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News about the Irish & Irish American culture, music, news, sports. This is hosted by the Irish Aires radio show on KPFT-FM 90.1 in Houston, Texas (a Pacifica community radio station)
February 23, 2005
02/23/05 - Open Ltr to Paul Murphy From Chief Commissioner
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Overall Table of Contents
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
PF 02/23/05 Open Ltr To Paul Murphy From Chief Commissioner
BT 02/23/05 Human rights boss raps lack of support
*******************
Open letter from Chief Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission to Secretary of State Paul Murphy MP
The departing Chief Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, Brice Dickson, has released the following letter to the press and NGOs. The Chief Commissioner has himself experienced a bumpy ride over the past number of years with calls for his resignation following the on/off involvement of the Commission in legal action taken by parents of children in the Holy Cross Primary School dispute.
PFC
----
Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Office
11 Millbank
London SW1P 4PN
22 February, 2005
Before standing down as Chief Commissioner at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission next week, I wanted to share with you some reflections on my six years in post.
Most would acknowledge that the establishment of the Commission in 1999 was a landmark. While its predecessor, the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, completed much valuable work during its 25 years (particularly in the field of political and religious discrimination), it did not have the power to investigate alleged violations of human rights abuses or to take cases to court. A more powerful body was required in a new era heralded by the Good Friday Agreement.
But when the legislation creating the Commission was going through Parliament your government was unwilling to confer on it the full range of powers that human rights commissions around the world have been given, including our sister Commission in Dublin. The trade off was that in exchange for lesser powers the government would consider a report from the Commission after two years and judge then whether its powers were enough to make it effective. The Commission submitted such a report on schedule, but I regret to say that your government did not keep its side of the bargain. Fifteen months later, in May 2002, the government published a consultation document on the Commission’s powers but, with the exception of your statement in December 2004, the Commission has not been told to this day what exactly the government proposes to do to implement the recommendations we made four years ago.
Sadly, it is a familiar story. Time and time again the Commission has submitted recommendations to government only to have them totally rejected or, worse, ignored. Despite our best efforts to get through to them, departments at Westminster, especially the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, sometimes forget that we even exist, let alone accept what we are recommending. When the government was considering what laws to enact in reaction to the events of 9/11 it did not take us into its confidence or invite our thoughts. When we queried whether it was still necessary to have the juryless Diplock Courts in Northern Ireland we had to press several times before being shown any evidence to back up the NIO’s position that intimidation of witnesses was still prevalent.
Agencies within your control have not always welcomed the attention of the Human Rights Commission. In recent months, for example, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has been so disconcerted by our interest in its work that it has actually banned us from making visits to prisons. The Police Service, by way of contrast, has shown itself to be very open and co-operative. It has actively sought our advice when there was no obligation to do so, it has responded positively to a number of our proposals, it has invited us to participate in its conferences and it has met with us regularly at a senior level to discuss matters of mutual interest. Not everything in the PSNI is perfect – in the past we have had to be critical of aspects of its human rights training – but in its willingness to move towards a human rights culture it puts other agencies in the shade.
Most regrettable of all has been your government’s failure to support the Commission by filling the seats left empty by Commissioners who have resigned or retired. Since September 2002 you have allowed the number of Commissioners to decline from 13 to just six, despite the duty you are under to ensure that the Commission is representative of the community in Northern Ireland. You have known for six years that my own period as Chief Commissioner would come to an end on 28 February 2005, yet my successor has still not been named and there will now be no period of overlap between the retiring Commissioners and the new Commissioners in which to ensure that the transition runs smoothly.
The UK has a relatively good record in protecting human rights and the situation in Northern Ireland has much improved in recent years. But I cannot help feeling that on many occasions your government is content to pay lip service to human rights without actually doing much to protect them in practice. The delays that have been put in the way of revealing the truth about the murder of Patrick Finucane, the obstructionism of the Ministry of Defence during the Bloody Sunday Tribunal, the tolerance of Loyalist and Republican “punishment attacks” (no-one in government is able to tell us how many people have been prosecuted for these crimes) and the appalling lack of support for prisoners and young people with mental health problems in Northern Ireland are all telling signs that New Labour is not quite the caring, rights-orientated government that we hoped it would be when it was first elected in 1997 (not that anyone in Northern Ireland was able to vote for it then, or now for that matter).
I sincerely hope that you and your colleagues in government will accord the new Human Rights Commissioners a greater status than you have to their predecessors. There will be people serving on it, as before, who are highly committed to what they have been appointed to do and you risk disillusioning them, and society as a whole, if you do not listen and respond carefully to their suggestions for reform. If Britain wants to lead the world as a protector of human rights it could do worse than ensure such protection in its own back yard.
Given the strength of my feelings I am copying this letter to the press.
Brice Dickson
Chief Commissioner
******************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=614004
Human rights boss raps lack of support
Government not taking the issues seriously.
By Deborah McAleese
23 February 2005
Northern Ireland's human rights chief commissioner has today fired a scathing parting shot at the government for its "major lack of support."
Just days before he is due to stand down as chief commissioner Professor Brice Dickson criticised the Government for not taking the province's human rights issues or the NIHRC seriously.
From Monday the province will be left without a human rights chief commissioner when Professor Dickson steps down after six years of service.
Secretary of State Paul Murphy has yet to appoint a successor even though the post was advertised nine months ago.
Mr Murphy has also failed to replace 50 per cent of commissioners who have resigned or retired from September 2002.
Professor Dickson today warned that this could have serious consequences for human rights cases within Northern Ireland and added that he is very concerned by the lack of governmental support.
In a scathing attack, the chief commissioner said he hoped his successor and the new commissioners would be treated more fairly and with more respect by the government than he and his colleagues have been.
"Since September 2002 the government has allowed the number of commissioners to decline from 13 to just six and my successor has still not been named by the British government despite the duty it is under to ensure that the Commission is representative of the community in Northern Ireland," he said.
Professor Dickson added: "Time and time again the Commission has submitted recommendations to government only to have them totally rejected, or worse, ignored.
"Despite our best efforts to get through to them departments at Westminster, especially the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, sometimes forget that we even exist, let alone accept what we are recommending.
"I sincerely hope that the government will accord the new commissioners a greater status than in the past."
He pointed to delays put in the way of disclosing the truth about the murder of Patrick Finucane, and "obstructionism" during the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Overall Table of Contents
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
To receive this news via email, click HERE No Message is necessary
Overall Table of Contents
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
PF 02/23/05 Open Ltr To Paul Murphy From Chief Commissioner
BT 02/23/05 Human rights boss raps lack of support
*******************
Open letter from Chief Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission to Secretary of State Paul Murphy MP
The departing Chief Commissioner at the Human Rights Commission, Brice Dickson, has released the following letter to the press and NGOs. The Chief Commissioner has himself experienced a bumpy ride over the past number of years with calls for his resignation following the on/off involvement of the Commission in legal action taken by parents of children in the Holy Cross Primary School dispute.
PFC
----
Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Office
11 Millbank
London SW1P 4PN
22 February, 2005
Before standing down as Chief Commissioner at the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission next week, I wanted to share with you some reflections on my six years in post.
Most would acknowledge that the establishment of the Commission in 1999 was a landmark. While its predecessor, the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights, completed much valuable work during its 25 years (particularly in the field of political and religious discrimination), it did not have the power to investigate alleged violations of human rights abuses or to take cases to court. A more powerful body was required in a new era heralded by the Good Friday Agreement.
But when the legislation creating the Commission was going through Parliament your government was unwilling to confer on it the full range of powers that human rights commissions around the world have been given, including our sister Commission in Dublin. The trade off was that in exchange for lesser powers the government would consider a report from the Commission after two years and judge then whether its powers were enough to make it effective. The Commission submitted such a report on schedule, but I regret to say that your government did not keep its side of the bargain. Fifteen months later, in May 2002, the government published a consultation document on the Commission’s powers but, with the exception of your statement in December 2004, the Commission has not been told to this day what exactly the government proposes to do to implement the recommendations we made four years ago.
Sadly, it is a familiar story. Time and time again the Commission has submitted recommendations to government only to have them totally rejected or, worse, ignored. Despite our best efforts to get through to them, departments at Westminster, especially the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, sometimes forget that we even exist, let alone accept what we are recommending. When the government was considering what laws to enact in reaction to the events of 9/11 it did not take us into its confidence or invite our thoughts. When we queried whether it was still necessary to have the juryless Diplock Courts in Northern Ireland we had to press several times before being shown any evidence to back up the NIO’s position that intimidation of witnesses was still prevalent.
Agencies within your control have not always welcomed the attention of the Human Rights Commission. In recent months, for example, the Northern Ireland Prison Service has been so disconcerted by our interest in its work that it has actually banned us from making visits to prisons. The Police Service, by way of contrast, has shown itself to be very open and co-operative. It has actively sought our advice when there was no obligation to do so, it has responded positively to a number of our proposals, it has invited us to participate in its conferences and it has met with us regularly at a senior level to discuss matters of mutual interest. Not everything in the PSNI is perfect – in the past we have had to be critical of aspects of its human rights training – but in its willingness to move towards a human rights culture it puts other agencies in the shade.
Most regrettable of all has been your government’s failure to support the Commission by filling the seats left empty by Commissioners who have resigned or retired. Since September 2002 you have allowed the number of Commissioners to decline from 13 to just six, despite the duty you are under to ensure that the Commission is representative of the community in Northern Ireland. You have known for six years that my own period as Chief Commissioner would come to an end on 28 February 2005, yet my successor has still not been named and there will now be no period of overlap between the retiring Commissioners and the new Commissioners in which to ensure that the transition runs smoothly.
The UK has a relatively good record in protecting human rights and the situation in Northern Ireland has much improved in recent years. But I cannot help feeling that on many occasions your government is content to pay lip service to human rights without actually doing much to protect them in practice. The delays that have been put in the way of revealing the truth about the murder of Patrick Finucane, the obstructionism of the Ministry of Defence during the Bloody Sunday Tribunal, the tolerance of Loyalist and Republican “punishment attacks” (no-one in government is able to tell us how many people have been prosecuted for these crimes) and the appalling lack of support for prisoners and young people with mental health problems in Northern Ireland are all telling signs that New Labour is not quite the caring, rights-orientated government that we hoped it would be when it was first elected in 1997 (not that anyone in Northern Ireland was able to vote for it then, or now for that matter).
I sincerely hope that you and your colleagues in government will accord the new Human Rights Commissioners a greater status than you have to their predecessors. There will be people serving on it, as before, who are highly committed to what they have been appointed to do and you risk disillusioning them, and society as a whole, if you do not listen and respond carefully to their suggestions for reform. If Britain wants to lead the world as a protector of human rights it could do worse than ensure such protection in its own back yard.
Given the strength of my feelings I am copying this letter to the press.
Brice Dickson
Chief Commissioner
******************************
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=614004
Human rights boss raps lack of support
Government not taking the issues seriously.
By Deborah McAleese
23 February 2005
Northern Ireland's human rights chief commissioner has today fired a scathing parting shot at the government for its "major lack of support."
Just days before he is due to stand down as chief commissioner Professor Brice Dickson criticised the Government for not taking the province's human rights issues or the NIHRC seriously.
From Monday the province will be left without a human rights chief commissioner when Professor Dickson steps down after six years of service.
Secretary of State Paul Murphy has yet to appoint a successor even though the post was advertised nine months ago.
Mr Murphy has also failed to replace 50 per cent of commissioners who have resigned or retired from September 2002.
Professor Dickson today warned that this could have serious consequences for human rights cases within Northern Ireland and added that he is very concerned by the lack of governmental support.
In a scathing attack, the chief commissioner said he hoped his successor and the new commissioners would be treated more fairly and with more respect by the government than he and his colleagues have been.
"Since September 2002 the government has allowed the number of commissioners to decline from 13 to just six and my successor has still not been named by the British government despite the duty it is under to ensure that the Commission is representative of the community in Northern Ireland," he said.
Professor Dickson added: "Time and time again the Commission has submitted recommendations to government only to have them totally rejected, or worse, ignored.
"Despite our best efforts to get through to them departments at Westminster, especially the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, sometimes forget that we even exist, let alone accept what we are recommending.
"I sincerely hope that the government will accord the new commissioners a greater status than in the past."
He pointed to delays put in the way of disclosing the truth about the murder of Patrick Finucane, and "obstructionism" during the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
Overall Table of Contents
Table of Contents – Feb 2005
To receive this news via email, click HERE No Message is necessary
