Political Capacity Building: Advancing a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to address the current inertia that exists over the Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The report explains how Bills of Rights have been used across the world to entrench human rights and build rights-based societies. It also dispels the misunderstandings over the purpose of, and extent of protection afforded by, a Bill of Rights. The report traces the calls for a Bill of Rights back to the 1960s in Northern Ireland and analyses the political parties and UK governments’ support since that time. Alongside this, the report examines the various political negotiations, agreements and declarations that have set out the specific provisions and obligations on the UK government in relation to a Bill of Rights. The report concludes with the views of the various political parties, based on interviews conducted in the past year, and recommends ways in which the British and Irish governments could meaningfully re-engage the parties on this issue.