More than two years have elapsed since the devolved power sharing institutions provided for under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) collapsed in Northern Ireland. Additionally, many of the rights based commitments of the peace settlement, including those originally designed as to act as safeguards on the NI Executive and Assembly, remain unimplemented or have been...

Commitments made during the early stages of the Brexit process to protect the EU rights of Irish citizens in Northern Ireland have not been taken forward. BrexitLawNI has released a detailed briefing paper examining the fate of these commitments. Executive Summary Post-Brexit, Northern Ireland (NI) would be a jurisdiction outside of an EU member state...

Contained within the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol of the draft Withdrawal Agreement is a commitment from the UK to ensure that, in the event of Brexit, there will be “no diminution” of key rights set out in the Good Friday Agreement. This commitment is to be implemented through ‘dedicated mechanisms’, including new oversight and enforcement powers...

The UK is currently undergoing the sixth periodic review of its compliance with the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which it ratified in 1988. All states signed up to the treaty have a duty to prevent and investigate torture, support victims of torture, and ensure perpetrators are...

Working with Conradh na Gaeilge and Ulster University, we have produced a report documenting how commitments made by the UK government in relation to the Irish language have been put into practice by councils in Northern Ireland. Local councils have an important role to play in fulfilling state duties in relation to the Irish language....

Inside this issue: A look at the threats faced by human rights defenders in both Northern Ireland and in Egypt. Conradh na Gaeilge writes about the major shortcomings in special educational needs (SEN) provision for Irish medium schools. We report on a recent session of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which focused on human rights and...

The Committee of Ministers is the decision-making body of Europe’s leading human rights organisation, the Council of Europe. Between 12 to 14 March, the 1340th (Human Rights) meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies will take place. This session will look at the execution of judgments made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in a...

Since the EU referendum, the UK government has consistently emphasised that the ‘associated rights’ of the Common Travel Area (CTA) between the UK and Ireland will provide British and Irish citizens with reciprocal rights across the two jurisdictions after Brexit. However, independent legal analysis has highlighted that, in several areas, rights for Irish citizens in...

Periodically, the UK is reviewed for its compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which it ratified in 1986. Through ratifying the treaty, the UK committed itself to taking action to end discrimination against women. The eighth periodic review of the UK is currently in progress. On...

In Northern Ireland, abortion is regulated by outdated legislation, including Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act, 1861. Abortion is only lawful where necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman or where there is a risk of real and serious adverse effects on the woman’s physical or mental health,...