Northern Ireland: Dealing With the Past

London: Dealing with Northern Ireland’s past is self-evidently a much wider and more complex issue than fulfilling manifesto commitments to Northern Ireland veterans, as the Commons Leader had remarked in February. The near-universal condemnation of The Times’ report by Northern Ireland’s political parties (itself a rare event) is a testament not only to the deep unpopularity of the idea of a general amnesty, but also to a concerningly selective political memory in the corridors of Whitehall and Westminster. This selective memory particularly appears to forget the fact that the procedural duty under Article 2 of the ECHR to conduct an effective, victim-centred, independent, timely and sufficiently transparent investigation into suspicious deaths originated in a State killing directly connected to Northern Ireland.

Ultimately, it is not possible to analyse unpublished proposals. But it is important to appreciate that the precious few steps which have been taken to deal with Northern Ireland’s past have been taken in answer to human rights protections and obligations. These must be strengthened, not rendered meaningless.

Read more: Anurag Deb, UK Human Rights Blog: https://is.gd/iO0Wyq