NI human rights a 'thorny issue'

By Mark Devenport BBC Northern Ireland political editor

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

Since the founding fathers of the United States included that sentence in their Declaration of Independence back in 1776, no-one has come up with a more elegant assertion of the notion that we all possess certain basic human rights.

But whilst most people would readily accept that individual citizens should be protected against tyrants and police states, in Northern Ireland in the 21st century the topic of rights remains highly controversial.

The bold assertion of rights by one group can be regarded as a threat to the cherished tradition of another.

Whose rights are paramount - those of the Orange marcher or the concerned nationalist resident?

The Good Friday Agreement created a local Human Rights Commission - the first of its kind in the UK - to advise on precisely this kind of thorny issue and to prepare a Bill of Rights which would reflect our special circumstances.

With memories of the nationalist civil rights campaign of the 1960s still in their sub-conscious many unionists remain deeply sceptical about the language of human rights

But five years on, the bill still hasn't appeared and the commission has had to deal with a spate of resignations within its own ranks.

There are a mixture of reasons behind the resignations, including concern about the commission's handling of a legal case involving the Holy Cross school dispute in Ardoyne.

But in the background there appear to be some broad differences about rights which could have resonance for the wider political scene.

With memories of the nationalist civil rights campaign of the 1960s still in their sub-conscious, many unionists remain deeply sceptical about the language of human rights.

When a largely supportive parliamentary report on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission recommended that its £1.3m annual budget should be protected and its powers enhanced, the DUP's Sammy Wilson scoffed, arguing that such money would be better spent on Northern Ireland's schools and hospitals.

Perhaps in a bid to counter that unionist majority suspicion, some on the commission have been careful to stress that rights must be accorded to all communities, not just minorities.

Aggrieved

However, that move has caused some concern that equality measures aimed at protecting minorities could be put in peril.

One commission member who recently resigned, Patrick Yu, claimed that the direction the commission was taking was in danger of "undermining the Good Friday Agreement".

This question of communities and minorities is linked to a debate about individual and group rights.

The Patten report decided that the new police service should be more representative of the society it serves, so it recommended that 50% of all new recruits should be Catholic.

Individual Protestant applicants, turned down because of their background rather than their aptitude, feel understandably aggrieved.

When the commissioners, politicians, ministers and civil servants have all done their work I bet they won't be able to coin a phrase as memorable as Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness

Whose rights are paramount, those of a group seeking fair representation or those of an individual seeking a fair opportunity to gain employment?

The Human Rights Commission believes that, in the short term, the measure is acceptable but it's keeping the recruitment procedure under review.

Has someone an individual right to insist that they don't wish to be classified as a Protestant or a Catholic or a member of any other group?

Fair employment monitoring in Northern Ireland relies not on how someone regards their own identity, but on what the rest of society perceives them to be.

In an argument which parallels the Alliance Party's criticism of the voting system at Stormont, some in the commission believe you should have a right to just be yourself.

But what would the implications of that be for employment monitoring and indeed the whole notion of parity of esteem which is written into the Good Friday Agreement?

Amidst these broad debates there's no sign of Northern Ireland's Bill of Rights appearing any time soon.

It has been decided that Bill should be prepared not just by the commission but also by a round table forum including the politicians.

The current political deadlock makes it anyone's guess when such a forum will be convened.

One thing is for sure - when the commissioners, politicians, ministers and civil servants have all done their work I bet they won't be able to coin a phrase as memorable as Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.