the investigation into murders in Northern Ireland
and the problems with the Inquiries Act 2005. They concluded:
"The State party should conduct, as a matter of particular
urgency given the passage of time, independent and impartial inquiries
in order to ensure a full, transparent and credible account of
the circumstances surrounding violations of the right to life
in Northern Ireland." (Concluding observations of the Human
Rights Committee, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland, 30 July 2008).
We welcome the JCHR's recommendation that the
Government publish an explanation of its approach in each case.
However, we hope that this will not be used as an excuse by the
Government to further delay implementation.
We note the JCHR's comments on the Historical
Enquiries Team (HET). Our concerns about the independence of the
HET focussed less on a belief that HET officers were biased but
rather on the fact that the HET report directly to the Chief Constable
of the PSNI, thus robbing the HET of the independence required
by the European Court. A recent leaked report by Dr Patricia Lundy
highlighted further areas of concern particularly in relation
to access to intelligence documents. (See Report criticises
how PSNI HET team investigates murders, Belfast Telegraph, 17
November and Cold case team "must change" says
academic, by Chris Thornton, Belfast Telegraph, 17
September 2008). BIRW is supportive of the HET's work but we continue
to have concerns about them; specifically that they are not Article
2 compliant and that a serious financial shortfall from their
budget was recently only narrowly averted.
The forthcoming report of the Consultative Group
on the Past, expected in early 2009, is likely to recommend a
fully independent investigative process for deaths arising out
of the conflict. We hope that the Committee will monitor these
developments. In our view, any such arrangements must draw on
the experience garnered by the HET so far; provide at least as
good a service as the HET, particularly in terms of family liaison;
and be adequately resourced.
|
