Northern Ireland
Amnesty International delegation says human rights protection should be
universal
An Amnesty International delegation examining the human rights situation
in Northern Ireland this week said it had urged political leaders,
police representatives and government officials to make human rights
protection a universal rather than a sectarian issue.
"The Multi-Party Agreement puts human rights at the heart of a just and
lasting peace," the delegation said, "but real action is needed to
fulfil its promise."
The delegation also said it had been shocked and moved by evidence that
an enormous number of past and present abuses remain unresolved and are
not being adequately addressed. The four Amnesty International
delegates, who visited Northern Ireland from 7 to 14 May, spent three
days talking to those involved in the stand-off in Portadown.
"Portadown is a microcosm of the larger conflict and reflects virtually
all the human rights issues at its heart," said Dr William Schulz,
Executive Director of Amnesty International in the USA, and head of the
delegation. However, the delegation could identify signs of hope
resulting from the human rights commitments contained in last year's
peace agreement, including a newly-created Human Rights Commission which
has started work to draft a Bill of Rights and promote human rights for
all people in Northern Ireland.
The delegation also welcomed the major reviews now under way into
Northern Ireland's police and criminal justice system, as well as an
inquiry into the 1972 "Bloody Sunday" massacre. "The decision this week
by Northern Ireland's Law Society to call for independent investigations
into the murders of solicitors Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson marked a
historic step forward in the impartial defence of human rights in
Northern Ireland," Dr Schulz said. "It is hard not to see the scandalous
attack on Pat Finucane this week by former Chief Constable John Hermon
as an attempt to dissuade the Law Society from taking this decision."
The Amnesty International delegates also said suspects interrogated
under emergency laws were now better protected as a result of all
interviews being audio and video taped, although the best protection
would be for their lawyers to be present as elsewhere in the United
Kingdom. "We heard testimony from people from different parts of the
community which described unlawful arrests, alleged unprovoked beatings,
sectarian and racist abuse by police officers and serious injuries
caused by
plastic bullets," the delegation said.
"We heard testimony from the families of people who had been victims of
punishment beatings and shootings by paramilitary groups. We also talked
to a number of community restorative justice programmes which are
working to circumvent this cycle of abuse." The delegation will be
reporting its findings to the UK government, government and police
authorities in Northern Ireland and the government of the Republic of
Ireland.
"We want all the parties to the Multi-Party Agreement to implement in
full the human rights aspect of the agreement," Dr Schulz said. "There
is no need to wait for our report. Those responsible for these abuses
know that they are taking place, they know that we condemn them
unreservedly and know that they owe it to the people of Northern Ireland
to halt them immediately."
Thedelegation's recommendations to the governments will include calls
for:
the repeal of emergency measures which contravene international human
rights standards;
an overhaul of police and security force practices to eliminate human
rights abuses;
the protection of lawyers and others from threats and intimidation;
an independent inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat
Finucane;
a genuinely independent inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer
Rosemary Nelson;
an independent investigation into the death of Robert Hamill;
a process open to all members of the community to acknowledge the legacy
of abuses throughout the conflict and provide mechanisms for
investigation, justice and redress in individual cases;
full cooperation with and significant resources for the Northern Ireland
Human Rights Commission.
The delegation said that Amnesty International will continue to call on
all paramilitary organizations to end abuses such as arbitrary
detentions, torture and murder.
ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
--FAA18137.926672722/amnesty.oil.ca--