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JUNE 2004
mary holland
Journalist Mary Holland died this month. When people say of someone that “her heart was in the right place”, they usually mean it slightly disparagingly. In Mary’s case, it was exactly true. She had an instinctive and precise compassion, as well as offering incisive – and sometimes devasting – analysis of the topics she covered, and never more so than when dealing with Northern Ireland. One almost always left a conversation with her better-informed, and more often than not wryly amused. The world is a poorer place without her.
eadie cory
We were also sad to learn this month of the death of Mrs Eadie Cory, the wife of Judge Peter Cory. Originally it had been hoped that she would accompany her husband during his investigation of six deaths in Northern Ireland and Ireland where collusion had been alleged, but she fell ill and Judge Cory had to come alone. We owe him a debt of gratitude for the devotion to public service which deprived him of so many of the last months of his wife’s life, and we owe her the same for her fortitude. Our thoughts are with the judge and his family.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
I am delighted to report that Lorna Davidson has been appointed as BIRW’s Deputy Director. Lorna has extensive human rights experienced, gained as far afield as Kosovo and Guatemala, although she hales from Scotland. She starts work on 16th August and we are looking forward to working with her. Grateful thanks to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for a grant which made it possible for us to create this new post.
NEIL McCONVILLE
Neil McConville was killed in April 2003 by a special police unit that rammed his car. He was shot and his passenger was wounded. Neither of these young men was armed. This is the first incident involving the use of lethal force by the police since Pearse Jordan was shot in 1992, and it is also the first such incident since Hugh Orde took over as Chief Constable of the PSNI. BIRW has a number of concerns about what happened, not least of all why Neil McConville should have been shot rather than arrested. It is the Police Ombudsman’s policy to investigate all cases where the police use weapons, and on 9th June I attended a meeting she had organised in order to brief the McConville family on the progress of her investigation so far. It is hoped that her report will be finished before the end of the year.
“less lethal” force
One of the recommendations of the Patten Commission on the reform of policing in Northern Ireland was that research should take place to find a less lethal alternative to plastic bullets. On 16th June I met members of the Policy Reforms Division at the Northern Ireland Office who are servicing the working party which is carrying out this research. Also at the meeting were the Committee on the Administration of Justice, the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets, Relatives for Justice, and the Pat Finucane Centre. All of us were concerned to learn that the working party has concentrated on commissioning a different kind of plastic bullet, which it is hoped will cause less head injuries, and an individually-targeted CS gas canister. Although plastic bullets have not been fired in Northern Ireland since September 2002, the police are still trained to use them and they could be deployed again tomorrow. Seventeen people, many of them children, have been killed by rubber and plastic bullets in Northern Ireland. Research shows that children are often involved in rioting. To our horror, the guidelines on firing plastic bullets have been amended to allow firing at children if they are posing a risk to life or of serious injury. CS gas has a worse effect on people who suffer from asthma. Children tend to be more prone to asthma than adults. We shall be raising these concerns with the United Nations Committee Against Torture, who have called for a ban on plastic bullets, when they meet later this year in Geneva.
meeting with the policing board’s advisers
On 10th June I met Keir Starmer QC and Jane Gordon, who have been appointed to advise the Northern Ireland Policing Board on human rights. They have devised an ambitious plan to integrate human rights into police training, policies, and operations, and to heighten awareness of human rights throughout the PSNI. They are, however, woefully lacking in resources, and are going to have their work cut out if real change is to be delivered in a police service that has some way to go before it can leave its past behind.
bloody sunday evaluation
Alison Mitchell has completed her evaluation of the Family Liaison Workers, who have supported the victims throughout the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, and the Observer, who has provided weekly reports on the Inquiry hearings, which are posted on our website. Since, to the best of our knowledge, these posts are unique, the evaluation will be helpful in enabling us to draw lessons in relation to other public inquiries that are in the pipeline. Our thanks to Alison for her enthusiasm and her hard work. It is our hope that, once the Inquiry’s report is available, a holistic evaluation of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry will be undertaken, as that too would have valuable lessons for the future.
northern ireland: the human rights dimension
We have finally been able to publish the record of a series of six seminars, held under the auspices of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, which took place in October 2001, not long after the terrible attacks in the USA which have come to be known as 9/11. The papers provide a snapshot of another country besieged by terrorism, Northern Ireland, which is beginning to emerge from a conflict lasting over 30 years that is not yet fully resolved. They provide many lessons for those grappling with war and terrorism throughout the world, in terms of both how to reform and how to make matters worse. We were fortunate in having a panel of experts in their field, all of whom had worked in human rights in Northern Ireland for many years. Between them they covered a wide-ranging set of issues, including a Bill of Rights, policing, lethal force, emergency laws, and collusion. Sadly, their contributions are as relevant today as they were at the time the seminars were held.
farewell to sue(s) and beth
Sue Chipperfield, our intern from the Institute of Commonwealth Studies left us this month, and Beth Chittick, from Notre Dame University, left at the end of May. Sue Millar who has been undertaking some temporary consultancy work, has also left. Our thanks to them all for their contribution to our work.
WINTER DISAPPEARS
I shall be on holiday from 2nd to 17th July. Elizabeth Folarin, our Administrative Assistant, will be holding the fort.
Jane Winter,
Director,
30th June 2004.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
