|
|
SEPTEMBER
2001
TERROR IN AMERICA: LESSONS FROM NORTHERN IRELAND
The cataclysmic events in the USA on September 11th and their aftermath will never be forgotten by those who experienced it, even from afar. Our hearts go out to all those who were affected and particularly to those who have lost their loved ones.
Those of us who have worked on Northern Ireland are no strangers to terrorism. There are some hard lessons for the rest of the world to be drawn from our experience.
The first, and possibly hardest, lesson, is that terrorists have an agenda, and when they carry out indiscriminate attacks on non-combatants they do so because they know that, however grisly the means, it will deliver their message in a language that will be heard and, ultimately, will be understood. If those of us who reject the use of such indiscriminate violence, however strongly we may feel about a particular cause, do not analyse the terrorists’ message, we will never be able to eradicate terrorism by force alone. At best, as has happened in Northern Ireland, we may be able to contain it.
Secondly, it is vital in dealing with terrorism to refrain from acts of terror ourselves. Thirdly, repression does not suppress terrorism, it fuels it; the creation of martyrs is grist to the mill of the terrorist recruiting sergeants. The suicide bombers who wrecked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon committed the most serious crimes, and if they can be apprehended they should certainly stand trial, but we damage our own democracy if we do not offer them a fair trial on the same terms as any other criminal. We also enhance their standing in the eyes of those who approve of their actions. Fourthly, demonisation of terrorists is unhelpful. Their acts may be despicable, but unless we recognise the humanity of those who carry out such acts, we are in danger of diminishing our own humanity.
The war against terrorism is the war against ignorance,
poverty, racism and injustice, because those are the conditions in which
terrorism gains ground. The
struggle to achieve a world in which our humanity gains the ascendancy over
man’s inhumanity to man is far from over.
It is being put to one of the severest tests it has ever faced.
Unless our response is just and proportionate, there is a severe danger
that we will lose the war against terrorism, whatever the physical outcome,
because we will have done the terrorists’ work for them, by undermining our
own democracy and values. It is
never difficult to make a bad situation worse, the trick is to make the world a
better place.
BILL OF RIGHTS FOR
NORTHERN IRELAND
The Northern Ireland peace agreement decreed a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has never known full respect for human rights, and the whole of its society has suffered as a result. Respect for the fundamental rights of others and an understanding of the interaction of rights between individuals and communities are necessary ingredients for both democracy and civil society. Those elements have been and are still lacking in Northern Ireland. Peace can not replace conflict, and certainly can not be expected to take root and flourish, where human rights are not honoured.
Against this background, the Bill of Rights is clearly of enormous significance. The task before the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is immense. They must draw up an instrument that will protect the rights of those who demand the right to march and celebrate Protestant history and traditions, as well as the rights of residents not to be subjected to harassment and abuse by those very marchers.
Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland have been hostile to the Human Rights Commission and to the Bill of Rights. They have created a situation in which the government has fought shy of guaranteeing that there will in fact be a Bill of Rights at the end of the day. There is a danger, therefore, that after all their work the Commission will find that its draft Bill gathers dust on the shelf, or that whatever they recommend is watered down.
The Commission has just published a draft Bill and put it out to consultation. It contains many good things, including a very full section on children’s rights. However, it contains one very serious flaw. Bills of Rights need not only to protect individuals from governments, but to protect minorities from majorities. This is perhaps particularly so in a democracy, where the majority have the final say in many important matters affecting the lives of the minority. It is therefore vital that a Bill of Rights draws a clear distinction between rights that apply to everyone in a society and additional rights that apply to minorities in order to protect, in essence, their identity and their right not to conform to majority norms. Yet the draft Bill does not do this. Instead, it substitutes the notion of “members of communities” for that of minorities, thus at a stroke creating minority rights for the majority.
The Protestant/unionist/loyalist grouping is in the majority in Northern Ireland but is in a minority in the island of Ireland as a whole - and, indeed, within the United Kingdom - whereas the Catholic/nationalist/republican grouping is in the minority in Northern Ireland but can count itself part of the majority of Ireland. Whatever the eventual outcome of the peace process, it will be necessary to guarantee the rights of whichever grouping finds itself in the - presumably perpetual – minority, if there is to be lasting peace. It is vital for the sake of everyone in Northern Ireland that the Bill of Rights gets this right.
British Irish Rights Watch is looking into the killing of twelve year old Majella O’Hare by a soldier in August 1976. The soldier claimed he had fired on a gunman, but eyewitnesses at the scene saw no such person. The soldier was acquitted of manslaughter. At a recent event for victims, her family had an opportunity to raise her case with the Secretary of State, John Reid, who has promised to look into this very sad case.
Anthony o’doherty
Yet another case in which British Irish Rights Watch has been involved has been referred back to the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Anthony O’Doherty is still serving a prison sentence for a brutal assault in which he denies any involvement. His conviction relied on dubious voice identification. Our congratulations to his lawyers, who did excellent work in persuading the CCRC to refer the case back. We are, though, concerned that, as in several other cases, the CCRC originally issued a decision saying they were minded not to refer the case back, only changing their minds after further representations were made to them.
ruc code of ethics
The RUC is drawing
up a Code of Ethics, as recommended by the Patten Commission on policing reform.
We welcome this development, and the fact that they have consulted us and
other human rights groups about the draft Code.
We have sent them a number of comments.
prison issues
We have also
responded to a consultation document by HMP Maghaberry about arrangements for
visits there.
It has come to our
attention that closed family and legal visits are once again being imposed at
Belmarsh high security remand prison in London. The isolation of prisoners behind screens from their lawyers
and families can impair family relationships and prevent the proper preparation
of prisoners’ defence. The
practice has been condemned by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers. We
have taken the matter up with the Home Secretary and the Director General of the
Prison Service.
US STATE DEPARTMENT COUNTRY REPORT
We have provided a
briefing for the American Embassy to assist them in drawing up their report on
human rights in the UK during 2001.
Jane Winter,
Director,
28th September 2001.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
