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MARCH
2006
human rights groups to intervene in billy wright case
Amnesty International, British Irish RIGHTS WATCH and the Committee on the Administration of Justice have been given permission to intervene by the High Court in Belfast in the case brought by Billy Wright’s father, David Wright, who is challenging the Secretary of State’s decision to convert the Billy Wright Inquiry to an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005. The hearing is expected to take place next month.
AL-SKEINI
BIRW has agreed to join a number of other NGOs in seeking leave to intervene in the case of Al-Skeini. The case involves the question of whether British soldiers acting outside the European Union are bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether those killed unlawfully by British soldiers are entitled to an effective investigation under Article 2 of the Convention, which Protects the right to life.
ROBERT HAMILL INQUIRY CONVERTED TO INQUIRIES ACT
It has been announced that the Robert Hamill Inquiry is also to convert to the Inquiries Act. We understand that the reason the Inquiry sought conversion was that it did not consider it have sufficient powers to compel the attendance of key witnesses to give evidence. Since much of the evidence had already been disclosed to the parties, there is less fear of government interference in the inquiry in the form of Restriction Notices, which could prevent evidence from being made public, but should any new evidence emerge it is still possible that Restriction Notices will be issued. Had the government constituted the Wright and Hamill inquiries under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 instead of the Prison and Police Acts respectively, there would have been no need whatsoever for conversion to the Inquiries Act 2005. It is difficult not to suspect that less powerful legislation was used deliberately in order to force conversion and undermine the opposition of Patrick Finucane’s family to an Inquiries Act inquiry.
IRISH GOVERNMENT BACKS FINUCANES
On 8th March 2006 the Irish Dàil passed a unanimous motion calling for full, independent, public judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane and for the United Kingdom to honour the commitment it made at Weston Park to honour Judge Cory’s recommendations. The full text of the motion and the debate is available at http://debates.oireachtas.ie/DDebate.aspx?F=
DAL20060308.xml&Node=H14#H14 and also on our website.
congressional hearing on policing
On 15th March 2006 I gave Testimony before the US House Subcommittees of the International Relations Committee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations and on Europe and Emerging Threats concerning the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team. This was a hearing entitled The Northern Ireland peace process: policing advances and remaining challenges, chaired by Representative Chris Smith who has now held eleven hearings on Northern Ireland over the past nine years. The others who gave evidence were Ambassador Mitchell Reiss, President Bush’s special Envoy to Northern Ireland; Professor Sir Desmond Rea and Dennis Bradley of the Northern Ireland Policing Board; Maggie Beirne of CAJ; and Archana Pyati of Human Rights First. She spoke about the inquiries recommended by Judge Cory and the case of Patrick Finucane. Following the hearing, Representative Smith put down a Resolution mirroring that of the Irish government calling for an independent public inquiry into the Finucane case. The testimonies given at the hearing are available at
http://wwwc.house.gov/international_relations/afhear.htm
OTHER WORK IN WASHINGTON
I spent four days in Washington altogether this month, meeting Congressmen and their staffers and raising a number of cases with them, including those of Patrick Finucane, Raymond McCord, David McIlwaine and Andrew Robb, John Dignam, Lorraine and Craig McCausland, and Larry Zaitschek. I also briefed them on plastic Bullets, the Cory Inquiries, the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, the Historical Enquiries Team, the Bill of Rights, the Inquiries Act, reform of policing, and collusion.
POLICING BOARD FORCED TO BACK DOWN ON TASERS
On 7th March the Policing Board announced a consultation exercise on the decision by the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, Sir Hugh Orde, to deploy tasers, which are weapons which deliver electric shocks of 50,000 volts. BIRW is fundamentally opposed to the use of tasers because they enforce compliance by inflicting intolerable pain, and as such can be regarded as weapons of torture. They are also potentially lethal to children and people with heart conditions, and can cause serious harm to pregnant women. The Policing Board gave only until 23rd March for responses, which suggested to us that this was a taken consultation. We urged them to defer their decision and pointed out that no equality impact assessment had been carried out on the likely effect of using tasers. Many other NGOs made similar representations. At their meeting on 28th March, the Policing Board required the Chief Constable to carry out an equality impact assessment and pledged to consult its own Human Rights Advisers before making any decision.
OTHER LESS LETHAL FORCE ISSUES
BIRW continues to monitor the use of non-lethal force by the PSNI. We are currently seeking clarification on the use of CS gas by the PSNI during a raid on a bar in North Belfast earlier this month. BIRW also attended several evidence hearings at the Joint Committee of Human Rights relating to the United Kingdom’s compliance with the United Nations Convention against Torture; of particular interest were the sessions on the use of AEPs (the new form of plastic bullet) by the PSNI and army.
TAOISEACH SUPPORTS RAYMOND McCORD
On 22nd March I accompanied Raymond McCord to a meeting with An Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern TD, in Dublin. Raymond McCord’s son, Raymond Jnr, was brutally murdered by the UVF in 1997, and it is suspected that some of those involved were police informers who have been protected from prosecution. The Taoiseach expressed sympathy for Raymond McCord’s loss, praised his courage in persisting in campaigning for justice for his son despite continual death threats, and promised to raise the case with Prime Minister Tony Blair MP. No British government minister has ever agreed to meet Raymond McCord, although the SDLP did recently engineer and introduction for him to Secretary of State Peter Hain MP. The Police Ombudsman is due to publish a report on the murder of Raymond McCord, which is expected to be devastating.
no public inquiry for seamus ludlow
The Joint Committee of the Oireachtas on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women’s Rights published its final report on the murder in 1976 of Seamus Ludlow on 28th March 2006. Disappointingly, though entirely predictably, the Joint Committee has not recommended a public inquiry into this case, in which serving soldiers from Northern Ireland came over the border and murdered a wholly innocent man, but a Commission of Investigation, which will take pace behind closed doors and will not involve the family, who have campaigned for justice for so long. The Committee has also recommended a complete re-investigation of the murder by An Garda Síochána, the Irish police, and that a Historical Enquiries Team be established in Ireland to mirror its northern counterpart.
serious disorder in ballymurphy
Serious unrest in Ballymurphy in Belfast has led to the murder of Gerard Devlin and arson attacks on the family of Francisco Notorantonio, was murdered in 1987, allegedly to turn the attention of the UDA away from FRU agent Stakeknife. We understand that both the Notorantonio and the Devlin families had been warning the authorities for some time that trouble would erupt in the area, but nothing was done, and the PSNI now seem to be standing idly by and allowing a turf war between to take its course and its toll. It is significant that the Notoranonio family have condemned the murder of Gerard Devlin and the Devlin family have condemned the arson attacks on homes of members of the extended Notorantonio family in Belfast and in Glenties. By no means is every member of either family involved in what has been going on, and many dreadful things are being done in their names but without their consent or approval. The efforts of the IRA to run some 100 members of the Notorantonio family out of Ballymurphy is reminiscent of the bad old days at their worst, as is the failure of the PSNI to deliver even-handed and effective policing in a nationalist part of Belfast. The Police Ombudsman has received numerous complaints about the action, or inaction, of the PSNI, and she has assured us that she will deal with these as rapidly as possible.
Neil mcconville
On 1st March I attended a meeting between the family of Neil McConville, shot by the PSNI in April 2003 after a car chase, and the Police Ombudsman. The family raised a number of outstanding concerns about the shooting and the Police Ombudsman undertook to come back to them with answers in due course. Her report is expected soon.
DAVID McILWAINE AND ANDREW ROBB
There have been a number of new developments in the murder investigation into the deaths of David McIlwaine and Andrew Robb, stabbed to death by the UVF in 2000. Two men are now facing trial for his murder, following a confession by one of the men and the emergence of forensic evidence which has apparently lain dormant for a number of years. Serious questions arise about the police investigation in this case and whether police informants were being protected. The Police Ombudsman is investigating the case.
REPORTS, REPORTS
BIRW received several interesting reports this month including Investigating Lethal Force Deaths in Northern Ireland, commissioned by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission; and, aptly, the Implementation of Strasbourg Judgements: First Progress Report by the Joint Committee on Human Rights. BIRW will shortly be writing to the Committee to follow-up on the issues raised by the report.
We are looking forward to the imminent publication of the PSNI’s new policy on Hate Incidents; we submitted comments on the draft policy, and attended the PSNI’s Hate Crimes conference last month.
BIRW is currently developing our response to the recently issued Devolving Policing and Justice in Northern Ireland: A Discussion Paper.
ICJ EMINENT JURISTS PANEL TO VISIT NORTHERN IRELAND AND ENGLAND
A panel of eminent jurists put together by the International Commission of Jurists is to visit Northern Ireland and England next month to examine terrorism, counter-terrorism and human rights. BIRW has made a detailed submission to them, which is available on our website.
Jane Winter,
Director,
31st March 2006.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
