The Council of Europe has flagged serious concerns about a UK government Bill that would offer immunity to those who co-operate with a new body set up to review killings during the Troubles.
The intergovernmental body of 46 states — a postwar organisation set up to uphold the rule of law and human rights that is distinct from the European Union — is to issue a list of questions to the UK government seeking clarification about the legislation.
“It is crucial that the legislation ultimately adopted is in full compliance with the European Convention [on Human Rights] and will enable effective investigations into all outstanding cases,” it warned in a joint decision on Friday.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is going through parliament, and would bar future inquests and civil cases by families seeking answers about the deaths of their loved ones. Instead it would introduce a new body led by a judicial figure appointed by the UK government, which would review deaths and have the power to grant immunity from prosecution to those who co-operate with it.
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The UK government has said the new system would be an improvement and help bring closure, but the Bill is strongly opposed by victims’ groups and has united both unionist and nationalist political parties in their concerns about its potential to shut off access to justice for past killings.
It follows a campaign pledge by prime minister Boris Johnson that his administration would end “unfair” prosecutions of British soldiers.
‘Profound upset’
The Council of Europe decision “noted with concern the proposal to terminate pending inquests that have not reached substantive hearings, bearing in mind the progress finally being made in those inquests”.
It follows a breakthrough development last month when an inquest into the 1971 Ballymurphy killings returned a result, raising hopes for answers among other victims’ families who have been waiting for inquests to conclude for decades, slowed by delays in the disclosure of documents by lawyers for the police and UK ministry of defence.
A key concern for the Irish Government is the unilateral nature of the UK government’s new legislation, which broke with years of co-operation on the issue that had begun to bear fruit.
A British-led body will lead to a one-sided result from the process, officials fear, because former paramilitary fighters will not trust it enough to co-operate, meaning that in effect immunity will be granted only to British soldiers.
The Council of Europe “noted with regret the lack of formal public consultation on the proposals before their publication” and called on the UK government “to ensure that any proposals garner public trust and confidence by engaging fully with all stakeholders”.
In a statement to the meeting, Ireland’s delegation said the Bill appeared to offer “a remarkably low threshold” in offering immunity, that it does not clearly require testimony to be tested for veracity, and that immunity “will be irrevocable” even for those who give “false information” to the body.
“It is a marked change, and one that has caused profound upset for families and victims. It does not command the support of any party in Northern Ireland, who have all been clear in their strong opposition,” the Irish statement read.
Profound concern
It noted “profound concern with respect to independence, particularly insofar as this process relates to deaths that are alleged to have resulted from the use of force by state agents”.
“Families and victims’ groups are worried that the commission will not carry out effective investigations nor deliver meaningfully for their loved one. For many, the concept of immunity, conditional or otherwise, is about protecting perpetrators instead of securing justice or upholding the rule of law,” it read.
Members of the Council of Europe meet every three months and pressure each other to implement rulings of the body’s European Court of Human Rights, which typically means fixing shortcomings in state institutions or national law to prevent future rights violations.
The organisation has long pressed the UK government to address the issue of investigations into deaths in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s, which were found to be inadequate in a group of cases known as the McKerr group, which includes the killing of Belfast human rights lawyer Pat Finucane.
These deaths occurred “either during security force operations or in circumstances giving rise to suspicion of collusion in their deaths by security force personnel”, in the words of Friday’s decision.
The cases were initially slated to be discussed in the Council of Europe’s September meeting, but this was brought forward at the request of Ireland after the UK government introduced the legacy Bill to the Westminster parliament in May.
The UK government has been given until August 1st to respond to the Council of Europe’s questions. The answers will then be scrutinised by the body and its member states.
