BORF 7

NORTHERN IRELAND BILL OF RIGHTS FORUM

WORKING GROUPS

Circulated 1 June 2007

A paper circulated on 17 May 2007 provided four options for the Working Groups of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum, and invited Forum members to express their preferences among the four options. Option B was supported overwhelmingly by Forum members, with more than half (14) giving it their first preference and a third of the remaining members (9) giving it their second preference. Option C, the next most supported option, received 8 first preference votes.

Option B proposed six working groups, based on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s (NIHRC) working groups, but consolidated into around half the number and with the addition of a working group on civil and political rights. Option B also added the development of a preamble to the tasks of the Implementation working group.

I therefore propose to structure the working groups along the lines of option B. That said, there were some comments made by Forum members in relation to option B that I would like to address, with some consequent slight amendment to the division of issues described in option B.

1.               Concern that health is not included

One Forum member noted negatively the absence of the right to health. The right to the highest attainable standard of health is among economic, social and cultural rights. It therefore falls within the Working Group dealing with economic, social and cultural rights. It was not included specifically in option B, as education was, as there was no Working Group of the NIHRC dealing with health, whereas there was one dealing with education. To avoid confusion and ensure inclusivity, I propose removing the specific reference to education in the title of our Working Group while retaining reference to the NIHRC Education Working Group in the text. I will also refer to the right to health in the text.

2.               A separate group on civil and political rights

Some members of the Forum were not convinced of the need for a separate working group on civil and political rights. Two basic issues were presented.

First, it was said that civil and political rights could be dealt with in the working groups on children and young people and women and on criminal justice and victims. I have two comments in response. First, economic and social rights could also be dealt with in the working groups on children and young people and women and on criminal justice and victims, but many Forum members are understandably insistent that there be a separate group on economic and social rights. There will always be overlap when groups are organised by both population sector and rights. And there will be gaps if the organisation is only by population sector. Second, the working groups on children and young people and women and on criminal justice and victims can only deal with some civil and political rights, not all. There would be significant gaps in the total coverage of the working groups.

Second, it was said that civil and political rights were already covered by the European Convention on Human Rights and, therefore, by the UK Human Rights Act. That is correct, of course, but I do not consider that it resolves the issue. The European Convention does not exhaust the scope of civil and political rights in international law and the Human Rights Act provides only limited protection of these rights. The Forum is required to consider ‘rights supplementary to those in the European Convention on Human Rights’ and that must include consideration of provisions for civil and political rights supplementary to the Convention.

I therefore remain of the view that there should be a separate working group on civil and political rights, though I agree that the scope of its work should be those areas of those rights not covered by other working groups, including those on children and young people and women and on criminal justice and victims.

3.    A proposal to include equality with economic and social rights

Some Forum members have proposed that the area of equality be moved from the group on culture and identity to the group on economic and social rights. I share the view that equality does not sit easily with culture and identity, but I also consider that it could be added as appropriately to the group on civil and political rights as to the group on economic and social rights. I therefore propose that relevant equality issues be considered in relation to each category of rights.

4.    The appropriate group for language issues

Finally, some Forum members proposed that language should be considered in the working group on culture and identity rather than in the working group on economic and social rights. This seems sensible and so has been incorporated.

Chris Sidoti

Chair
Working Groups of the Northern Ireland Bill of Rights Forum

1. Children and young people and women

This group will consider all human rights in relation to the situation and needs of children and young people and of women. It will use the report of the NIHRC’s Children and Young People’s Working Group as a base document.

2. Criminal justice and victims

This group will consider human rights issues associated with the criminal justice system, and all human rights in relation to the situation and needs of victims of human rights violations. This group will use the reports of the NIHRC’s Criminal Justice Working Group and Victims Working Group as base documents.

3. Economic and social rights, including relevant equality issues

This group will deal generally with economic and social rights, including rights in relation to education, employment and health. It will use the reports of the NIHRC’s Economic and Social Rights Working Group and Education Working Group as base documents. The report of the Equality Working Group will also be relevant to this working group.

4. Culture and identity and language

This group will use the reports of the NIHRC’s Culture and Identity Working Group and Language Working Group as base documents.

5. Civil and political rights, including relevant equality issues

This group will deal with civil and political rights not covered within the scope of other working groups. The report of the NIHRC Equality Working Group will also be relevant to this working group.

6. Preamble, enforceability and implementation

This group will be responsible for the beginning and the end of a Bill of Rights. It will take on the difficult task of considering the appropriate preamble for a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights. It will also consider issues of enforceability and other means of implementation of the promotion and protection of human rights. This group will use the report of the Implementation Working Group as a base document.