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JANUARY 2005
a december of discontent
December was not a particularly good month for BIRW, in some respects. Jane Winter went down with flu within days of an injection aimed at the prevention of such an eventuality. The office was flooded and we lost a lot of books. Lorna Davidson broke her leg. Just to help matters along, Jane was then called to jury service for the first fortnight of January. We hope, therefore, you will excuse the fact that there was no Director’s Report in December, which was a very busy month, despite all the above. This report covers last month and this month.
the inquiries bill
The Inquiries Bill, which if passed will mean an end to public inquiries as we know them, has passed the Committee Stage in the House of Lords and will be debated again on 7th February. Although many amendments to the Bill were moved at the Committee Stage, none of them was put to the vote, so Report Stage on the 7th should be the time when changes are made. BIRW has sent two briefings to the House of Lords, and produced an analysis of the amendments put down so far, all of which is available on our website. We have also been keeping a network of NGOs informed of the Bill’s progress and next month we are holding a meeting on the Bill in Parliament. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has also produced a report on the Bill, which is highly critical. A copy can be found at:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200405/jtselect/jtrights/26/2605.htm
public inquiries into nelson, hamill and wright
BIRW has sent lengthy, comprehensive, confidential submissions to the public inquiries into the murders of Lurgan solicitor Rosemary Nelson and young Catholic Robert Hamill. We have also prepared a submission on the murder of loyalist leader Billy Wright, but are waiting until the chairman of that inquiry meets the Wright family before sending in the submission. So far, no date has been set for any of the three inquiries to open, although the members of the inquiries have been names. We continue to have concerns about the terms of reference for these inquiries, and have addresses that issue in our submissions. BIRW, together with the Committee on the Administration of Justice in Belfast, is seeking funding to provide independent observers and commentators at the three public inquiries once they start work. We should like to thank the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for an initial commitment of £15,000 towards this project.
human rights day appeal
I am delighted to report that our annual Human Rights Day appeal has raised £3,340 so far. Thankyou so much to all of you who responded so generously and so promptly! If you are one of those who have been meaning to contribute but have not got round to writing the cheque, it is never too late and no donation is too big or too small but that it will help us to keep up with the work of promoting human rights in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process. With the peace process virtually halted in its tracks by the Northern Bank robbery (although there were obvious signs of a stalemate before it happened), other avenues need to be found to channel the goodwill and desire for peace that we know remains in Northern Ireland. Our work is once such channel, so please support our appeal.
GRANT FROM 2 GARDEN COURT CHAMBERS
Very warm thanks to 2 Garden Court Chambers for the third of four annual grants of £2,500 in support of our work. This innovative group of barristers have supported BIRW over most of our lifetime, and we greatly appreciate their commitment and their confidence in us.
colin worton meets secretary of state
On 18th January Colin Worton finally met the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Paul Murphy. I was due to attend the meeting, but my ’plane was delayed by snow. Colin Worton was originally tried along with the UDR Four for the murder of Adrian Carroll in 1983. He was acquitted when his confession, which had been coerced from him by the RUC was thrown out of court. Unlike three of the UDR Four, who were later acquitted on appeal and compensated, Colin Worton has never been properly vindicated. As a result of the case, he lost his job in the army and he spent two and a half years on remand in prison. Neil Latimer, the fourth member of the UDR Four, remains convicted, despite having his case referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission as a potential miscarriage of justice. BIRW has asked the PSNI to re-examine Adrian Carroll’s murder using its new Serious Crimes Review Team, but they have refused to do so.
NORTHERN IRELAND AFFAIRS COMMITTEE TAKES A LOOK AT TRUTH PROCESSES
In December Lorna Davidson sent a submission to the parliamentary Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in response to their request for information about lessons from elsewhere in the world on how a truth process might be established in Northern Ireland. While the Committee was primarily interested in hearing about experiences of other jurisdictions that have gone through some kind of truth and reconciliation process, our submission focused on the importance of tailoring mechanisms to the particular situation in Northern Ireland. We warned the Committee against trying to establish a truth process in Northern Ireland before all key participants, including the government, victims, paramilitaries and political parties, are ready to support such a process. We also stressed the importance for individual families of finding out the truth of what happened in when a loved one was killed, and of the need for accountability. In January I briefed Priscilla Heyner of the International Centre for Transitional Justice, who appeared before the Committee as an expert witness.
EUROPEAN MINISTERS TO CONSIDER UK’S FAILURE TO RESPOND TO JUDGMENTS OF EUROPEAN COURT
BIRW has sent a detailed submission to the Committee of Ministers’ Deputies in Strasbourg, who are due to discuss the UK’s response – or rather, lack of it – to the European Court’s judgments in the cases of Jordan, Kelly & Ors, Shanaghan, McKerr, McShae, and Finucane v UK concerning the need for effective investigations into deaths caused by agents of the state and/or where collusion has been alleged. We have urged the Committee to be under no illusion that the UK is complying with these judgements; on the contrary, it or its agents have taken every opportunity to deprive these families of an effective investigation, as the Finucane case so graphically demonstrates.
MEETING WITH THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
On December 15th, Lorna Davidson attended the a meeting in the Houses of Parliament with the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which is used by the Committee to ensure regular communication with NGOs. The main topics on the agenda were the various pieces of legislation that were being introduced following the Queen’s speech, including the Inquiries Bill. The JCHR chair also said that the Committee had been in communication with the Foreign and Commonweath Office and the Northern Ireland Office about implementation of the Strasbourg judgements mentioned above and that they would be publishing those exchanges in due course.
MEETING WITH DR NORRIS
On 25th January I met the Independent Commissioner for Detained Terrorist Suspects, Dr Bill Norris. He told me that in 2004, there were 230 persons detained in Northern Ireland under the Terrorism Act, only 3 of whom were detained on suspicion of involvement in international terrorism. Bill Norris was able to speak to 125 detainees and monitored 61 detainees, mostly remotely. He also sat in on four interviews.
HOUSE ARREST FOR TERRORIST SUPECTS?
It seems as if Dr Norris’ role may take on a new dimension if the Home Secretary’s proposal to introduce house arrest for those suspected of terrorism is brought in for those suspected of domestic terrorism, as the Home Secretary’s announcement seemed to imply. Not only is house arrest for those who have not been convicted of any crime objectionable in itself, in the Northern Ireland context such a power will inevitably raise the spectre of internment without trial.
BLOODY SUNDAY INQUIRY
Last month we said farewell to Russell Miller, out third Observer at the Bloody Sunday Inquiry who, like his predecessors, provided the excellent weekly reports on the Bloody Sunday Inquiry which appear on our website. We wish him well. Just when we though the BSI hearings were all over, they decided to hold one more hearing on 27th January to hear from Witness É, who, in the surreal way of these things, appeared from behind a screen by video link at a hearing in London. Many thanks to Sarah McSherry for attending this hearing on our behalf. Her report will be on our website soon.
RESEARCHER IS RESEARCHED
In January I took part in research being carried out by the University of Ulster into ethics, confidentiality and disclosure and how this issues impact on human rights groups, journalists and lawyers.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The Freedom of Information Act is now in force and, at least in theory, you should be able to get information about yourself or any other topic from a number of government departments and agencies. There is an excellent guide on how to do so on the website of the Pat Finucane Centre at:
http://www.serve.com/pfc/policing/foiaguid.html
Jane Winter,
Director,
31st January 2005
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
