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Rosemary Nelson – Third Anniversary

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Rosemary Nelson – Third Anniversary Website: http://www.caj.org.uk March 2002 Vol. 17 No. 3 Bulletin of the Committee on the Administration of Justice Rosemary Nelson –Third Anniversary It is difficult to believe that three years have immediately passed to the Chief Constable, it appears no now passed since the murder of our friend effective action was taken to properly investigate these threats. Had proper steps been taken in relation to the and colleague Rosemary Nelson. The Port various threats against Rosemary which were notified to investigation, which now appears to be in the the authorities, she may have been alive today. process of winding down, has resulted in a number of prosecutions but none for Despite numerous attempts to get answers in relation to the Rosemary’s murder itself. serious questions we had raised about the investigation of the threats, the authorities have refused to provide us with an adequate explanation as to the lack of progress in CAJ has met with the Port Investigation team on various investigating these threats. We were therefore left with occasions but has continued to press for a public inquiry little choice but to lodge a complaint against the Chief into Rosemary’s case and a number of others. We believe Constable for failing to properly investigate the threats there is sufficient evidence of collusion by some elements which were forwarded to him in connection with Rosemary's of the police and army to warrant a full independent inquiry. death. This was in late 2000. To date, the government has resisted this call, as it has Since then the Ombudsman’s office has been investigating done in relation to the Finucane case, the Hamill case and this matter . Statements have been taken from various the Wright case. relevant witnesses and we are hopeful that there will be a successful outcome which fully explains the actions or However, within the last year there has been some limited inactions of the police in the period leading up to Rosemary’s movement from the British government in relation to these murder. However, we are very concerned at the refusal of cases. During the intense political negotiations leading up the Police Ombudsman and the Chief Constable to provide to the Joint Proposals from the two governments to fully us with relevant documents which she has obtained from implement the Agreement published in July, the four cases the RUC. Our concern is such that we have been forced to were discussed. An agreement was reached between the institute judicial review in relation to this refusal. two governments to deal with!Rosemary Nelson, Robert Hamill,!Billy Wright,!Patrick Finucane, and also cases CAJ remain committed to establishing the truth of what of alleged Garda/IRA collusion leading to the deaths of happened to Rosemary both for her sake, that of her family RUC officers Buchanan and Breen and LordJustice and the proper functioning of the justice system within this Gibson and his wife. jurisdiction. The two governments agreed that they would appoint an international judge to examine these six cases and report to the two governments as to what further action should be Paul Mageean taken. The judge's recommendations, which would be made public, could include recommending a public inquiry. In such circumstances the two governments would commit to establishing a public inquiry. There are of course many weaknesses in this scheme and much of the detail still Contents needs to be worked out. CAJ’s position remains that there should be full public inquiries into all four cases we have CAJ Plans Ahead 2 worked on. It remains to be seen if this mechanism will Analysis of Budgets in Cuernavaca 3 bring public inquiries closer or not. What is however certain Avoiding Accountability - The Right to Life 4/5 is that the delay in appointing a judge and publishing his/her Up to date with CAJ 5 terms of reference have reinforced the suspicion that this Beyond Collusion: The UK Security Forces and plan is simply another means of delaying public inquires. the Murder of Patrick Finucane 6 Case by Case: Christy Walsh 7 CAJ members will of course be aware of our concerns in Civil Liberties Diary 8 relation to the investigation of threats against Rosemary Nelsons forwarded by us to the Minister of Security seven months before Rosemary died. Although these were CAJ is affiliated to the International Federation of Human Rights March 2002 Report CAJ Plans Ahead One of the tools that CAJ uses to give direction and asylum seekers are treated in Northern Ireland as well to our work is that the executive and the staff go as in other parts of the world. away together for a planning weekend each year at about this time. This year we went to the Rural CAJ’s Response College in Draperstown, and were made very welcome there - free to do our thinking about Although we like to think we are reasonably effective, we CAJ’s direction for the forthcoming year. As are not likely to be able to change this global post- well as helping us plan ahead, it also meant that September 11 climate – which has been described as a the executive and staff got to spend some valuable ‘cold house for human rights.’ CAJ will work within this climate and do the best that we can, working with other time together. The weekend was particularly groups internationally who wish to uphold human rights. helpful to the newer members of the executive to More locally, however, the changes which come with the become clearer about CAJ’s work and devolved Assembly will oblige CAJ to find new ways of philosophy, and to contribute to both. working. CAJ has expert knowledge and experience, which can be shared with Assembly members across the political The following highlights some of the key themes that spectrum. We will be looking for ways to raise human rights emerged from the weekend. issues within these new structures. A Changing Climate CAJ Priorities A number of changes are underway which are altering the We came to the conclusion that the four major priorities overall climate of opinion and the political context in which that we have been working on since the mid-90s are still CAJ works. We recognised that if CAJ is to remain valid. These are Equality; Criminal Justice; Policing; and effective we need to take account of these changes. Protection of Rights (including work on the Bill of Rights). On the one hand, there are a number of the issues on which However, how we work on these priorities may need to CAJ has worked for several years which have seen change so that we respond effectively to the changed improvements. For instance, CAJ worked for the context described above. We need, as ever, to seek to be establishment of a criminal justice review, a policing strategic and ensure that work is prioritised with a view to review, a Human Rights Commission, and an independent effecting real change in people’s lives. For example, we Police Ombudsman. There has been important movement feel that the work CAJ has been doing around equality, both in all these areas. It is important on occasion to recognise by itself and through it’s co-convening of the Equality that there have been successes for CAJ and others who Coalition with UNISON, is very important. That work must have worked for such changes for many years. Now, continue. But we should more routinely ask ourselves – however, these changes mean that CAJ’s work is likely to what would makeUp the to most date fundamental with CAJ difference in the move from demanding that “something be done”, to verifying protection of rights? What are the key inequalities that that the various new institutions actually bring about need to be addressed? Similar questions need to be posed human rights improvements. about all our areas of work, to ensure that we are using our limited resources to the best possible effect. On the other hand, there was also a recognition that the political context was changing. In the last few years, the How do we manage all there environment had been particularly uncertain, and planning proved very difficult. However, the political situation had is to do? now changed somewhat, in that institutions such as the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive seem to hold a Indeed, the setting of priorities was a key focus of the greater degree of permanency than before. Whilst this weekend. It was felt that the majority of CAJ’s work should could change, advance planning seemed less speculative concentrate on work which could potentially achieve than it had in recent years. transformative and systemic change in human rights policy and practice. Examples of what this would mean in Last but not least, the post-September 11 climate may practice include changes that will: have created a general swing away from human rights 1. Significantly improve the accountability and "protection and an emphasis on the need to protect states and their citizens from attack. To quote a New York Times openness of state institutions and / or piece: ‘The heyday for human rights is over’. CAJ and 2. Enable individuals and groups to seek effective others who wish to uphold human rights will find greater redress for human rights grievances and/or difficulties in this climate. Such a climate is also likely to 3. Make significant shifts towards greater equality in society. cast a shadow over the way in which minority ethnic groups contd on page 3 2 Analysis March 2002 Analysis of Budgets in Cuernavaca A meeting was organised recently in The key lesson from this exchange was that influencing Cuernavaca, Mexico, by the Ford the way a government both raises and spends money is Foundation (and others) as an attempt to crucial to anyone interested in rights and wanting to effect real change on the ground.
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