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APRIL 2007
BIRW APPOINTS DEPUTY DIRECTOR
I am pleased to report that BIRW has appointed Lucy Claridge as our new Deputy Director. Lucy has been working at the Kurdish Human Rights Project and is a qualified lawyer. She will be joining us on 11th June 2007 and we look forward to working with her. We are re-arranging our office during May in order to accommodate Lucy, so please bear with us if we are not quite our usual efficient selves.
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER THREATENED
This month we were very disturbed to learn that our colleague the Director of Relatives for Justice (RFJ), Mark Thompson, was one of over a hundred people who was visited by the police and told that his life was under threat from loyalists, presumed to be the UVF. Two members of a loyalist flute band, one of whom was a civilian employee with access to police computers, have been arrested in relation to passing information to the UVF and possession of information useful to terrorists. RFJ has been working with victims of collusion between the security forces and the UVF, as well as other victims of collusion across the communities. BIRW has taken up Mark’s case with the United Nation’s special representative on human rights defenders, the Chief Constable, and the International Monitoring Commission, which monitors the ceasefires. There has also been strong support for Mark from other human rights groups and from Americans who met Mark and a cross-community group of victims of collusion in the USA last month.
THE MYSTERY OF THE STEVENS ARCHIVE
Reports surfaced in the media this month that both the Ministry of Defence and the intelligence service, MI5, were trying to retrieve from the Stevens Archive amassed as a result of the three enquiries by Lord Stevens into collusion in Northern Ireland and the murder of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane. These moves appeared to have the potential for frustrating any inquiry into the case of Patrick Finucane, and also were said to have possible implications into the inquiries into the murders of Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill and Billy Wright. We raised these concerns with the three inquiries, with the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of the judiciary, with the Irish government, with the Northern Ireland Office, and with the PSNI’s Historical Enquiries Team and the Police Ombudsman, both of whom may require access to the archive. A flurry of denials followed and it would seem that the problem is now resolved, but we will continue to watch this space.
PRIME MINISTER TAKEN TO TASK OVER LACK OF FINUCANE INQUIRY
BIRW have written to Prime Minister Tony Blair asking him why he has broken his promise to hold an inquiry into Patrick Finucane’s murder. We have told him that if he leaves office without bringing about an honourable conclusion to the Finucane case, history will judge him harshly. He will not be seen as the Prime Minister who presided over the end of the conflict in Northern Ireland, but instead as the Prime Minister who was too much in thrall to the security and intelligence services to tackle collusion in Northern Ireland. The full text of our letter has been posted on our website, where we will also post any reply we receive.
farewell to John Healey
I was delighted to be invited by the Atlantic Philanthropies to their farewell reception this month in Belfast for their outgoing Executive Director, John Healey. John was my first ever contact with the trust, in the days when we dared not speak its name (they have since embraced transparency), and his enthusiasm and interest in our work over a period of many years has been a great source of inspiration and support.
CONTROL ORDERS
BIRW submitted a response to the Second Report by Lord Carlile on the subject of control orders, whereby suspected terrorists are placed under a kind of house arrest. We were pleased with Lord Carlile’s kind words about our submission, when he said, “I have found your measured response to my recent control orders report useful and instructive. I agree with you entirely that there are lessons to be drawn from Northern Ireland.” Nonetheless, we were disappointed by Lord Carlile’s conclusion that that the use of control orders remained necessary and were a proportionate method of dealing with suspected terrorists. BIRW do not believe that control orders are an appropriate mechanism for use in the criminal justice system as they violate both civil liberties and human rights and undermine the rule of law.
POLICE CODE OF ETHICS
BIRW have been participating in the ongoing consultation on changes to the PSNI’s Code of Ethics. The PSNI has incorporated some positive changes to the Code including the need to use non-violent methods of control on detainees rather than resorting to force. However, there is still room for improvement, for example in regard to issues like membership of bodies such as the Orange Order.
report of the policing board’s human rights advisers
BIRW commented on the Annual Human Rights Report produced by the Policing Board’s Human Rights Advisers. Undoubtedly monitoring by the Human Rights Advisers goes some way towards addressing key human rights issues but until a stronger commitment is be made by the PSNI itself, the impact of such work is limited. BIRW shared the concerns of the Advisers that the review of all PSNI policies has been the subject of delays and as such, there may be PSNI policies which are not compliant with the Human Rights Act. We also highlighted our concerns about changes to the PSNI’s consultation process where the new policy of posting consultations on the PSNI’s website has passed the onus for consultation from the PSNI to the NGOs.
discrimination against separated prisoners
BIRW participated in the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Prison Service. Our remit in this area is limited to those prisoners affected by the conflict. However, we drew attention to the inequalities in standards of care and facilities which exist between mainstream prisoners and those paramilitary prisoners who choose to enter the separated prison scheme for their own safety.
meeting with Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Ombudsman
On 3rd April 2007 I had an interesting meeting with Karamjit Singh CBE, who deals with complaints about judicial appointments in Northern Ireland. In particular, we discussed the lack of women, people from ethnic minorities, and people with disabilities amongst the Northern Ireland judiciary.
welcome to Reginald
I am pleased to welcome Reginald Addy to BIRW, who is helping our Administrator, Elizabeth Folarin, with administrative work.
Jane Winter,
Director,
30th April 2007
For Peace Justice & Human Rights
