The UN Human Rights Council has been examining concerns related to the Northern Ireland Office’s impunity proposals. In recent months, the UK has unilaterally departed from the provisions of the 2014 Stormont House Agreement (SHA). Instead, the UK now proposes introducing legislation that would include a statute-bar on investigating conflict related incidents, along with an...
A team of legacy experts based within Queen’s University Belfast and CAJ have released a detailed report on the UK government’s recent ‘Command Paper on Legacy’. Since 2013, this team has produced a range of technical briefings and reports designed to help inform public debates on dealing with the past. The new report ‘Addressing the...
We have drafted written evidence in response to a call from the House of Commons General Committee on the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill. Our response mostly focuses on Clause 5 of the bill, which concerns the ‘Petition of Concern’ mechanism. We reflect on the proposed reforms to the Petition of...
CAJ has provided written evidence to the introductory inquiry of the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. The Protocol is a key element of the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and EU. The focus of our submission is specifically on the current situation regarding the UK commitment under Article 2 (“Rights...
CAJ has provided written evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on its inquiry into the ‘The experience of minority ethnic and migrant people in Northern Ireland’. At the time of the 2011 census, it was found that Northern Ireland was the least ethnically diverse part of the UK. Nonetheless, a significant percentage of the...
This briefing note was prepared for the Second Reading of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill in the UK House of Commons. The bill deals with the Petition of Concern and a range of other assorted procedural issues related to devolution. Our briefing welcomes any move to seek to return the Petition...
During the pandemic, the main regulations impacting the right to protest have been the ‘restrictions on gatherings’ and (when still in force) the ‘stay at home’ rule. At times, there has been no specific exemption to accommodate protests, making them all effectively illegal. Currently (since 24 May 2021), provisions are in place allowing outdoor gatherings...
A Spit and Bite Guard (SBG) is a controversial mesh hood, used to prevent a person from spitting on or biting police officers or staff. SBG were introduced by the PSNI, without consultation, last year as a temporary measure for the duration of the Coronavirus pandemic. The use of SBGs constitutes a use of force....
The Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 provides for the periodic appointment of a Local Government Boundaries Commissioner to review the names of the district councils and wards within Northern Ireland. The latest review launched in February 2021, with an invitation for proposals. CAJ and leading Irish language NGO, Conradh na Gaeilge (CnaG), wrote to...
CAJ concerned vaccine passport app could discriminate and be ID card by stealth CAJ has urged the NI Executive to consider the human rights implications of requiring people in Northern Ireland to carry a vaccine ‘passport’ to prove they have been immunised against Covid-19. We have analysed the proposals for a ‘digital certificate’ of vaccination,...
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