Director's Report November 1999

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November 1999

On 4th November 1999, the RUC raided Stoneyford Orange Hall in County Antrim. According to media reports they found up to 300 files containing photographs, addresses, telephone numbers and other personal details of alleged republicans from South Armagh and Belfast. The information is believed to have come from army intelligence files. We understand from solicitors acting for some of those subsequently informed by the RUC that their details had been leaked to loyalists that some of the information is very recent indeed. Also, many of the people concerned have no paramilitary connections. This is precisely the sort of thing that used to happen regularly before the 1994 ceasefires. That it is still going on is extremely worrying. The victims of this collusion are entitled to ask why the security forces are holding files on them at all, never mind leaking them to dissident loyalists. British Irish RIGHTS WATCH has supplied an affidavit in support of legal action being taken on behalf of some of the victims.

We have sent the Secretary of State a detailed response to the report by the Patten Commission on policing in Northern Ireland. We have welcomed the proposals, but have pointed out some serious omissions, in particular, the Commission's failure to deal with the problem of human rights abusers remaining within the police service. As we were drafting our response, it was announced that the RUC collectively had been awarded the Gorge Cross for conspicuous gallantry. While the 303 RUC officers who have lost their lives during the conflict, often in horrific circumstances, and their families must never be forgotten, and while many RUC officers individually have certainly shown outstanding courage, this general award to the whole force is, in our view, ill-judged. Not only has it caused grave offence to many victims of serious human rights violations perpetrated by RUC officers, but it sends a message that those violations are condoned in the highest circles. The Patten Commission was set up because it was widely accepted throughout Northern Ireland that policing was badly in need of reform. To cover the RUC in such glory could negate the work of the Commission and undermine its proposals. We hope that the government will not allow this to happen.

During November I had the privilege and the pleasure of hearing both Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Professor Kader Asmal MP, who is one of our sponsors, talking in London about the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Both their speeches were particularly relevant in view of the issues raised by last month's conference organised by Relatives for Justice. Although the South African experience does not translate directly to Northern Ireland, it nonetheless has many lessons on which we can draw. If, as we all hope, the peace process is truly about to enter a new phase in Northern Ireland, then constructive ways will have to be found for dealing with its terrible past.

The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has sent a timely mission to Northern Ireland to look into the murders of Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson. We supplied them with detailed briefings on both cases, and I travelled to Belfast to meet them on 19th November. The Lawyers Committee has shown a sustained commitment to supporting defence lawyers in Northern Ireland; this is their third mission. Their report should be available early next year.

Another visitor from America this month was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Bennett Freeman, with whom I met on 9th November. He took time out of his hectic schedule to follow up on meetings we have had in Washington. His personal interest in the human rights agenda in Northern Ireland is very much appreciated.

Thanks are due to our funders Two Garden Court Chambers for their invitation to their reception at the Globe Theatre on 18th November. This proactive Chambers have for many years supported the work of groups like ours from a fund into which they contribute part of their fees, tangibly demonstrating their commitment to social justice.

We have sent the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission comments on their first strategic plan, which they have commendably put out to consultation. Generally speaking their plan is excellent. Our only concern is that the government has given them too little money with which to implement it. £750,000 a year is a drop in the ocean considering the task before them. There is no point implementing the promises in the Good Friday Agreement, of which the Commission was one, and then starving the resulting bodies of resources.

On 13th November I attended a meeting of the Bloody Sunday Trust in Derry. The Bloody Sunday Centre in Shipquay Street is now open to the public and is well worth a visit.

Following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, in which concern was expressed about the double jeopardy rule, which means that those who have already stood trial for a crime cannot be tried again, the Law Commission has put out a paper proposing changes to the law. The Home Affairs Committee has decided to hold hearing on the issue next January. Lawrence family lawyer Imran Kahn and I organised a meeting for lawyers and NGOs on 24th November to alert them to these proposals and discuss their implications. We will be sending the Law Commission and the Home Affairs Committee a submission.

On 17th November I taught a session at the ICS on running an NGO to their MA human rights students. This month we welcome Amanda Shah from that course, who will be with us one day a week for the next year.

I am honoured to report that British Irish RIGHTS WATCH has been nominated for this award for the second year running, this time by the International Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales. We greatly appreciate this sign of their support for our work. For our part, we have nominated Rosemary Nelson, as have the Committee on the Administration of Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre.

Jane Winter,
Director,
29th November 1999

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