HC Deb 26 May 1999 vol 332 cc335-7
1. Mr. David Crausby (Bolton, North-East)

What progress is being made on issues of equality and human rights under the Good Friday agreement. [84436]

The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Mr. Paul Murphy)

The Human Rights Commission was established on 1 March this year. Interviews have also taken place for appointments to the Equality Commission. Since the Belfast agreement, legislation outlawing discrimination has been strengthened and extended to cover the provision of goods, facilities and services.

Mr. Crausby

Does my right hon. Friend agree that human rights and equality issues are a vital part of the Good Friday agreement, and that the provisions for human rights in Northern Ireland are contained in one of the most advanced regimes in the whole of the western world?

Mr. Murphy

Of course I agree with my hon. Friend. The commission will play a key role in ensuring that the development and protection of human rights remain at the heart of the new system of government in Northern Ireland. It represents a major change in the pattern of human rights protection in the United Kingdom. Professor Brice Dickson, the chair of the commission, heads a highly capable and experienced team, which will work closely with the Assembly and the Government to protect the rights of people from all traditions in Northern Ireland.

Mr. Douglas Hogg (Sleaford and North Hykeham)

When the Minister talks about human rights, will he please keep in mind the human rights of the paratroopers whose conduct on Bloody Sunday is the subject of inquiry? Does he agree that, if they are to be required to give evidence, it would be right—

Madam Speaker

Order. Judicial proceedings are taking place on that issue. The right hon. and learned Gentleman is a lawyer, and knowing the House as well as he does he should be extremely careful in the questions that he puts to the Minister on these matters.

Mr. Hogg

I was being extremely careful.

Madam Speaker

I hope so.

Mr. Hogg

If the paratroopers are required to give evidence, is it not right, as a matter of Government policy, that they should be granted immunity from prosecution?

Mr. Murphy

I shall be equally careful, Madam Speaker and, as this is a matter for the courts, I shall not answer that question.

Madam Speaker

I entirely agree with the Minister, and I am sorry that the right hon. and learned Gentleman put that question.

Mr. Kevin McNamara (Hull, North)

My right hon. Friend will probably recall the statement that the right hon. and learned Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Mr. Hogg) made about solicitors in Northern Ireland shortly before the death of Mr. Patrick Finucane.

To come back to the point, will the Minister tell us when he hopes the Equality Commission will come into operation?

Mr. Murphy

I hope that it will come into operation as soon as possible. My hon. Friend knows that the chief commissioner and the other members of the commission are in the process of being appointed. It has been a long and sometimes difficult exercise because, as my hon. Friend knows, the new commission will take over the duties of four other commissions. We now have agreement on the nature and functions of the new commissioners, but it will be some weeks yet before my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is able to announce their names.

Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson (Lagan Valley)

If the new Human Rights Commission in Northern Ireland is to be successful, it must enjoy the widespread support and confidence of the whole community. Is it not a reality that the Unionist community perceives a gross imbalance in the composition of the commission, in that there is no substantial or significant Unionist representation on it? What steps will the Secretary of State take to fulfil her statutory obligation to ensure that the composition of the Human Rights Commission reflects the balance of the community, because it does not do so at present?

Mr. Murphy

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering a number of options. It is her duty, as far as is practicable, to ensure that the commission reflects the community in Northern Ireland. It is not merely a question of Unionist or nationalist, Protestant or Catholic, but involves gender, age and professional background. It is important to note that, of the 150 applicants for these jobs, only a tiny handful said that they had Unionist sympathies.

Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire)

The establishment of the commission is welcome, but the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr. Donaldson) is right about the need for the Unionist community to be represented. Could there not also be a representative of bodies that bravely face violence and intimidation? Those bodies do not seem to be represented either.

Would not human rights in Northern Ireland be greatly benefited by an end to the breaking of limbs, and by the decommissioning of arms?

Mr. Murphy

No one would disagree with my hon. Friend's last two points. As for the commission, it is important to understand that its establishment results from the Good Friday agreement, and is reflected in statute. However, after devolution, provisions will enable other institutions in Northern Ireland to take into account reviews of people such as those referred to by my hon. Friend.

Mr. Malcolm Moss (North-East Cambridgeshire)

May I raise the issue of the human rights of the families of the disappeared? Does the Minister agree that, now that the Northern Ireland (Location of Victims' Remains) Bill has gone to another place, if the IRA does not produce the information that we all seek it will, yet again, have acted in a despicable manner?

Mr. Murphy

Yes. We expect progress within a very short time, possibly within days. We are talking to the Irish Government about this important matter.