Human Rights Commission

The Ulster Unionists tabled a motion which contested that the Human Rights Commission's advice to the secretary of state - A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland - was incompatible with the provisions of the 1998 Belfast Agreement.

The party said it was concerned that the report's proposals would "undermine the democratic role and authority" of the assembly and the UK Parliament and urged the secretary of state not to implement the report's recommendations.

Dawn Purvis of the Progressive Unionist Party said that the intention of her amendment was to ensure that the public got the chance to air their views on a bill of human rights through consultation, and that the lack of support for a formal structure for human rights may lead to the potential for a continuation of violence.

While the motion was supported by the DUP, Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson opposed it. She said there had been calls from the United Nations and Amnesty International to enact a bill of rights.

This would give guaranteed minimum standards and superior protection to the most vulnerable in society, she said.

The DUP's Simon Hamilton said existing laws made sufficient provision for the rights of people in Northern Ireland and that there was "no need for additional rights just for the sake of it".

The motion failed.