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Annual Report 2000British Irish RIGHTS WATCH is an independent non-governmental organisation
that has been monitoring the human rights dimension of the conflict, and latterly
the peace process, in Northern Ireland since 1990. Our 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.
We take no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of the conflict.
A HUMAN RIGHTS DAY MESSAGE
Although British Irish rights
watch was formally constituted in 1992, our
work actually started in 1990. It
seems amazing that we have been doing this work for ten years, and it is even
stranger to reflect that for around half that time there has been a ceasefire
in Northern Ireland, something that seemed scarcely possible a decade ago, and
yet our work is as vital as ever. We
have always said that we would be there for as long as it takes, but that once
there was no longer any need for our services, we would bow out.
That is still our position - we are working to put ourselves out of
business - but we are more cautious than we used to be about predicting just
how long that will take!
As I write, we are on the brink
of yet another crisis in the peace process.
It is becoming more and more obvious that the IRA will not
de-commission for fear of creating a dangerous split in the republican
movement. This has probably been
the reality ever since their first ceasefire in 1994.
Ironically, perhaps, many are more fearful of a breakdown in the
loyalist ceasefire, which has been stretched almost to breaking point by
internal feuds. Sadly, we have
spoken to both Catholics and Protestants recently who still go in fear of
their lives. Unionist attempts to
use cross-border bodies and reform of policing as political footballs have not
improved the situation. We say
that mutual respect for each other’s human rights within a democratic
framework is the only way forward, and we will continue, come hell or high
water, to work to ensure that everyone’s human rights in Northern Ireland
are protected and respected. We
are sure that day will come; we only hope that it will not take another ten
years.
The year 2000 has been a
momentous year for human rights, with the introduction of the European
Convention on Human Rights into domestic English law.
We look forward to many interesting legal challenges and developments
as a result.
It has also been a very busy
year for British Irish rights watch,
as this report shows. I hope that
you will enjoy reading it. As
always, I would like to thank our staff, interns, volunteers, and all our
supporters for their contribution to our work.
Angela Hickey,
Chairperson,
British Irish RIGHTS WATCH,
10th December 2000.
2000
january
QC’S
DECLARATION
As presently worded, QCs must
swear to "well and truly serve her majesty the Queen", a formulation
which is offensive to nationalists and far from accurate in its description of
the job. QC, of course, stands
for Queen’s Counsel, which is also problematic.
Two barristers who were appointed last year to be QCs, a post for which
no-one disputes they are both eminently qualified, declined to make the
declaration, and in consequence have been unable to practice as seniors.
They are challenging the decisions and actions of both the Lord Chief
Justice, Sir Robert Carswell, and the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, in the
Northern Ireland courts. Later
today an extraordinary meeting of the Bar Counsel of Northern Ireland will
meet to decide whether to continue to underwrite the two lawyers’ costs in
the case. It is to be hoped that
they will continue to support their colleagues in their attempts to ensure
that the bar is open to all lawyers of ability, without recourse to medieval
and divisive practices.
february
democracy
suspended but human rights progress must continue
The
suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly has been a bitter blow to the
Northern Ireland peace process. With the marching season soon to be upon us, and serious acts
of violence by dissidents on all sides in recent weeks, the prospect looks
very grim. That the taste of
democracy afforded by the Assembly should have been so brief is a tragedy for
the majority of people in Northern Ireland, who expressed their support for
the Good Friday Agreement so strongly through the ballot box.
It is because their support was so strong that calls for the government
to also dismantle the human rights aspects of the Agreement must not be
accepted. If civil society is not
to be able to develop through the channel of the Assembly, it all the more
vital that it can do so through the implementation of the Patten reforms of
policing, the work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission,
strengthening of the equality agenda, and the report of the Criminal Justice
Review, which is now overdue.
march
15th March saw the
first anniversary of the savage murder of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson,
who will always be remembered with warmth and admiration by those of us who
knew her. British Irish rights watch was
honoured to sponsor a memorial service for Rosemary in London, together with
Pax Christi and the Irish Chaplaincy in Britain. Just before the anniversary, Ian Thompson, who was serving in
the army in the Lurgan area at the time of the murder, was arrested by the RUC
for possession of weapons and questioned about her murder by Colin Port, who
did not, however, charge him with the murder.
A recent newspaper report links Thompson with the sinister racist
group, Combat 18. On 1st
March, government security minister Adam Ingram met Paul Mageean of CAJ and
myself in response to British Irish rights
watch's report about Rosemary's death, sent to the Secretary of
State last December. It was a
disappointing meeting, but we will continue to press for an independent
inquiry into these miserable events.
The Bloody Sunday Inquiry
finally began on 27th March. However,
it is only expected to sit for three weeks, while Counsel to the Tribunal
makes a lengthy opening statement. It
will then probably adjourn to allow further time for preparation, resuming
again in September. British
Irish rights watch will
have a full-time observer, Catherine McKenna, at the hearings, and her weekly
reports will be posted on our website, starting soon.
may
POLICING BILL IS FATALLY FLAWED
In
mid May the Police (Northern Ireland) Bill, which is intended to implement the
Patten recommendations for the reform of the police service in Northern
Ireland, was published. Unfortunately, and as many feared would happen, the
Bill waters down some key elements of Patten. It fatally deprives the proposed
new Policing Board of authority, allowing the Chief Constable to appeal to the
Secretary of State, who can overrule the Board. The old Police Authority's
lack of control over the Chief Constable and policing matters was a major
factor in the RUC's lack of accountability. The Bill seems set to perpetuate
that mistake. The Bill also weakens the powers of the new Police Ombudsman to
investigate complaints against the police. The new Ombudsman will not be able,
as Patten proposed, to initiate inquiries herself, or to enquire into police
policies and practices. Moreover, the Bill seeks to fetter the Ombudsman's
existing powers, by putting a time limit curbing her ability to investigate
past cases, and giving her no automatic right to information she needs to
carry out her work. The Bill has also altered the new oath proposed by Patten
to exclude a requirement to "respect the traditions and beliefs" of
people, and only requires new recruits to take the oath, rather than all
serving officers, as Patten recommended. Meanwhile, the Oversight Commissioner
recommended by Patten as a vital tool to the implementation of his proposals
has yet to be appointed, while the RUC is driving ahead with its own
implementation plan, which will make it very difficult for the Oversight
Commissioner to influence the direction or pace of change. These developments
are strongly suggestive of political concessions having been made to the
unionists, who are opposed to radical reform of the RUC. However, the Patten
report was accepted by nationalists only with reluctance, and is viewed by
them as the absolute minimum required if the new police service is to be
acceptable to them. These flaws in the Bill are potentially fatal to the
fragile peace process, especially in light of the recent IRA concessions on
decommissioning.
BIRW'S TELEPHONES TAPPED
British Irish rights
watch has joined Liberty and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties in
an application to the European Court of Human Rights under Articles 8
(privacy) and 13 (lack of an effective remedy). Our complaint is that our
telephones were tapped between 1990 and 1997 via the Capenhurst listening
tower. We say that confidential calls concerning our clients, calls in which
we gave legal advice, and calls between us as NGOs were intercepted. There
was, apparently, no warrant issued against any of our organisations, but our
calls were monitored by virtue of a general warrant that we cannot challenge
in the domestic courts. We regard this as a test case on behalf of the
millions of ordinary British and Irish citizens whose calls were tapped in the
name of national security, in a gross invasion of their privacy. We are
grateful to journalist Duncan Campbell and to Channel 4 television for
exposing this scandalous situation.
june
We have written to the
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland urging a public inquiry into the
murder of Robert Hamill, following the Coroner’s decision not to hold an
inquest because of fears for the safety of key witnesses.
The Hamill family have been failed by the criminal justice system at
every turn. No-one has been
convicted of this vicious murder, the RUC officers who allegedly failed to
intervene have not been disciplined or prosecuted, and there is not even to be
an inquest. Only a public inquiry
will serve, now.
july
drumcree: the
beginning of the end?
The absence of the predicted
eruption at Drumcree this year seems to have been due to three main factors.
First, the restoration of the Northern Ireland Assembly put democracy
back into the Northern Ireland equation.
Secondly, resolute action by the army prevented a stand-off.
Thirdly, and very importantly, public opinion has turned against the
outmoded bigotry that underlies the Orange Order’s stance.
It never pays to be complacent where Northern Ireland is concerned, and
we must not forget the recent victims of sectarian attacks and arson.
Hopefully, though, this summer will bring us one step closer to the day
when the Drumcree parade is nothing more than a colourful pageant to be
enjoyed by everyone.
september
two
new qcs make history
On 8th September
Seamus Treacy and Barry Macdonald finally took silk, after their successful
challenge to the wording of the declaration made by Queens Counsel upon taking
office.
october
human
rights act
The Human Rights Act comes into
force on 2nd October. The
Act incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law,
and looks set to change the face of legal case law beyond recognition.
It is a shame that the government did not take the opportunity to
cancel its derogation from the Convention over prolonged detention for those
arrested under emergency laws, and has not incorporated Article 13 of the
Convention, which provides for effective remedies for human rights violations.
billy
wright
On 25th October we
held a press conference in the House of Commons, hosted by Jeffrey Donaldson
MP, to launch our report A Recipe for Disaster: The Murder of Billy Wright
in the Maze Prison. LVF
leader Billy Wright was murdered by three INLA prisoners on 27th
December 1997 while on his way to a prison visit.
Our report, which is available on our website (http://www.birw.org),
lists no less than twelve areas of concern, ranging from the decision to house
opposing factions in the same H block, to serious lapses in security, and the
government’s refusal to disclose the name of the governor in charge of the
prison on the day of the murder. One
very disturbing feature is the possibility that INLA prisoners may have had
access to information about LVF visits. David
Wright, Billy Wright’s father, is convinced that there was collusion in his
son’s murder, and we have backed his call for a public inquiry so that the
truth behind the many outstanding questions can be resolved.
shooting
the messenger
We have sent a complaint to the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, Abid
Hussain, about the Ministry of Defence’s attempts to silence the Sunday
Times and the Sunday People, who have been printing revelations
about the activities of the Force Research Unit, who we say were involved in
the murder of Patrick Finucane and others.
In our opinion, it is time the government stopped trying to shoot the
messenger. These newspapers are
raising matters of serious public interest.
They are trying to expose wrongdoing by government agents which led to
the loss of life. In attempting
to silence them, the government is colluding in illegal acts and is allowing
its agents to act with impunity in contravention of domestic and international
laws. Such behaviour on the part
of a government would not be tolerable anywhere in the world, least of all in
a developed democracy. The Sunday
People decided to fight the injunctions, and recently succeeded in having
almost all the gags removed.
NOVEMBER
prison
safety
We have written to the government expressing concern about the situation in Maghaberry prison. The closure of the Maze and the release of so many political prisoners has overshadowed the fact that dissident paramilitaries of all factions are housed in Maghaberry, which is not segregated. We have been contacted by prisoners from all sides expressing fears for their safety. While not advocating the sort of regime that existed in the Maze, it is clear that something needs to be done urgently. We are concerned that the lessons that should have been drawn from the murders of Billy Wright and David Keys in the Maze have not been learned. We are still awaiting a response to our report on the murder of Billy Wright.
REPORT
ON ACTIVITIES IN 2000
2000 was another busy year.
In the past twelve months our director, Jane Winter, has travelled to
Northern Ireland eight times, to the Republic of Ireland five times, twice to
the USA, twice to the United Nations in Geneva and once to the Basque country
for a conference. She has also
spoken at a number of events and given many media interviews.
Submissions have been made to the British, Irish and American
governments, the United Nations and other bodies concerning the many human
rights issues that have arisen in the Northern Ireland context this year.
A summary of our activities is in included in this report.
Below we highlight just a few of the key events and issues.
bloody
sunday
The second public inquiry into
the events that have come to be known as Bloody Sunday, when unarmed civilians
were killed and injured by the British army in Derry in 1972, finally got
under way this year. Our
full-time observer, Catherine McKenna, is posting her weekly reports on the
inquiry on our website. So far,
the inquiry has seen the longest-ever opening speech at a public inquiry and a
change of judges. It is evident
that the Ministry of Defence is not going to go quietly.
It has backed soldiers’ bids for anonymity and allowed weapons fired
on Bloody Sunday to be destroyed. In
a re-run of the arguments put to
the now discredited Widgery Tribunal, the MoD is seeking to divert attention
from the actions of soldiers by focussing on those of the IRA.
intimidation
of defence lawyers
Sadly, Northern Ireland remains an unsafe environment for lawyers
trying to do their work.
In our view, the government’s failure
to implement the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers in 1998, especially his recommendation that
there should be “an independent and impartial investigation of all threats
to legal counsel in Northern Ireland”, has had serious consequences.
Not only has Rosemary Nelson been murdered, but another lawyer has also
been attacked this year and lawyers and others are now finding themselves
named in loyalist hit lists posted on the world wide web.
The government has failed to act resolutely and decisively to vindicate
the role of lawyers in Northern Ireland and to put to an end the potentially
lethal propensity of RUC officers and civil servants to identify lawyers with
their clients, in contravention of the United Nations Basic Principles on the
Role of Lawyers. Their failure
has also meant that loyalist attitudes towards lawyers has spilled over to
affect other groups, such as community activists and journalists.
British Irish Rights Watch
has continued to highlight this problem throughout the year.
In March Jane Winter testified before Congress about the murders of
Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, and further reports have been sent to
the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers and on
extra-judicial executions, as well as the Special Representative on human
rights defenders at the United Nations.
collusion
Almost twelve years after his
death in 1989, we are till working to achieve a public inquiry into the
circumstances surrounding the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane.
In February we met the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who gave Ireland’s
backing to the call for a public inquiry, and in September we raised the case
with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Evidence
continues to pour out about the Force Research Unit, a previously secret unit
within British army intelligence. We
have alleged that the FRU incited, aided and abetted murders of several people
during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Patrick
Finucane was, we believe, one of their most prominent victims, but they may
also have been involved in at least the murders of Patrick Hamill, Francisco
Notorantonio, Gerard Slane, Terence McDaid and John McMichael. We believe that RUC Special Branch also played a role in
Patrick Finucane’s murder. The
government has neither denied nor rebutted our allegations.
Instead, they have instigated a third police investigation, and Prime
Minister Tony Blair has said that there will be no decision on a public
inquiry until that investigation and any criminal proceedings arising from it
are over. He may well no longer
be in office by then.
freedom
of expression
We have sent two reports to the
UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion, Abid Hussain, this
year on very different subjects. The
first concerned the Ministry of Defence’s attempts to silence newspaper
report on the activities of the Force Research Unit.
The second was about the media’s sustained campaign, inspired by
government briefings, to indict Berndette and Michael McKevitt for
responsibility for the appalling bombing of Omagh in August 1998. British Irish rights
watch does not condone violence, nor are we in a position to
know the truth about the Omagh bombing. However,
as a human rights group we support the principles that all persons are equal
under the law, that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and that
everyone deserves a fair trial. We
also support the freedom of the press, but it must also be recognised that the
media have considerable power and are therefore under a duty to act
responsibly and not to abuse their power.
Once the media set themselves up as judge and jury, and when
politicians exhort and encourage them, then fundamental tenets of fairness
that lie at the heart of democratic society go by the board.
policing
It will
take more than pious exhortations to Catholics to join the new Northern
Ireland Police Service to bring about the radical reform of policing in
Northern Ireland that was envisaged in the Good Friday Agreement.
Unfortunately, the government’s watering down of the original
proposals by the Patten Commission has left many nationalists lacking all
confidence in the new service. It
was, in our view, a fundamental error not to take this opportunity to purge
the RUC of those officers who have over the years been serial abusers of human
rights. Unless the leopard can
change its spots, and be seen to have done so, it will almost certainly be
back to the drawing board before too long.
One positive development in
policing has been the appointment of Nuala O’Lone as the Police Ombudsman.
Unlike her predecessor body, the Independent Commission on Police
Complaints, she has her own team of investigators, and so is not dependent on
the RUC to carry out investigations of complaints against RUC officers.
Early indications suggest that she will exercise her powers vigorously.
criminal
justice review
We were glad to see that the
Criminal Justice Review team, like Patten, placed human rights at the heart of
its agenda, but we were disappointed that they did not call for the repeal of
the law that allows inferences to be drawn against defendants if they fail to
answer police questions or to testify in their own defence. We were also sorry
that they did not call for the abolition of the Diplock courts. We welcomed
the review team's recognition of the intimidation experienced by some defence
lawyers, but were disappointed that they did not back the UN's call for an
independent inquiry into this problem. We
put in a detailed response to their report earlier this year, in which we
advocated the creation of a Ministry of Justice and an independent
prosecution service, to be subject to a Criminal Justice Inspectorate, with
minimal political input.
It remains to be seen whether the government’s stance will be to
water down the review team’s proposals, as they did those on policing.
miscarriages of justice
The Criminal Cases Review
Commission referred back to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal the case of
Christy Walsh in 2000, although not without a fight. He was convicted in 1992 of possession of a coffee jar bomb
and subsequently lost his appeal. He
was sentenced to fourteen years’ imprisonment.
However, two new witnesses have since come forward who have backed up
his consistent denial of involvement in this crime.
Thomas Green’s case has also
been referred back to the Court of Appeal by the CCRC. Thomas Green, a Protestant, was convicted of the murder in
1986 of Catholic John O'Neill and sentenced to life imprisonment.
He was held for three days after his arrest in Castlereagh, where he
alleges that he was assaulted, abused and confused until he made a false
confession. On the second day of
his detention he suffered a seizure and had to be rushed to hospital, where he
was found to have suffered a sudden drop in his blood sugar level, a condition
associated with acute anxiety. He has always denied the murder.
Gerard Magee also claimed that
a confession was extracted from him by ill-treatment and in the absence of
legal advice. He received a
20-year sentence for an attack on soldiers in an Antrim housing estate in
1988, which he denies having committed. The
European Court, which has taken 8 years to deal with his case, held that his
right to a fair trial had been violated.
The Court found that because of the oppressive regime in Castlereagh he
should not have been denied access to his lawyer.
Although now released from jail, Gerard Magee lost many years in
prison.
We hope that these three men,
whose cases we have monitored for many years, will finally obtain justice.
grateful
thanks
We should like to take this
opportunity to thank our interns this year: Gaëlle Alery, Lisa Yu, John
Gayer, Alexia Brangé, Amanda Shah, and Tim Gayer; our administrative
assistant Emma Gill, who left in September and our new assistant Elizabeth
Folarin; our temporary researcher Silvia Del-Fabbro; and our observer at the
Bloody Sunday Inquiry, Catherine McKenna.
SUPPORT
AND recognition
for our work
British
Irish rights watch is
pleased to acknowledge with gratitude financial support during 2000 from the
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust; the Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation;
the Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing Trust; the Hilda Mullen Foundation; the
Catherine Scorer Memorial Trust; Garden Court Chambers; under the auspices of
the American Ireland Fund: Bob, Jack and Jerry Dunfey, and Bill and Anne
McNally; and many individuals in Britain, Ireland and America, including a
major funder who wishes to remain anonymous.
In 2000 British Irish rights watch was nominated by the Committee on the Administration of Justice for the Roger Baldwin Medal of Liberty. The outcome was still awaited at the time of going to press.
SUMMARY
OF MAIN ACTIVITIES IN 2000
expert
testimony/intervention
Evidence
to the Committee on Security and Co-operation in Europe
of the Congress of the United States of America on the murders of Patrick
Finucane and Rosemary Nelson
Asylum
application by Malachy McAllister, New Jersey
submissions
United
Nations
Submission
to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on Ireland’s observance of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
Submission to the Special Rapporteur on
Freedom of Expression and Opinion concerning attempts to suppress newspaper
reports about state collusion
Submission to the United Nations' Special
Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary and Arbitrary Executions on the murder
of Billy Wright in the Maze prison in 1997
Submission to the United
Nations' Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers
concerning attempted intimidation of defence lawyers in Northern Ireland
Submission to the Special
Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion concerning trial by media of
Bernadette and Michael McKevitt
Submission to the United
Nations' Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders concerning the
situation of human rights defenders in Northern Ireland
Submission to the United
Nations' Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial, Summary and Arbitrary
Executions on state collusion in the murder of British and Irish citizens
Other
bodies
Submission
to the British government concerning reform of the Diplock Courts
Justice
Delayed… Alleged state
collusion in the murder of Patrick Finucane and others
Response
to the Report of the Review of the Criminal Justice System in Northern Ireland
publications
Who murdered Rosemary Nelson?,
Legal Action, March 2000
Second
Chance for the Truth about Bloody Sunday,
Socialist Lawyer, May 2000
events
observed
Bloody Sunday Inquiry
Inquest on Diarmuid O’Neill
about British
Irish
rights watch
British Irish rights
watch is an independent non-governmental organisation (NGO) that
monitors the human rights dimension of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
It is registered as a not-for-profit company and is a registered
charity.
The organisation was
formally established in 1992, although those involved in its work have been so
since 1990. Its objects are:
1.
the promotion by means of education and research of the proper
observance and maintenance of human rights in Britain and Ireland and
elsewhere in the world with particular reference to the conflict in Northern
Ireland;
2.
the promotion and dissemination of knowledge, information and
understanding of such human rights by writing, publishing and distributing
articles, reports, books and other documents and assisting in the same, by
arranging and providing lectures and seminars, and by all other means of
providing and exchanging information.
3.
to procure the abolition of torture, extra-judicial executions, and
arbitrary arrest, detention and exile.
history
British Irish rights
watch arose out of the concern of a small group of people from England,
Ireland and America, all of them based in London, about the human rights
violations stemming from the conflict in Northern Ireland.
Their work began informally in 1990, and consisted originally of
organising seminars for lawyers, firstly in London and then in Belfast and
Dublin. Gradually, lawyers and
then campaign groups and individuals whose human rights had been affected
began to regard them as a resource. In
1992 they played a key role in organising the Northern Ireland Human Rights
Assembly in London, which attracted 254 written submissions alleging human
rights violations arising from the conflict and over 250 participants.
A panel of seven international human rights experts heard evidence over
three days and produced a substantial report, Broken Covenants, that severely criticised the United Kingdom
government for its failure to protect human rights. This Assembly generated even more demand for the group’s
services, and in May 1992 British Irish rights
watch was formally established as a not-for-profit company.
In 1995 the organisation achieved charitable status.
Until August 1994 its primary
role was to monitor alleged human rights violations arising from the conflict
in Northern Ireland. Since the
ceasefires, it has enhanced its activities to include ensuring that proper
respect for human rights is established in Northern Ireland in the wake of the
conflict, with particular emphasis currently on the role of human rights in
the emerging peace process.
British Irish rights
watch’s services are available free of charge to everyone, regardless
of their religious or political affiliations or opinions, and we are proud
that our services are requested by individuals and groups on all sides of the
community. We take no position on the eventual constitutional outcome of
the peace process and we are entirely independent of any other organisation,
although we work very closely with other domestic and international NGOs who
share our concerns.
Until February 1995 all our work was carried out on a voluntary
basis by unpaid volunteers. At
that point, we had raised enough funding to enable us to open an office and
employ a full-time director for one year.
With the peace process at such a crucial moment we did not hesitate,
but deployed our existing funding in full and resolved to raise enough further
financial support to enable us to see our task through to its conclusion.
key
activities
In fulfilment of its
charitable objects, British Irish rights
watch:
researches alleged human rights violations arising out of the conflict
sends independent observers to trials, inquests and inquiries
provides consultancy services for lawyers
makes representations to international human rights bodies and
organisations such as the United Nations
organises seminars for lawyers and others
makes third party interventions in human rights cases and provides
expert testimony
publishes articles and reports
organises conferences.
personnel
British Irish rights
watch is managed by a Management Committee made up of four women, all
of whom give their time and expertise free of charge:
Angela Hickey, from London, who works as an investigator for the Local
Government Ombudsman
Fiona Murphy, from Belfast, who is a solicitor
Mary McKeone, from Omagh, who is a barrister, and
Maureen Donnelly, from Dungannon, who is a telecommunications
consultant.
The Director is Jane Winter,
from London, who is a founder member of British Irish rights watch, and who has ten years’ experience of working
on the human rights dimension of the conflict in Northern Ireland.
She has previously worked as a researcher and as an adviser and
advocate in the Citizens Advice Bureau service and the law centre movement.
Our full-time administrative assistant is Elizabeth Folarin.
Our full-time observer at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry is Catherine
McKenna.
British Irish rights
watch has volunteers based in London, Belfast and Dublin who make a
valuable contribution to its work. It
has also benefited from the input of interns from many parts of the world.
sponsors
British
Irish rights watch is fortunate
to be sponsored by three leading human rights lawyers:
Professor Kader Asmal MP, Minister of Education in the South African
government, is also a professor of human rights law and the former Chair of
the Irish Council for Civil Liberties;
Helena Kennedy QC is a campaigner for women’s rights and a
distinguished lawyer who has been involved in many leading civil liberties
cases. Baroness Kennedy is an
active member of the House of Lords.
Michael Mansfield QC is a highly successful barrister who has been
involved in remedying many of the notorious Irish miscarriages of justice,
including the cases of the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four.
funding
British Irish
rights watch gratefully acknowledges the financial support of
the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust;
the John Merck Fund
the Hilda Mullen Foundation
the Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation
the Catherine Scorer Trust Fund;
the Patrick Finucane Memorial Trust;
Garden Court Chambers;
Took’s Court Chambers;
the Ruben and Elisabeth Rausing Trust;
the trade union UNISON;
under the auspices of the American Ireland Fund: Bob, Jack and Jerry
Dunfey, Loretta Brennan Glucksman, Dennis Smith, Bill McNally and John T
Sharkey; and
many individual lawyers in Britain, Ireland and America.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
