S453 CAJ to the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on the 4th Report of the UK
Published:
March 2, 2016
Policy Area(s):Confronting Prejudice, Increased Equality
CAJ welcomed the opportunity to meet with a delegation from the Advisory Committee in Belfast earlier in the month. This written submission focuses on the following areas:
Legislative and institutional developments affecting application of the Framework Convention in the domestic legal order:
- Treatment of treaty-based obligations
- Minority rights and vetoes in the Northern Ireland settlement
- Vetoes and misuse of the ‘good relations’ duty
- Threats to the Equality Duty – the ‘Equality and Good Relations’ Commission
- Defining sectarianism in law and baseline data
Anti-poverty, austerity and structural adjustment
- Anti-poverty Strategy on the basis of objective need
- Austerity and the Stormont House and Fresh Start Agreements
Policing and criminal justice
- Incitement to hatred legislation in Northern Ireland
- NI Stop and Search powers and ethnic monitoring
Irish-English Bilingual Signage
- Bilingual signage and local authorities