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SEPTEMBER
2009
dealing with the past
BIRW have sent a formal submission to the Northern Ireland Office in response to their consultation on the report of the Consultative Group on the Past (CGP). In it we have said that it is vital that any Legacy Commission should not be set up to fail. If there is to be a Legacy Commission, it must have the wholehearted support of both governments and the devolved administration; it must have the resources it needs to do its job well; and it must be allowed the flexibility to change both its working methods and its remit if necessary. A copy of our response is on our website.
On 16th September BIRW Director Jane Winter travelled to Belfast for a round-table discussion on the CPG’s report, then a week later she and our Researcher, Caroline Parkes, organised a meeting to enable the Protestant/unionist/loyalist perspective on the report to be heard and to encourage people from those communities to respond to the consultation. On the platform were Mina Wardle of the Shankill Stress and Trauma Centre, Paul McIlwaine of the Victims’ Forum, Alan McBride from WAVE and Dawn Purvis MLA. The meeting was chaired by Irwin Turbitt, of Healing Through Remembering. Many thanks to all of them and to the WAVE Centre in Belfast for their very kind hospitality. A very lively discussion ensued, and a note of the meeting is available on our website.
We are concerned that the political uncertainty surrounding next year’s General Election may mean that the government’s reponse to the consultation on the CGP’s recommendations is never implemented. One way of ensuring that this issue is not allowed to fall through the political cracks would be to appoint an oversight commissioner tasked with carrying this issue forward. Such a commissioner would need to be a person of international stature who could command cross-community support in Northern Ireland and would also need all the necessary resources to carry out his or her work effectively. We have written to the Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward MP, to request a meeting to discuss this and other interim measures to make sure that dealing with the past is not itself consigned to the past.
A NEW INQUEST FOR DANIEL HEGARTY
We are delighted to report that a new inquest is to be held into the death of young Daniel Hegarty, a fifteen-year-old shot by a British soldier during Operation Motorman on 31st July 1972, which destroyed the “no-go” areas in Derry. There has never been a coherent explanation for why this unarmed child was killed. All credit to Daniel’s family, and particularly his sister Margaret Brady, who have never given up the fight for justice.
a thank you from the lord chief justice
birw and the Committee on the Administration of Justice were granted permission to make a third party intervention by way of written submissions in the judicial review application made by Colin Duffy and Others. This month BIRW observed the hearing of this application before the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland and two Lord Justices. The application concerned the length of pre-charge detention when Mr Duffy and others were arrested for alleged involvement in the killing of two soldiers at the Masserene Barracks in March of this year. The applicants agued that the statutory provision covering the extension of a period of pre-charge detention were incompatible with Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the liberty of the individual.
Our written submissions argued that there was incompatibility with Article 5 because there was no provision for bail or habeas corpus and that there was no equality of arms in the information available to the detainees. We further argued that as this period of detention was part of the overall criminal process the legislation was incompatible with Article 6 of the Convention, which protects the right to a fair trial, as well.
At the conclusion of the hearing the new Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan thanked BIRW for its written submissions in this case. We await the judgment in due course.
THE BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY
Once again there has been a delay in publishing the Report of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. Lord Saville has informed the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that his report into Bloody Sunday will not be published until March 2010.
The Secretary of State has requested Lord Saville to speed up his Bloody Sunday inquiry. Mr Woodward intervened after relatives reacted with shock that the publication of the £200million report had been delayed again. Lord Saville started his inquiry into the 1972 shootings in Derry nine years ago. The victims' families are disappointed and angry at the further delay. BIRW has written to Lord Saville, adding our voice to that of the victims and survivors in calling on him to make his report available as soon as possible.
THE CR GAS CAMPAIGN
Caroline Parkes met with members of the CR gas campaign in Belfast. They are campaigning to find out the truth behind the alleged use of CR gas in Long Kesh on 15 October 1974. The group are concerned by the health implications of their possible exposure to this gas. BIRW will be assisting them in their work.
DISCUSSING THE FUTURE OF A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR NORTHERN IRELAND
The Government is still to announce a public consultation on the Advice of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on a Bill of Rights. This is despite previous assurances and the prospect of a General Election in the spring of 2009, making legislation during the lifetime of this government impossible. The Commission organised a meeting of stakeholder NGOs in Belfast, attended by BIRW’s Christopher Stanley, to push the agenda forward. We have supported the Bill since its inception in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
The participants heard a presentation by the Commission about the future of the Advice and the current failure of the government to launch a consultation. There was discussion as to how the consultation on the Advice could be moved forward. There was support for the Advice and for the Commission’s position that the government must honour its commitment under the 1998 Agreement.
BRIAN SHIVERS RELEASED ON BAIL
Another of the suspects in the Masserene Barracks shooting, Brian Shivers, has been released on bail from remand at HMP Maghaberry. Mr Shivers is in the advanced stages of cystic fibrosis and requires medical treatment. He had been previously refused bail. In the absence of a date for his criminal trial BIRW made written representations to the Lord Chief Justice arguing that he should be released on compassionate grounds and that because of his medical condition he posed a low flight risk. Lord Justice Coughlin ruled that Brian Shivers should be released because he could not be assured proper medical treatment within the jail.
THE TRIAL OF MICHAEL CAMPBELL
Michael Campbell is accused of being a member of the Real IRA and of attempting to smuggle weapons back to the republican terrorist group in Northern Ireland. Mr Campbell has been on remand in Lithuania since January 2008 and his trial, expected to continue in October. BIRW liaised with Mr Campbell’s lawyers in Belfast and Vilnius and made representations to the Irish Ambassador regarding Mr Campbell’s conditions in detention and access to his family.
Mr Campbell’s brother Liam Campbell faces extradition from Northern Ireland to Lithuania on similar charges. Mr Campbell’s extradition is being contested after he was released on bail in Dublin and subsequently detained when entering Northern Ireland.
NOEL McCREADY AND THE POYNTZPASS KILLINGS
BIRW has made a freedom of information request on behalf of Noel McCready who is serving a life sentence for the 1998 LVF attack on the Railway Bar, Poyntzpass. Life-long friends Phillip Allen and Damien Trainor were murdered in the attack. Mr McCready believes that he was eligible for release as a political prisoner under the terms of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. Mr McCready was released but subsequently reoffended and the then Secretary of State revoked his licence. BIRW has requested from the Northern Ireland Office the reasons for the decision of the then Secretary of State to change the law in relation to the revocation of parole in order that he could overrule a decision by the Parole Board to continue Mr McCready’s licence.
THE BAHA MOUSA INQUIRY
BIRW continues to observe the Baha Mousa Public Inquiry. The Inquiry recommenced this month with submissions from all interested parties. We understand that BIRW is the only NGO observing this important Inquiry. Rabinder Singh QC, for the Mousa family, said, in reference to the British army, it was "not just about beatings or a few bad apples. There is something rotten in the whole barrel.". BIRW is observing the Inquiry as the torture techniques deployed in Iraq were similar to those used in Northern Ireland in the 1970s. BIRW is concerned that the Inquiry will not be compliant with Article 2 of the Convention as it is being held under the Inquiries Act which has removed important powers over the conduct of inquiries from the independent judiciary and placed it in the hands of government Ministers, in this case the Defence Minister.
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE consults ngos
BIRW attended a meeting of NGOs and National Human Rights Consortia at the Ministry of Justice. The meeting was chaired by civil servants from the Ministry and was concerned with moving forward the government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights. BIRW has responded to the government’s submissions to the United Nations on its obligations under the covenant. The meeting sort to forge lines of communication between specific government departments, the Ministry and the NGO sector. Concern was expressed regarding the timescales involved in ensuring compliance given a forthcoming general election and the lack of coherence in the Ministry’s strategy for engaging with civil society.
NEW INTERN AT BIRW
BIRW welcomes Andrew McKeever as an intern. Andrew is collating a report on the Omagh Bombing.
30 SEPTEMBER 2009
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
