Tacking incitement to hatred, in accordance with international human rights standards, is an area of priority focus for CAJ. Partially in response to lobbying from CAJ, an independent review of Northern Ireland’s hate crime legislation was agreed by former Justice Minister Claire Sugden in 2017, before officially launching in 2019 with Judge Desmond Marrinan at...

Social protests provide an important avenue for people to exercise their right to freedom of expression and their right to peaceful assembly. However, in recent years, many jurisdictions have placed new restrictions on protests, which often do not comport with international law and do not enhance public safety (or serve another legitimate purpose). In response...

Mike Nesbitt MLA and Colin McGrath MLA invite you to the launch of Sectarianism: The Key Facts, a framework report on tackling institutional sectarianism in Northern Ireland. When: 12pm to 2pm, Monday 17 February 2020 Where: Room 115, Parliament Buildings, Stormont Commissioned by the Equality Coalition, independent researcher Dr Robbie McVeigh has authored a piece...

We are living in strange times, dominated by Brexit, but the work of CAJ has continued, unabated, over the last twelve months. In our latest annual report, CAJ’s key achievements from the last year are highlighted, including the establishment of two brand new projects to take our work forward. Introduction to the report: This has...

A one-day conference was held on 13 October 2017 to explore, from a human rights perspective, when public authorities can or must act against speech and cultural expression in order to protect the rights of others. The event was organised by the Equality Coalition, with support from the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global...

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...

CAJ joins with seven other NGOs to sign a public letter on the Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill 2017-19. The Crime (Overseas Production Orders) Bill is a major shake-up of how authorities access the data of people in the UK and overseas, in the context of investigating and prosecuting serious crime. We welcome better measures...

CAJ highlights another year spent promoting justice and protecting rights in our Annual Report 2018. It’s been an eventful twelve months for the CAJ team, not least because of the human rights implications of the UK’s impending exit from the EU. Introduction to the report: People in Northern Ireland are sometimes accused, not always unjustly,...

When: 11am to 1pm, Tuesday 11 December 2018 Where: UNISON, Galway House, Belfast As part of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival 2018, the Equality Coalition invite to you to a panel discussion on the increasingly hostile environment faced by human rights defenders. Online abuse, trolling and threats have become common place in the digital...