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Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement 11 April 2019 Speaking Note

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Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement 11 April 2019 Speaking Note Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement 11 April 2019 Speaking Note Introductory Comments I would like to thank the Committee for inviting myself and members of the Victims and Survivors Forum to come and speak to you today. The purpose of the Commission is to support me in ensuring that the needs of victims and survivors are represented at the heart of all decision making by government. The Victims Order (NI) 2006, which underpins the work of the Commission, states that “The Commissioner shall make arrangements for a forum for consultation and discussion with victims and survivors.” The Victims and Survivors Forum was established in 2012 and is part of the infrastructure detailed in the Victims and Survivors Strategy to ensure “the views of victims and survivors are based at the very heart of the agenda." The Forum therefore is a broad representation of victims and survivors’ experiences for the purpose of consultation and discussion on key areas of work being undertaken by the Commission including: Services Dealing with the ‘past’; and Building for the future. Page 1 of 19 This is the second time that I have addressed this Committee and I believe it is timely for me do so in the context of the Northern Ireland Office’s recent consultation on the Stormont House Agreement’s legacy proposals, the ongoing Brexit negotiations and the ongoing implementation of the PEACE IV Programme. I would like to start by providing some brief commentary on these important developments for victims and survivors of the conflict/Troubles, particularly in relation to legacy-related matters. Context In the twenty one years that have passed since the Belfast Agreement there have been a number of substantial attempts to address the harm that was caused during decades of conflict; none of these have so far resulted in the passing of the legislation which is needed to address the need of victims and survivors, and of society more generally, for truth, justice, acknowledgement and reparation. The fact is that bereaved families who wish to access judicial processes come from every part of society and from across the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond. At present victims and survivors are told that they must wait decades before a case can be progressed, if at all. This has a growing cost to justice organisations in Northern Ireland in terms of loss of trust and confidence and I have heard the same frustration and loss of trust from victims of the troubles who live, and lost people they loved, in Page 2 of 19 Ireland. Judicial Reviews and other legal actions have also a growing financial cost. In fact, it is more expensive in the medium to long term to leave things as they are in Northern Ireland than it would be to try to introduce new institutions that could deliver better outcomes for victims and survivors and indeed all of society. It is almost universally accepted that the current system is not able to address this situation; it was not designed to do so. The cost of this failure is evident at many levels. For the many individuals, families and communities across these islands who were impacted by violence there is still acute pain and loss which is now accompanied by a strong sense that they have been ignored for decades by those with the power to act. This is why ‘dealing with’ the legacy of the past cannot be achieved by measures which fail to fully address the many complex and difficult issues. It is also very clear that in the context of the high levels of disillusionment and low levels of trust which exist across different political constituencies in Northern Ireland and in Ireland, any approach must be balanced, transparent, must operate within the rule of law and above all be victim-centered. People who suffered harm have waited too long for effective organisations to be established to address their rights and needs. This must be the focus of any legislation and of the way we implement it. Page 3 of 19 Legacy advice In May 2018 the UK Government published its consultation paper entitled “Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past” which set out the draft legislation for implementing the Historical Investigations Unit, the Oral History Archive, the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval and the Implementation and Reconciliation Group which had been envisaged in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement. The consultation drew 18,000 responses from across the United Kingdom, Ireland and beyond. As we await the outcome of this consultation victims and survivors continue to be frustrated by the failure to deliver appropriate legacy mechanisms. While recognising that the delays are linked to the current political impasse in Northern Ireland I continue to strongly impress upon all our political representatives the importance of reaching agreement on legacy. There are aspects of the proposed legislation which cause concern for some, and I wish now to reflect on some changes to the proposals which I believe would enable a much more victim-centered approach to the legacy of the past. In January 2019 I offered advice to the UK Government on the proposed legislation. This policy advice paper set out the Commission’s views in relation to the four proposed mechanisms with recommendations for the UK Government on what measures should be implemented to ensure they meet the needs of victims and survivors. Page 4 of 19 My policy advice paper also provides comments for consideration by the Irish Government on how to ensure the needs of victims and survivors are met in the Republic of Ireland. When talking to people affected by the conflict across United Kingdom and Ireland, it is clear that their experiences and needs are very much the same. I believe that these needs should be addressed in an inclusive way and that this means that choices and options open to those who live in Northern Ireland should also be open to those who live elsewhere. That is why, for the first time, I have shared my advice with the Government of Ireland as well as offering advice to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The recommendations in my policy advice paper have been made after extensive engagement with the Victims and Survivors Forum, individual victims and survivors, strategic partners, elected representatives, policy makers, organisations funded to deliver services and wider civic society. The Commission’s engagement process has been carried out across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Key Guiding Principles My policy recommendations address how each of the four mechanisms proposed in the draft legislation should be implemented in line with the ‘Key Guiding Principles for Existing and Proposed Organisations and Processes Dealing with the Past’ as developed by members of the Victims and Survivors Forum in 2016. These key principles were agreed by the VSF as follows; Page 5 of 19 Co-design and collaboration: There is a need for a co-designed and collaborative approach between victims and survivors and the relevant department/stakeholders in order to ensure that processes are designed with the wishes and needs of victims and survivors in mind. Victim-centred and victim-led: A victim-centred and victim-led approach ensures that the needs, interests, views and wishes of the individual takes priority. For operational delivery, this means there is empathy and understanding of the impact of the Troubles on victims and survivors and that an emotionally intelligent approach is taken in detailing the competencies and skills required from those delivering services. Inclusive: There are many victims and survivors who have previously been excluded from the scope of legacy processes. Action is required to acknowledge victims and survivors outside of Northern Ireland. There is a sense of isolation and inequality felt by victims and survivors outside of Northern Ireland who often experience a lower level of access to justice, advocacy and health and wellbeing support. Independent and impartial: Trust is paramount for victims and survivors. It is critically important that trust is built between victims and survivors and those delivering truth, justice, acknowledgment and reparation measures, so institutions and processes should be independent, impartial and transparent. Page 6 of 19 Fit for purpose: All mechanisms, existing and proposed, require an appropriate and realistic budget and sufficient time to deliver an effective service. General Issues to be addressed in relation to “Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past” In the NIO consultation document, the Secretary of State has clearly detailed that any proposals must, first and foremost, meet the needs of victims and survivors, that they must seek to promote reconciliation and that they must also reflect broad political consensus and follow the rule of law. I welcome these broad principles. However, whilst I am of the view that these proposals currently offer the best opportunity to address the legacy of the past, there are significant changes that need to take place to make sure they meet with the Victim and Survivors Forum’s five principles. The purpose of Historical Investigations should not be defined narrowly in terms of the number of prosecutions envisaged. It is evident from previous and ongoing investigations that new information and evidence can be uncovered and that families who want answers can be better served than they have been, even if the evidence is likely in most cases to be insufficient to secure a conviction. The critical issues for many families and communities are access to information about the circumstances leading to the death of people they loved and acknowledgement of harm. I have sought in my advice to draw out what the implications of this focus on families should be for the objectives, structure, staffing and processes of the proposed Historical Page 7 of 19 Investigations Unit and for legacy investigations relating to deaths in other jurisdictions.
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