The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Case Study

History of the NIHRC  The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent organisation  It started work on 1 st March 1999 and was introduced as part of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement  They help protect and promote the Human Rights of every citizen in Northern Ireland

Positions in the NIHRC  Chief Commissioner (currently Professor Monica McWilliams)  Nine part-time Commissioners  Twenty-four members of staff divided into three Departments:  Communications and Education  Legal Services, Policy and Research  Corporate Services

What do they do to safeguard our Human Rights?  They work to ensure that your human rights are protected by:  advising government on its obligation to uphold human rights  reviewing law and practice to make sure they are in line with human rights standards  putting forward proposals for new laws such as a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland  investigating matters of concern such as prison conditions, mental health care and racism  promoting an awareness of human rights in, for example, schools and the police service  taking cases to court to highlight alleged human rights abuses  working with other organisations to promote human rights in Northern Ireland.

Education  The NIHRC educate young people in schools about their work through Citizenship classes  They advertise their work through posters and leaflets  They work closely with the media and provide Press Releases about their work  They get young people involved in their campaigns to promote Human Rights

Work with the Government  All laws introduced by the Northern Ireland Assembly must be in line with the ECHR  The NIHRC are working with the Northern Ireland Assembly to introduce a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland  They are currently campaigning in schools so young people have a voice in the introduction of the NI Bill of Rights

Advocacy  Advocacy is about speaking out on issues to influence decisions  The NIHRC speak out about the rights of people in Northern Ireland to affect change  They want the NI Assembly, UK Government and the European Parliament to ensure that our voice is heard at a local, national and international level

Benefits – Individual and Community  The people in Northern Ireland know that all new laws are in line with the European Convention on Human Rights  We know that the NIHRC protect and promote our rights  We know if we feel our Human Rights are being violated we can seek advice and support from the NIHRC

How effective is the NIHRC?  The NIHRC is very effective in protecting and promoting the Human Rights of all citizens in Northern Ireland  We are very lucky that our Human Rights are protected in every new law introduced here  With the work of the NIHRC we know that if someone is violating our Human Rights we are protected