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HUMAN
RIGHTS - WHY CHURCHES NEED TO BE INVOLVED
This millennium year is momentous in Northern Ireland, not just because
it is a significant anniversary of Christ's birth, but also because it
sees two very important initiatives on the human rights front. First,
from 2 October 2000 the European Convention on Human Rights becomes law
in Northern Ireland. This means that any individual who believes that
his or her rights as laid out in the Convention have been violated will
be able to seek a remedy in a court in Northern Ireland. Second, the Northern
Ireland Human Rights Commission - a body set up as a result of the Good
Friday Agreement - has been tasked with giving advice to the Secretary
of State by the end of the year on what rights over and above those in
the European Convention should be protected by a special Bill of Rights
for this part of the world.
Each of these developments
has huge significance for all inhabitants of Northern Ireland. The European
Convention will ensure that a number of rights dear to the hearts of religious
people will be better protected by the law than they were before. In fact
the Act of Parliament which is making the Convention part of our law - the
Human Rights Act of 1998 - contains a specific provision (it's section 13)
which grants special protection to the right to freedom of conscience, thought
and religion. It states that if a challenge is made in court to the religious
practices of any grouping, the judge must pay particular attention to the
importance of the right to freedom of religion. This will mean that the
Catholic church, for example, will still be able to discriminate against
women in the selection of priests, and that no church will be required to
'marry' homosexual couples.
But the European Convention
is a tried and tested document. It has been applied throughout the continent
of Europe for almost 50 years. It is now part of the law of 40 countries
- Ireland is to follow the UK's suit in a few months' time. The text itself
has been altered occasionally by the adoption of additional protocols, and
the judges of the European Court of Human Rights have stressed that the
Convention is a living instrument which will be interpreted in different
ways as times change. But by and large the document is a fixture on the
legal landscape. The Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, on the other hand,
is as yet unwritten. Within the next few months there is a golden opportunity
to influence the content of the Bill of Rights and to put in place proper
arrangements for its enforcement.
The Human Rights Commission
wants to hear from all sections of society in Northern Ireland as to what
rights should be protected in the Bill. The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement
says that the Bill should reflect the particular circumstances of Northern
Ireland as well as the principles of mutual respect for the identity and
ethos of both communities and of parity of esteem. We are very keen to hear
from the churches what this actually means to them. What exactly is the
'identity and ethos' of a community, and how precisely can 'esteem' be measured?
Is it sensible, moreover, to limit these extra 'group rights' to the two
main communities - Protestant/Unionist and Catholic/Nationalist? Are there
not many other communities deserving of respect and esteem too?
A Bill of Rights also
gives the chance for society to state clearly what it sees as people's responsibilities
as well as their rights. It is accepted by all advocates for human rights
that very few of those rights can be unqualified in nature (the right not
to be tortured and the right to freedom of thought are probably two of them).
The right to express oneself, and the right to manifest one's religious
beliefs, cannot be unlimited. So the laws on blasphemy and indecency protect
the general public against what to many would be highly offensive material.
Anyone exercising those rights must respect the rights of others. The European
Convention itself recognises this by stating at several points that a person's
rights can legitimately be limited in order to protect the rights and freedoms
of others.
But when limits are
placed on rights it is important that they are not applied in a discriminatory
or disproportionate way. The laws on blasphemy, for example, protect only
Christians, not other believers. The laws regulating the Church of Scientology
are often said to be like a sledgehammer cracking a nut. In a Bill of Rights
for Northern Ireland there will be a chance to be more specific about how
to balance rights - the right to march and the right not to be intimidated,
the right to have one's cultural identity respected and the right to fly
the national flag, the right to free speech and the right to privacy. Other
difficult issues for consideration will probably be abortion and euthanasia:
while some see those as susceptible to a 'rights' analysis, others of course
do not.
The Human Rights Commission
is not here to impose a new morality on the country. It is here to facilitate
and institutionalise change so that never again in this part of the world
will there be the terrible slaughter and mayhem that we witnessed from 1969
to just recently. Nor is the Commission here merely to endorse every single
bit of the Belfast Agreement - even people who voted against the Agreement
need their human rights fully protected by law, and they need not to be
discriminated against on account of their political belief. Members of different
faiths need more clarity about their rights too.
By obtaining a Bill
of Rights, Northern Ireland may be distinguishing itself from other parts
of the United Kingdom, but at the same time it would be aligning itself
with countless other legal systems around the world where a Bill of Rights
has been used as a peace-enhancing mechanism. Places like South Africa,
Namibia, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka have all benefited, to a greater or lesser
extent, from such a document.
Churches and other religious
organisations have an important part to play in the Commission's on-going
consultations on the Bill of Rights. The Commission will meet with any group
at any mutually convenient place and time to discuss the matter. You can
obtain further information about our consultation process, in the form of
pamphlets and other educational materials, by contacting the Commission.
Please make sure you have your say.
Brice
Dickson is Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.
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