E.R. |
Northern Ireland
|
Bill of Rights
|
The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) are proposing
that a petition be presented to the Westminster Parliament requesting
the Government to introduce a Bill of Rights which would so amend
the government of Ireland Act 1920 as to write into the constitution
of Northern Ireland:- |
| (i) |
Recognition of the right of citizens of Northern Ireland
to free speech and freedom of peaceful assembly, procession and demonstration
without the threat of bans and proscription. |
| (ii) |
Recognition of freedom of the press and publication to the same
extent as prevails in Great Britain. |
| (iii) |
Recognition of the right of organisations and parties with lawful
political objects to organise freely and openly for their attainment. |
| (iv) |
Recognition of the right of citizens of Northern Ireland to hold
public office and employment without having to take oaths and political
tests beyond what is required for similar employment in Great Britain. |
| (v) |
Recognition of the right to fair electoral boundaries and local
administrative areas. |
| (vi) |
Recognition of the right of citizens to be employed in either public
or private employment without discrimination on grounds of religion,
race or political belief. |
| 2. The fear of discrimination against a minority has always been
present in our efforts to bring about a settlement of the Irish problem.
The 1920 Act, which originally was designed to apply both north and
south of the Border, contains provisions which make it unconstitutional
for Parliament to enact laws of a discriminatory kind and equally
prohibit the Government in its executive decisions from any such action.
This has not, as we know, |
| prevented discrimination and the succession of laws
recently enacted in Northern Ireland has been designed to correct
this. Moreover H.M.G. has joined with the Northern Ireland Government
in giving an assurance of equality for all citizens of Northern Ireland;
the joint communique issued from Downing Street in August 1969 included
the declaration that - |
| |
"in all legislation and executive decisions of
Government every citizen of Northern Ireland is entitled to the same
equality of treatment and freedom from discrimination as obtains in
the rest of the United Kingdom irrespective of political views or
religion." |
| 3. To contemplate a "Bill of Rights" is somewhat foreign
to our way of thinking. No one Westminster law sets out to confer
civil rights on the people; they exist and are confirmed as may be
necessary in statute law, decisions of the Courts, common law, custom
and convention. And this will be increasingly true in Northern Ireland.
On the other hand the minority compare themselves with coloured people
in this country and they point to the necessity here for our Race
Relations legislation and ask for its extension to religion and its
application to Northern Ireland. |
| 4. The following paragraphs seek to relate the NICRA demands to
current developments in Northern Ireland. All have been taken aboard
in one way or another and unless progress is seriously impeded by
untoward political developments in the Province it should not be too
long before the claim can be made that demands incorporated in the
proposed Bill of Rights have been substantially met in other ways.
The minority has, naturally, to be convinced of this; Cardinal Conway's
recent assessment of the Roman Catholic minority was heartening in
that it seemed that they were beginning to appreciate what was afoot.
The post-Easter violence and the election of Protestant Unionists
may have upset this. |
|
