Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) on the Patrick Finucane Resolution
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) calls for passage of H.Con.Res 20, the "Pat Finucane Murder Investigation Resolution" which seeks to help resolve an outstanding issue in the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
Justice for Patrick Finucane
On May 5, 2004, a hearing was held, in D.C., by the U.S. Helsinki Commission. It was inquiring into the murder in 1989, of human rights lawyer, Patrick Finucane. His widow, Geraldine Finucane, was one of the witnesses at the proceeding. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is featured.
United States House of Representatives Resolution 740
17th May 2006
Calling on the Government of the United
Kingdom to immediately establish a full, independent, public judicial
inquiry into the murder of Northern Ireland defense attorney Pat
Finucane, as recommended by international Judge Peter Cory as part of
the Weston Park agreement and a way forward for the Northern Ireland
Peace Process.
Amnesty International urges judiciary not to
partake in inquiry sham
20th April 2005
Amnesty International calls on all judges,
whether in the United Kingdom (UK) or in other jurisdictions, to decline
appointments as chairs or panel members to any inquiry established under
the recently enacted Inquiries Act 2005, including an inquiry into
allegations of state collusion in the murder of Patrick Finucane. The
organization is also urging the Act's repeal.
Geraldine Finucane appeals to all senior Judges in England, Scotland
& Wales
14th
April 2005
Geraldine Finucane, widow of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane, has
personally written to all Senior Judges in England, Scotland and Wales to
express her concerns about the new Inquiries Act. She has also asked each judge
to indicate to the government, if asked, that he or she would not be prepared to
accept appointment to an Inquiries Act Inquiry into the murder of her husband.
As feared the Inquiries Bill passed the final stages in Westminster
earlier today despite the strong objections of NGOs, the legal community and
most importantly, the Finucane family.
The new legislation is widely perceived as a legislative attempt to deny
the Finucane family access to vital information surrounding the 1989 murder. In
announcing the proposed Bill late last year Secretary of State Paul Murphy
admitted that aspects of the murder involved British 'national security
interests'. For this reason the government is unwilling to subject the events
surrounding the murder to public scrutiny.
The below-listed
organisations jointly express our concern over some of the provisions of
the Inquiries Bill introduced into Parliament on 24th November 2004. The
Bill, being discussed this week by a Standing Committee of the House of
Commons, would, if enacted, alter fundamentally the system for
establishing and running inquiries into issues of great public
importance in the UK, including allegations of serious human rights
violations. Should it be passed into law, the effect of the Bill on
individuals and cases that merit a public inquiry would be highly
detrimental. In particular, in those cases where one or more person has
died or been killed, the right of their surviving family members to know
the truth about what happened and to an effective investigation could be
violated by the operation of the Bill.
Today is the 16th anniversary of the
assassination of Pat Finucane. For 16 years, from the very night that
Pat was murdered in 1989, his family has called for and campaigned for a
public inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his murder.
The government must withdraw the Inquiries Bill
and act on its promise
11th February 2005
On the eve of the 16th anniversary of the
murder of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, Amnesty International is
reiterating that only a public independent inquiry can deliver the truth
about his death and ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
On Sunday,
January 30th 1972, as people died on the streets of this city, a
profound change was wrought in all our lives as a conflict was set in
motion, the effects of which are still felt keenly to this day. It was
not just that people lost their lives on the streets of Derry that day;
the British State lost control for all to see and it was because of this
that things would never be the same again. The State was revealed in its
true form by the act itself and in the aftermath, as it tried to cover
up the damage through a skewed public inquiry that was rife with
deception and misinformation.
An Analysis of the U.K. Inquiries Bill
and U.S. Provisions for Investigating Matters of Urgent Public Concern
25th
January 2005
The United States has
no single legislative framework setting out a process for investigating
matters of public concern, but, like the United Kingdom, U.S. law
provides for such investigations through a number of different measures.
Key to these various mechanisms in the United States are three
controlling principles: investigations must be independent;
investigators must be impartial; and the process of the investigation
and the final recommendations must be made public. Even those
inquiry-like investigations that are established by Executive Order are
subject to judicial review and allow for substantial control by members
of the investigation team. Once established, they are free from
interference by the executive branch.
New Legislation Seeks To Put Government In Control Of Inquiries Into
State Misconduct
30th November 2004
A new
piece of draft legislation being debated in the House of Lords seeks to
introduce unprecedented governmental control over public inquiries into
state misconduct. The Inquiries Bill, which was introduced into the
Lords on November 25th, puts an end to the establishment of public
inquiries into matters of urgent public importance by a resolution of
both Houses of Parliament, replacing them with inquiries set up and
controlled by government Ministers.
Today, the UK authorities have finally announced that an inquiry into
the 1989 killing of Patrick Finucane in Northern Ireland will be
established. However, instead of announcing a public judicial inquiry
under the Tribunal of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, the UK authorities
have stated that the inquiry will be held on the basis of legislation to
be introduced shortly.
Statement from the Law Society of England and
Wales
23rd September 2004
The
Law Society is pleased that the British Government has finally agreed to
set-up an independent inquiry into the death of solicitor Patrick
Finucane. However, the Society is gravely concerned that the inquiry
will be held under proposed legislation which may prevent the full
disclosure of findings.
Four
leading human rights organizations, who sent observers this week to the
trial of Kenneth Barrett, today called urgently on the UK government to
immediately implement Judge Peter Cory's recommendation for a public
inquiry into the 1989 murder of Belfast lawyer Patrick Finucane.
Long Road To The Truth, Féile An Phobail West Belfast
7th August 2004
I have
adopted the title, “Long Road to the Truth” for this speech because I
think it is an apt one; the road has indeed been long. It is fifteen
years since my husband was killed and yet it seems that his name and his
memory are more alive now, long after his death, than they have ever
been. It might seem that this is a lot to achieve, but there is much
more to be done. My family and I will not stop travelling the road we
have embarked upon until a fully independent, public judicial inquiry
into the murder of Pat Finucane is established.
I cannot think of a more apt time
of year to address this topic, as we remember all of the hunger strikers
and, in particular, commemorate the first to die, Bobby Sands. I know
that this time of year must be especially difficult for all of the
families of those who died on hunger strike in the H-Blocks. I think I
can relate to some of what they must be feeling, having gone through a
few anniversaries like this myself with my own family.
Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe. United
States Helsinki Committee, Washington
5th May 2004
My family and I have campaigned assiduously since Pat's murder for a
fully independent, judicial public inquiry into his murder. We have done
so because of the existence of compelling evidence that Pat's murder was
part of an approved policy of widespread collusion between the British
State and loyalist assassins that amounts to state murder by proxy.
The murder of citizens through collusion with Unionist death squads is a
British state policy in Ireland. Collusion is the control, resourcing
and direction of loyalist death squads by British state agencies. Those
who sanctioned the policy of collusion have never been held accountable.
Collusion has not ended. The British apparatus which operates the policy
of collusion continues in existence. Until the mechanisms have been
dismantled, the strategy disowned and the truth revealed collusion
cannot be consigned to the history books.
For 30 years, the
British government, through its agencies - MI5, British Military
Intelligence and RUC/PSNI Special Branch - has been involved in the
murder of citizens in Ireland. Together, they directed the activities of
various unionist paramilitary death squads. This was much more than
simply passing on information. This was about the deliberate and
orchestrated targeting and assassination of hundreds of citizens.
Beyond Collusion: The UK Security Forces and the Murder of Patrick Finucane
12th February 2002
This report
examines allegations of state involvement in the murder of Patrick
Finucane, a prominent Belfast human rights lawyer who was murdered on
February 12, 1989. In this report, we piece together the evidence of
state involvement that has emerged gradually in the 13 years since
Finucane was murdered. We also present new allegations of security force
involvement in the killing and subsequent cover-ups. With this report,
we hope to force the UK government, by the weight of evidence, to
finally carry out a public inquiry into Patrick Finucane's murder.
Click here
to view updated version (12th
February 2003) (PDF)
Joint Statement
12th February 2002
Today is the
13th anniversary of the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane. On
this day, we renew our calls to the Government of the United Kingdom to
hold, without further delay, an independent public judicial inquiry into
the full circumstances of his killing, including into the question of
any state collusion in his death.
We, the
undersigned international and domestic NGOs, deplore the UK Government's
failure to initiate a public judicial inquiry into the full
circumstances of the killing of human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane 13
years ago. Patrick Finucane was shot dead on 12 February 1989 by
Loyalist paramilitaries; since then, evidence has emerged which strongly
suggests that there was official collusion by both the army and the
police in his killing, and a subsequent cover-up. The UK government has
steadfastly resisted repeated calls for a public judicial inquiry into
all aspects of his killing, including the allegations of collusion and
cover-up. Calls for an inquiry have come from the UN Special Rapporteur
on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, international and domestic
NGOs, the Finucane family, the House of Representatives of the US
Congress, the Irish government, and over two thousand national and
international lawyers.
Truth Or Continuing Cover Up?
–
A Full Public Judicial Inquiry Now
12th February 2002
The Finucane
family's long campaign to find the hidden truth behind the UDA murder of
Pat Finucane, seems set to continue, despite the Weston Park proposal of
the appointment of an international judge to "thoroughly investigate"
six cases, including Pat's case.
UN Expert on Independence of Judiciary concerned
about killing of Key Witness in Northern Ireland Murder Inquiry
14th December 2001
The Special Rapporteur on the independence
of judges and lawyers of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
Dato' Param Cumaraswamy, expressed his concern over the murder of
William Stobie, a key witness to the 1989 murder of lawyer Patrick
Finucane. Since 1991 Mr. Stobie was charged twice before the Court in
Belfast for offences related to the Patrick Finucane's murder. On both
occasions he was found not guilty as the Department of Public
Prosecutions did not proceed with the prosecutions for want of evidence.
Concerned both by the long, drawn-out, and
circumscribed police investigations being conducted into the murders of
Patrick Finucane and Rosemary Nelson, two British citizens and
solicitors who were born and lived all their lives in Northern Ireland,
and the allegations that the security forces of Britain and Northern
Ireland were involved in their murders, the National Committee on
American Foreign Policy urges the British government to commence
immediately open, public judicial inquiries that alone have the
jurisdiction and the authority to summon witnesses, to subpoena
documents, to hear evidence furnished by the relatives of the victims,
and to issue complete, unexpurgated reports of their findings for public
consumption.
Justice Delayed:
State Collusion in the murder of Patrick Finucane and Others
February 2000
On 12th February
1989 the Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane was murdered by the Ulster
Freedom Fighters (UFF). In the eleven years since his death evidence has
emerged which strongly suggests that there was official collusion in his
murder on the part of British army intelligence and the RUC. This
evidence also calls into question the role of the Director of Public
Prosecutions (DPP) and of a government minister. His family's call for
an independent judicial inquiry into his death and the circumstances
surrounding it have been echoed by many prestigious organisations and
individuals, including the United Nations.
Submission to the United States
Congressional Sub-Committee
24th September 1999
I testified
before this Committee two years ago and openly accused the British
Government of ordering and arranging the murder of my father. I pointed
to the powerful motivation of the British Government in silencing the
embarrassing revelations of my father’s human rights work. I listed the
names of prominent international organisations that had up until then
supported my family’s call for a full independent inquiry into his
murder.
Collusion: British Military Intelligence and Brian Nelson
21st December 1997
In the north
of Ireland citizens are compelled under emergency legislation and at the
point of British guns to provide details about themselves. The details
relating to nationalists and republicans are computerised, filed and
passed on to loyalist paramilitaries.
