SHA Legislation ‘Act of Bad Faith’
PFC Press Statement | 06 October 2015
In common with other human rights NGOs in Ireland and abroad, the PFC welcomed many of the legacy proposals contained in the Stormont House Agreement (SHA). Hundreds of families who have been waiting many years for the deaths of their loved-ones to be investigated by an institution compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights were heartened and encouraged by the proposals.
They, and we, have been waiting with increased impatience for London to produce hard legislative proposals. The proposed legislation implementing that Agreement, however, as understood by the PFC, falls far short of what we and others believed would be the outcome of the SHA. The legislation, as we have seen it to date, amounts to an act of bad faith by London. It bears little resemblance to the proposals outlined in the SHA.
We could not recommend that those families with whom we work should engage with the institutions as proposed. There are major concerns regarding the criteria for cases to be re-examined, so-called national security caveats and other concerns too numerous to outline. Further, the proposals are likely to cause even more serious damage to public confidence in the British government’s capacity to live up to its domestic and international commitments. The proposals also risk compromising public support in current policing arrangements.
We urge London immediately to rescind the legislative proposals and engage with political parties, the Irish Government and NGOs to redraw the legislation or risk a disastrous outcome with the very families the proposals were intended to help withdrawing support.