The crisis surrounding the Human Rights Commission dates back to 2001, but
details only became public during the last six months.
Steven McCaffery charts the controversy
September 2002:
Inez McCormack and Christine Bell resign from the Northern Ireland Human Rights
Commission (NIHRC). They are concerned its proposals for a Bill of Rights for
Northern Ireland could undermine fair employment legislation. They are also
alarmed at chief commissioner Brice Dickson’s role in the Holy Cross affair.
July 7 2003:
Patrick Yu, executive director of the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic
Minorities, resigns from the commission citing the same concerns. This leaves 10
serving commissioners.
July 15:
The Westminster Joint Committee on Human Rights publishes a report recommending
that the British government improves the powers and resources available to the
commission. But documents published along with the report raise two issues
publicly:
n firstly, in statements to the joint committee, former commission members and
academics detail their concerns over NIHRC proposals for a Bill of Rights. They
point to a possible shift in how rights are applied, moving away from Catholic
and Protestant categorisation, and towards attaching rights to individuals
regardless of religion. It is argued that this ignores the realities of life in
Northern Ireland and would undermine existing fair employment laws which monitor
religious balance in the workplace. In addition it is claimed such a move could
provide the basis for a legal challenge of 50:50 Catholic/Protestant recruitment
in policing, or even allow a legal challenge of the power-sharing assembly’s
voting system, where parties must be designated as ‘nationalist’, ‘unionist’ or
‘other’.
n the report also revives memories of the violent loyalist protest at the Holy
Cross girls’ school in north Belfast in 2001. It carries a memorandum from
Madden and Finucane solicitors which represent a Holy Cross parent who sought a
judicial review of the policing of the protest. The NIHRC agreed to fund the
legal action. But without the knowledge of the parent, commission chief Brice
Dickson wrote to the then chief constable Sir Ronnie Flanagan in December 2001
saying he believed the case had no merit.
Mr Flanagan wrote back on March 2002 saying his lawyers were “anxious” to use Mr
Dickson’s letter in court. In the same letter the then chief constable suggested
Mr Dickson remove funding for the case. Mr Dickson wrote back asking Sir Ronnie
to “delay taking a decision” on disclosing his letter. At the subsequent
commission meeting Mr Dickson proposed dropping the Holy Cross case but would
later say this was because of its likely cost and not because of pressure from
Sir Ronnie.
The commission continued to fund the case but Madden and Finucane said: “It is
our view that his correspondence amounted to a breach of trust...”
July 17:
Inez McCormack and Christine Bell detail their concerns for the first time in an
Irish News interview. Inez McCormack, a founding member of the Fair Employment
Commission, said of the alleged threat to fair employment laws: “In my opinion
this is about reopening a debate and trying to undermine existing protections,
that is to take us back to the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s.”
Professor of law Christine Bell added: “The commission was prepared to include
options that could, in my view, have undone the power-sharing relationship at
the heart of the agreement.”
July 23:
Chief commissioner Brice Dickson, who is also a professor of law, is interviewed
in the Irish News. He confirmed the correspondence with Sir Ronnie Flanagan, but
denied that this influenced his decision to propose dropping the Holy Cross
case. He reveals that commissioners were split on the case and that he wrote to
Sir Ronnie to prevent resignations.
July 29:
Sinn Fein and the SDLP hold separate meetings with Mr Dickson lasting a total of
five hours. Both parties claim that he failed to address their concerns. The UUP
later criticises the commission for the delay in preparing a Bill of Rights. The
DUP hits out at nationalists for criticising the commission but adds that this
comment should “in no way be viewed as an endorsement” of a body it has always
opposed. The Women’s Coalition, Alliance and Workers’ Party are all broadly
supportive of the NIHRC and Mr Dickson.
Sept 12:
It emerges commissioners Patricia Kelly and Frank McGuinness have withdrawn from
its day-to-day work, leaving only eight commissioners. At its height there had
been 13.
September 17:
The City of New York Comptroller William Thompson and State of New York
Comptroller Alan Hevesi, who control investment capital of $180 billion, write a
joint letter to the British and Irish governments. The pair are bound by US law
to only invest in those companies in Northern Ireland which adhere to fair
employment practices. The pair call for Brice Dickson to resign.
October 15:
NIHRC issues its ‘Action Plan’ aimed at responding to criticism.
November 3:
The commission announces that Chris McGimpsey is resigning from the body to
stand as an Ulster Unionist party candidate in the assembly election, leaving
seven active commissioners in place: Brice Dickson, Margaret-Ann Dinsmore, Tom
Donnelly, Lady Christine Eames, Rev Harold Good, Tom Hadden and Kevin
McLaughlin.