Troubles legacy plans criticised by UN experts who express ‘serious concern’
Posted by Jim on August 11, 2021
Experts in the United Nations have expressed “serious concern” around proposals by the British Government to deal with the legacy of the Troubles.
The UN issued a statement describing the Westminster plans as a “de-facto amnesty and blanket impunity for the grave human rights violations” during the Troubles.
They said the plan placed the UK in “flagrant violation of its international obligations”.
“UN experts have expressed serious concern about the UK Government’s plan to ban all prosecutions, impede investigations, and preclude victims’ civil claims in connection with “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland,” the statement added.
Last month Secretary of State Brandon Lewis set out a package of measures to deal with legacy in Northern Ireland, including a statute of limitations on prosecutions and an end to civil actions and inquests.
The proposals have been criticised by all Stormont’s Executive parties, as well as the Irish Government and victims’ groups.
Both Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Mr Lewis argue that the current approach to legacy is not working for anyone, and that their proposals will aid reconciliation.
The UN have been in contact with the UK and Northern Ireland regarding the matter.
The experts who expressed the concerns in the report are Fabian Salvioli, special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, and Morris Tidball-Binz, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
“We express grave concern that the plan outlined in July’s statement forecloses the pursuit of justice and accountability for the serious human rights violations committed during the troubles and thwarts victims’ rights to truth and to an effective remedy for the harm suffered, placing the United Kingdom in flagrant violation of its international obligations,” they added.
“The essential components of a transitional justice approach – truth, justice, reparation, memorialization and guarantees of non-recurrence – cannot be traded off against one another in a ‘pick and choose’ exercise.
“The proposed plan does not seem to include measures for establishing the full extent of the truth about the human rights violations perpetrated during the Troubles and about the circumstances, reasons and responsibilities that led to them.”
The deputy First Minister said the experts are “shining a spotlight on the cynical and duplicitous intent of the British government’s amnesty proposals”.
“It is the view of the UN experts that these proposals ‘would effectively institute a de-facto amnesty and blanket impunity for the grave human rights violations committed during that period’,” Ms O’Neill said.
“These British government amnesty proposals are a flagrant and open disregard of international obligations and established human rights norms and practices.
“The UN intervention is a real wake-up call – to Britain’s legacy intention – for all who seek to uphold and protect the rights of all victims.
“In light of the intervention from UN experts I am calling on the British government to listen to the international community and withdraw their controversial amnesty proposals without further delay.”
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood described the intervention by the UN as “significant”.
“The concerns raised by independent experts serving the UN Human Rights Council are serious and demonstrate the growing unrest in the international community about the British Government’s legacy proposals,” he said.
“The Secretary of State has yet to effectively address the concerns raised by parties, victims and survivors and, now, UN experts. The SDLP will stand with victims and survivors and continue to oppose this amnesty.”
In a statement a Northern Ireland Office spokesperson said: “We welcome the UN Special Rapporteur’s ongoing interest in this important issue.
“The Government is committed to continuing engagement with the Northern Ireland parties, Irish Government and other key stakeholders, including victims groups, to find a way forward on legacy issues that focuses on reconciliation, delivers better outcomes for victims, and ends the cycle of investigations that is not working for anyone.”