Troubles legacy act: Ireland takes human rights case against UK
BBC NewsDec 30, 2023
Court Rules NI Troubles Amnesty Law Breaches Human Rights
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The Facts
A Belfast court on Wednesday ruled that granting immunity to participants involved in the decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland under the UK's controversial Troubles Legacy Act violates the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Legacy Act, which came into effect last September, will end all future litigation and inquests into Troubles-era deaths and offer conditional amnesty to those who report the violence of the past to a newly created truth recovery body.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Immunity has always been presented as a key part of the Northern Ireland Legacy Act. With this central pillar thrown out, it's unclear how the British government will move forward with this legislation. Nevertheless, the UK remains committed to this bill and to drawing a line behind the violence of the Troubles. This legislation, as seen in similar measures in post-apartheid South Africa, offers a powerful path toward peace and reconciliation.
Establishment-critical narrative
This ruling supports what victims and their families have been saying all along — that there's no evidence that the Northern Ireland Legacy Act will contribute to reconciliation in the country and may even worsen existing divisions. The UK government must withdraw this legislation and instead write a bill to support victims and their search for truth and justice. The act violates the human rights of victims of the Troubles and their families, and critics will continue to oppose this bill until the very end.
