Government betrays Good Friday Agreement on Bill of Rights

06 April 2023

The failure of the UK Government to implement a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is a betrayal of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, according to civil society organisations in Northern Ireland. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Agreement, the Human Rights Consortium and 61 other civil society organisations from across Northern Ireland […]

The Queen’s Speech and Human Rights

27 May 2022

The Queen’s Speech and Human Rights The Queen’s Speech opening a new session of Parliament was delivered on the 10 May. It presented a lengthy list of legislative proposals that the government intends to take forward in this next session of Parliament. Unfortunately, the speech contained some very unwelcome announcements from a human rights perspective. We […]

UK must now deliver NI Bill of Rights following majority Assembly support

14 February 2022

Following the publication of the report by the Ad-Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights at the NI Assembly, the Human Rights Consortium, a coalition of over 165 community and voluntary organisations from Northern Ireland, has said that Westminster now urgently needs to legislate for this long outstanding commitment from the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The report […]

FIFTY CIVIL SOCIETY ORGS CHALLENGE RIGHTS FAILURE

10 December 2021

Over 50 civil society organisations from across Northern Ireland have written to the First and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to challenge the circumstances which led to the recent suspension of the Ad-Hoc committee on a Bill of Rights at Stormont and called on the UK and Irish Governments to intervene to progress a […]

Polling shows public demand stronger rights protections following Covid-19

23 June 2021

The Human Rights Consortium in collaboration by Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast have published new public polling that has found significant cross-community support for the inclusion of a range of rights in a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The polling demonstrates that societal factors such as Brexit, conversations concerning the future of Northern Ireland […]

Survey finds 80% support Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland

01 April 2021

The Human Rights Consortium welcomes new findings from the Ad Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights consultation survey that 80% of respondents believe that a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is “important or very important,”. The survey was carried out between November 2020 and February 2021 to explore and understand how people today feel about the creation of the Bill of Rights […]

Economic and Social Rights in Northern Ireland: Models of Enforceability

04 November 2020

The Human Rights Consortium has today launched a report entitled Economic and Social Rights in Northern Ireland: Models of Enforceability. The report, commissioned by the Consortium and authored by a team of academics lead by the Human Rights Centre at Queens University Belfast seeks to explore a spectrum of models for enforcement of Economic and […]