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One of the key recommendations of the GFA was a proposal to create a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. This was a cornerstone for reform, given that the European Bill of Rights was critical to the reform of the PSNI. Yet almost 25 years later, a Bill of Rights remains very much an “orphan” issue that has continually been kicked to touch over the years.  

Monica McWilliams, a leader of the Women’s Coalition during the GFA negotiation and Chief Commissioner for NIHRC (2005-2011), noted in her recent statement to the Stormont Ad Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights:

Article 1 (v) of the Agreement between the British and Irish governments in 1998 elaborates that: “the power of the sovereign government with jurisdiction there shall be exercised with rigourous impartiality on behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment for the identity of, ethos and aspirations of both communities.” These are important words and add further to Paragraph 4 of the Agreement and were also taken into consideration by the NIHRC at the time it submitted its advice in 2008.  The Bill of Rights was part of the transitional justice measures that followed a thirty-year conflict and to assist Northern Ireland to make a transition from conflict to peace.

It was not meant to be a backward-looking document but also to look to the future in terms of taking account of the international standards in place that had been ratified by the UK government.

McWilliams goes on to note that calls for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland go as far back as 1966, adding:

In the various political negotiations, agreements and declarations a Bill of Rights has remained on the political agenda from the 1974 Sunningdale Agreement onwards. Most of the rights that are affirmed by the parties in Paragraph 1 of the Rights Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement   Of the parties involved in the 1998 peace negotiations, and elected to the first Northern Ireland Assembly, SDLP, Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party, the Women’s Coalition and the PUP remained consistent in their support for a Bill of Rights. The Unionist Party and the DUP having initially been more reluctant to accept the proposal for a Bill of Rights later agreed a more inclusive process following the St Andrews Agreement in 2006.”

As Chair of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissions, McWilliams held 54 meetings of an internal Bill of Rights Working Group and held seven weekend seminars between 2006 and 2008. During this period, the Commission met with individual political party representatives in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 18 occasions. The Commission also met with the human rights spokespersons from the major parties at Westminster. It engaged with Northern Ireland Office officials on a regular basis, and met with the Secretary of State and UK Government Ministers on six occasions. The Commission met with the Taoiseach, hosted a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs at its offices and held several meetings with Irish Government officials on a Bill of Rights. It also met with the Irish Human Rights Commission on a regular basis as part of the joint committee between the two commissions agreed under the terms of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. The minutes of the meeting agreeing the final submission to the Secretary of State show that all ten commissioners agreed the process was inclusive and transparent and that we acted with integrity at all times. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission completed its work and submitted its report in December of 2008 and since then little has been done to advance a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

The issue has become much more pressing as a result of Brexit and many citizens of Northern Ireland remained concerned that the European Convention of Human Rights is now at risk. The recent report of the Stormont Ad Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights underscores the urgency of putting new energy behind the effort to secure a Bill of Rights. Securing a Bill of Rights under the Good Friday Agreement could also provide the unionist community additional insurance that their rights and identity would be protected should at some point in the future a majority of voters in Northern Ireland vote “Yes” on a Border Poll leading to a United Ireland.

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