Seminar Report: Could rights-based safeguards make Stormont functional?
On 13th October 2023, the Equality Coalition and the Transitional Justice Institute, with support from the LSE Gender, Justice and Security Hub hosted a seminar which explored whether rights-based safeguards could make Stormont functional.
The seminar was introduced by Siobhán Willis (Professor of Law and Director of the Transitional Justice Institute, Ulster University) and Patricia McKeown (Regional Secretary of UNISON and Co-convenor of the Equality Coalition) who queried what a transformed future in Northern Ireland could look like and questioned the outworking of the Good Friday Agreement since 1998.
The seminar consisted of two panels:
Panel 1: Vetoes or safeguards? An exploration of mechanisms
Chaired by Patricia McKeown (Regional Secretary of UNISON and Co-convenor of the Equality Coalition)
On this panel we heard from Anne Smyth (TJI), Daniel Holder (CAJ), Anurag Deb (QUB), who covered a range of issues including a Bill of Rights, Stormont Vetoes, and Judicial Interventions.
Panel 2: Women’s rights and social transformation
Chaired by Rory O’Connell (Professor of Human Rights and Constitutional Law, Ulster University)
On the second panel we heard from Emma Campbell (UU/ Alliance for Choice), Claire Pierson (University of Liverpool), and Leo Green (TJI) on issues around abortion, gender and policy-making, and a comparative discussion on the Dayton Accords and the Good Friday Agreement.
Our seminar report is now available for download here.