DIRECTOR'S REPORT March 1998

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March 1998

Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Dato' Param Cumaraswamy's report was presented to the UN on 1st April. A brief account of it and government reactions to it is enclosed. We are disappointed that the UK government has issued a formulaic response which is dismissive of the serious concerns raised in the UN report and fails to make a single new proposal for tackling the problems it describes or implementing any of its recommendations. We are especially unhappy with the government's refusal to entertain a judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane, despite support for a full re-examination of the case by the Irish government. However, we hope that the UK government will reconsider its position once it has had an opportunity to study the UN report in depth.

On 3rd April the Bloody Sunday Inquiry was formally opened in the Guildhall in Derry. In a carefully-crafted statement Lord Saville, who chairs the inquiry, was at pains to explain that he had come under no political pressure concerning the inquiry and that the sole objective of the inquiry was to establish the truth. In choosing to name the inquiry after Bloody Sunday rather than himself, locating most of the hearings in Derry, and abstaining from granting blanket immunity from prosecution to military witnesses the inquiry has got off to a good start. It is not anticipated that full hearings will commence before the autumn at the earliest. The inquiry has its own web site at http://www.bloody-Sunday-inquiry.org.uk, where copies of the opening statement, terms of reference and so on can be found. In due course it is expected that the transcript of the daily hearings will also be available.

I spent 14 -18th March in Washington, where I had the pleasure of attending the 6th National Gala Dinner of the American Ireland Fund as a guest of the Dunfey family. While I was there I attended a number of meetings designed to promote the role of human rights in the peace process. Many thanks to the Dunfeys for their kind hospitality and to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, and in particular Washington Director Elisa Massimino, for their help in organising my schedule.

I am delighted to acknowledge receipt of no less than three donations in the past month from the USA. Our good friends the Dunfey family have given us $6,000; John T Sharkey, Vice President of MCI Communications, has kindly sent us $6,250; and the Hilda Mullen Foundation has donated $15,000 towards our project on human rights and the peace process. Our gratitude goes to all of them for their generous support for our work. Many thanks also to Lois Whitman for introducing us to the Hilda Mullen Foundatoin, and to Kingsley Aikens of the American Ireland Fund for facilitating these donations.

On 9th March the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, decided not to extradite Roisin McAliskey to Germany to stand trial on a charge of alleged terrorism. He made his decision on humanitarian grounds, after receiving representations from many individuals and organisations, including British Irish RIGHTS WATCH, concerning fears for her health and for that of her baby daughter. We also had serious doubts about the allegations made against her, and are glad that she has been spared any prolongation of her ordeal.

The Independent Commission for Police Complaints has re-opened its inquiry into the severe ill-treatment suffered by David Adams during his arrest on 10.2.1994 and in Castlereagh, where RUC officers deliberately broke his leg by repeated kicking.

I regret to report that Colin Duffy has been the subject of a vicious poster campaign by loyalists in his home area, which appears to have been co-ordinated with a number of press articles that have implicated him in republican violence. We have sought assurances from the government that these articles did not originate from RUC briefings, whether officially or off the record.

As a result of our joint letter to the CCRC Paul Mageean and I met Glenys Stacey, the Chief Executive, in Birmingham on 11th March. We had a long and frank discussion about problems that had been reported to us by Northern Ireland lawyers, and I circulated a full note of the meeting to lawyers there afterwards. We shall, of course, continue to monitor the situation.

It has always been our policy to work closely with other non-governmental organisations who are concerned about human rights in Northern Ireland. On 28th February I attended a meeting of those groups in Belfast, organised by CAJ, where we were able to discuss strategy and co-ordinate our work. While in Geneva last week for the publication of the report by the Special Rapporteur, a strong coalition of Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), CAJ and ourselves was able to maximise the impact of the report.

On 7th March I attended a conference in Dublin organised by the Human Rights Unit of the Foreign Affairs Department for NGOs to discuss human rights. It was very well attended, demonstrating just how diverse and thriving the Irish NGO community has become in recent years. Former president Mary Robinson, now the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, gave the keynote speech, in which she stressed that respect for human rights begins at home. Unfortunately a strike at Dublin airport meant that I had to leave the conference early, but many thanks to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties for inviting me to attend.

Angela Hickey attended a meeting of the Northern Ireland Affairs select Committee on 1st April, which quizzed Secretary of State Mo Mowlam on policing in Northern Ireland. No doubt she has been preoccupied with the talks process, but her presentation was markedly lacking in evidence of radical thinking to tackle the difficult process of reforming the police service so that it can provide an effective and impartial service to everyone in Northern Ireland.

On 12th March Richard Bednarek attended a seminar in the House of Commons on the question of release of "political" prisoners, organised by the UN Association of Ireland and others.

After a gruelling month that has involved travelling to Belfast, Derry, Dublin, Manchester, Birmingham, Washington and Geneva, in some cases more than once, I am taking a few days' leave from 4th to 14th April. I hope that all of you have a pleasant break.

For Peace Justice & Human Rights

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