DIRECTOR'S REPORT April/May 1998

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April/May 1998

The historic accord reached on Good Friday and resoundingly endorsed in last Friday's vote holds out genuine hope for a negotiated peace in Northern Ireland. Crucially, it includes many provisions that will help to establish the human rights agenda for Northern Ireland - with concomitant measures in the Republic of Ireland - which is vital to turning that hope into reality. The Agreement is stronger on some issues than others, and much remains to be done before its gaols can be achieved. We enclose our own assessment of its human rights content. In the coming months, we will be working hard to ensure that our views and expertise are fed into the various mechanisms that have been set up to take forward issues such as policing and the putting in place of a Bill of Rights.

Much depends now on the outcome of the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, and on the commitment of all those elected to seeing the human rights reforms through. As the government has warned, there may still be violence on both extremes, and the summer marching season will be a testing ground for new resolves. The decommissioning issue could easily again become a stumbling block to progress. British Irish RIGHTS WATCH continues to believe that, if human rights standards are applied to the many difficult decisions that lie ahead, past mistakes can be avoided and new ground can be broken with confidence. In particular, we urge the government to rescind all emergency laws as a matter of urgency, so that proper due process rights can take hold in Northern Ireland. Such a step would reinforce the aspiration of the majority who voted for the Agreement to establish some normality after 30 years of conflict, and marginalise those who are not minded to abandon violence by depriving them of any claim to special status.

The Irish government recently met with members of the Finucane family and have agreed to look further into the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane. Recently, journalist John Ware, who has investigated the alleged role of British agent Brian Nelson in the loyalist assassination, has published new evidence concerning the murder. In the meantime, Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, the UN's Special Rapporteur whose report published on 1st April called for a full judicial inquiry into the killing, continues to take an active interest in the case and to monitor on-going intimidation of defence lawyers in Northern Ireland. In a joint letter, nine NGOs - Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the International Commission of Jurists, CAJ, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Liberty, the Scottish Human Rights Centre, and ourselves - have supported the Special Rapporteur's call for an inquiry. In our opinion, it is only a matter of time before this case will have to be re-opened.

We have been contacted by the Inquiry team, seeking information about Bloody Sunday, and have also been formally retained by the lawyers acting for the families in order to advise them. Sadly, one family have declared themselves unable to co-operate with the Inquiry, fearing that immunity may be granted to soldiers who killed some of the victims. We hope that they will think better of this decision, especially if their fears do not come to pass. In the meantime, we are working with the rest of the relatives to find ways of helping them through the difficult issues the Inquiry will inevitably raise for them all.

This summer, we will be continuing our research into allegations of collusion in Northern Ireland, assisted by two of the three American interns who will be on placement with us. I should like to take this opportunity to thank those friends who made donations towards the cost of purchasing a new computer and software programme in order to facilitate this research. We are still around £1,000 short of our target, so if anyone who meant to send us a cheque has not yet done so, all further contributions will be gratefully received! We intend to submit the results of our research to the forthcoming commission on policing, as we believe it will suggest important lessons on finding structures that can command the support of all the community and will uphold the rule of law rather than undermining it.

Sam Marshall died in March 1990, shot by loyalists as he signed to his bail at Lurgan RUC station. The times when he was required to sign the bail book were known only to himself and two co-defendants, their lawyers, and the RUC. The presence of a second car at the scene of the murder has never been satisfactorily explained, and there are allegations of collusion in the murder. No inquest has ever been held, and the Coroner in the case has recently said that he is minded to register the death without holding an inquest. We understand that his decision may be judicially reviewed. It is cases like this one that prompted our research project on collusion.

It is just over a year now since a young Catholic, Robert Hamill, died after being beaten up by a loyalist mob in the centre of Portadown while RUC officers allegedly stood by. We have sent a second report to the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions, updating him on recent developments, which include the dropping of charges against five out of six loyalists accused of his murder.

The CCRC is conducting a consultation exercise on how to set its priorities for dealing with cases, to which we have been invited to respond.

On 29th April I attended a seminar organised by the ICPC on the forthcoming reform of the system for dealing with complaints against the police in Northern Ireland. Maurice Hayes, whose proposals for a Police Ombudsman have been well received by all concerned, gave an inspirational address which reflected the care and integrity with which he approached his vital task.

Sir Kenneth Bloomfield has published his report on finding a suitable way of commemorating the victims of the conflict. His carefully considered report was marred by the immediate announcement that Adam Ingram, Minister for security matters at the Northern Ireland Office, has been appointed in fulfilment of one of the report's recommendations to act as a champion for the interests of victims. Those who lost loved ones at the hands of the security forces in Northern Ireland, often in disputed circumstances, understandably felt excluded by the choice of the minister responsible for the armed forces in Northern Ireland for this sensitive role. This is particularly unfortunate since the majority of victims of the security forces have been Catholic. Whatever personal qualities Adam Ingram may be able to bring to this task, it is difficult to see how it can be combined with his executive role. It is a pity that such a divisive choice was so swiftly made, when mature reflection might have come up with a candidate who would have been acceptable to all victims.

British Irish RIGHTS WATCH extends a warm welcome to its three interns from the USA: Edward Tran from Colombia, Amy Wallace from Georgetown, and Siobhan Keegan from Fordham. Welcome also to Emma Gill, who is helping us out with admin work two days a week.

For Peace Justice & Human Rights

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