CAJ has submitted a breach of equality scheme complaint against Translink in response to the company facilitating discriminatory passport checks on its cross-border transport services. The complaint has been made by CAJ on behalf of 17 directly affected passengers. Over recent months, concern has been building over the increasing number of passport and identity checks...

In March 2019, the Equality Coalition, in partnership with BrexitLawNI, held a major conference on ‘Post-Brexit Citizenship Status: Divided by the Rules?’ in the Moot Court Room at Queen’s University Belfast. Featuring expert practioner and political panels, the conference explored how Brexit will transform the citizenship landscape in Northern Ireland and could lead to hardened...

Inside this issue: Guest articles from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) on DNA retention, Law Centre NI on welfare mitigations, and Rights Watch UK on the Prevent Strategy. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, writes about the misuse of counter-terrorism measures to stifle civil society globally. Plus, the...

When: 1.30pm to 4pm, Thursday 27 June 2019 Where: UNISON, Galway House, Belfast Launch of the ‘Post-Brexit Citizenship Status: Divided by the Rules?’ conference report and discussion of the ‘Manifesto for a Rights Based Return to Power Sharing’, featuring a keynote address from Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Tony Lloyd MP. In March...

CAJ and other members of the Brexit and Human Rights Working Group share concerns about the increased possibility of a ‘No Deal’ Brexit. As representatives of Civil Society, we believe that Northern Ireland is on the brink of a No Deal Brexit emergency. In an evolving political landscape, a variety of factors indicate that the...

Yesterday, CAJ was invited to appear before the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU to speak on citizenship rights in post-Brexit Northern Ireland. Also present were Les Allamby, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), and Professor Colin Harvey of Queen’s University Belfast. Below is...

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...

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...

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...