Britain urged to ensure funds for North human rights body

The head of Northern Ireland's soon-to-be-disbanded human rights watchdog has urged the British government to ensure that the new human rights commission will be properly funded and will have real powers.

Mr Michael Lavery QC, chairman of the Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights, at a reception in Belfast yesterday to mark Human Rights Day, said the occasion could be viewed as a "slightly premature wake" for the committee.

The fact that it was celebrating its 25th anniversary but would shortly cease to exist to allow for the creation of the commission under the terms of the Belfast Agreement should not be viewed as a matter of regret, he said. A new human rights body with a wider scope was necessary.

One of the more immediate tasks for the new Human Rights Commission was the establishment of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, Mr Lavery said.

"Educating society as a whole about human rights is a vital task. In particular, the universal nature of human rights must be reinforced. Human rights do not belong to any particular section of society. In the Northern Ireland context, they are neither orange nor green but are all-inclusive.

"A Bill of Rights to which all can subscribe can form a useful neutral common ground in a divided society," he said.

Mr Lavery said governments needed to be encouraged to develop and embrace a human rights culture. "It seems to be an automatic reaction of bureaucracies to put up resistance to human rights proposals, even to those which present them with no difficulty or, indeed, which would improve the government's image or increase its effectiveness." The new commission must have real powers, including taking human rights cases in its own name as provided for in the agreement. Equally, it was vital it was properly funded so it could fully and effectively carry out its remit.

Women's Aid held a candlelit vigil outside City Hall for women and children who have suffered as a result of violence in the home.

It said nine women died in the North since January as a result of domestic violence. "The tragedy of violence experienced by women and children in the home will continue unless we seek to create non-violent communities where every one can feel safe," said Ms Angela Courtney of Women's Aid.