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NOVEMBER 2004
inquiry bill: a recipe for whitewash
On 25th November the Inquiries Bill was published in the House of Lords. This repeals the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, under which major public inquiries have been held in the past. Public inquiries are a crucial element of the investigation and scrutiny of events that raise issues of public concern, and of ensuring their non-recurrence. This is particularly so when there are serious allegations of wrong-doing or negligence by government or its agents. For this reason, many of the provisions of the Inquiries Bill are deeply troubling because they introduce an unacceptable level of governmental control over a process that must, by its very nature, be independent and command public confidence. Should the Bill be enacted, its effect on inquiries such as the long-overdue inquiry into the murder of solicitor Patrick Finucane, or any future inquiry into the allegations of bullying and mistreatment at Deepcut Barracks in Surrey, would be devastating. We have posted our critique of the Bill, which is even worse than we predicted last month, on our website.
FINUCANES WALK AWAY FROM SHAM INQUIRY
On 2nd November I met Prime Minister Tony Blair with the Finucane family. At that time the Inquiries Bill had not been published. The Finucanes told Tony Blair that they would study the Bill carefully, but if it did not meet acceptable standards of independence and accountability, they would play no part in any inquiry established under its provisions. Now, after much careful consideration, they have concluded that any inquiry would be a sham, and they have decided to withhold their co-operation. There cannot be any doubt that the government has broken the pledge it made at Weston Park to implement Judge Cory’s recommendation of a public inquiry into the Finucane case. Under the Bill, much of the inquiry will be held in private, and the government ministers who are ultimately responsible for the collusion in this murder will be able to control almost every aspect of the inquiry, including who is called as a witness, under what conditions, and what is made public about their evidence. We can only ask once again: what has the government got to hide that it will go to such lengths to prevent the truth from emerging in the Finucane case?
NELSON, WRIGHT AND HAMILL FAMILIES WAIT AND WATCH
Meanwhile, the families of Rosemary Nelson, Billy Wright and Robert Hamill wait to see whether the public inquiries announced in their own cases will be worth the wait. The terms of reference for these inquiries, announced this month, are problematic. In Rosemary Nelson’s case, there is no mention of possible army involvement in her death. In Billy Wright’s case, the terms of reference do not include any of the flawed investigations which took place after his murder. In Robert Hamill’s case, it is not clear whether the inquiry will be able to examine the role that institutionalised sectarianism within the RUC played in his death and its aftermath. If the Northern Ireland Office had not broken the promise it made last July that the families could discuss the terms of reference with the presiding judges before they were finalised, these problems might have been avoided. The families are still waiting to meet those judges, and the longer they wait the more their confidence in a fair inquiry ebbs away. There is also a fear that a clause in the Inquiries Bill may permit the government to convert these three inquiries from public to private inquiries, along the lines on offer in the Finucane case.
COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CRITICISES UK
Lorna Davidson attended the UN Committee against Torture session in Geneva between 16th and 18th November. At this session, the fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom was being examined by the Committee. BIRW had submitted a written report on issues relating to Northern Ireland in advance of the Committee’s session, and on November 16th we participated in an oral briefing for the members of the Committee. While the Committee’s review of the UK focused mainly on issues such as the treatment of Iraqi detainees by the British armed forces and the admissibility of evidence obtained by torture in legal proceedings, it also probed the UK on the need for continued emergency legislation in Northern Ireland. In addition, individual Committee members raised the effect of the House of Lords’ judgment in the McKerr case on the right to an effective investigation of cases where individuals were killed by state agents, or where collusion was concerned,in Northern Ireland. The Committee’s concluding observations reflect these concerns, which were emphasised by BIRW and the Committee on the Administration of Justice.
UPDATING THE UNITED NATIONS
While in Geneva, Lorna also had meetings with the assistants to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, to update them on recent developments in the Nelson and Finucane cases.
submission to parliamentary human rights committee
In November Lorna responded to a request from the Joint Committee on Human Rights for evidence regarding the Report on the Government’s Review of International Human Rights Instruments. In our letter to the Joint Committee, we stressed the importance of the right of individual petition to the Human Rights Committee, under the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the UK has not signed up to.
SUPPORT FOR OUR WORK
I am very pleased to acknowledge a donation, made under the auspices of the American Ireland Fund, from our friend Bill Flynn of $1,000 in support of our work. We are very proud to have the sponsorship of one who has made such an important contribution to the peace process in Northern Ireland.
EFFECTIVE INVESTIGATIONS INTO STATE KILLINGS
Lorna and I travelled to Belfast on 27th November to attend a meeting organised by the Committee on the Administration of Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre to discuss strategies for ensuring effective investigations in cases where people have died at the hands of the security forces. The focus of our discussion was the Serious Crime Review Team, which has recently been set up by the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and other ways of establishing the truth for those who have lost their loved ones.
LOBBYING FOR STARTERS
On 18th November I held a seminar at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies on the art of lobbying for students taking a master’s degree in human rights. As always, it was a lively session.
Jane Winter,
Director,
30th November 2004.
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
