The SDLP has questioned the appointment of a DUP-approved candidate to the role of victims' commissioner by the British government.
The SDLP claimed the commissioner had been approved by the DUP only and questioned how the appointee of only one party could have the confidence of all the victims.
The move to appoint Ms Bertha McDougall, the widow of a murdered RUC officer, is being seen as a move to strengthen unionist confidence in the peace process.
Northern Ireland's new Victims' Commissioner Bertha McDougall. NIO handout PA.
The former primary school teacher's husband, Lindsay, an RUC reservist, was shot dead by the INLA in Belfast city centre in January 1981. Since then, she has campaigned for police widows and set up the victims' lobby group Forgotten Families.
British Secretary of State for the North Peter Hain insisted Mrs McDougall would ensure those who have suffered are never neglected.
He said: "Her experience in working with victims and victims support groups will be vital in helping to address the needs of those who have suffered great personal loss".
Mrs McDougall will have responsibility for establishing a forum for those who suffered during more than 30 years of violence in the North.
Her role will involve assessing services for victims and survivors across all government departments and agencies and identifying any gaps in service provision. Funding arrangements for grants paid to victims and survivors groups will also be reviewed.
The DUP is believed to have supported Ms McDougall's appointment. With the DUP critical of perceived concessions to republicans, the move will come as a boost to them.
But the SDLP's victims spokeswoman, Patricia Lewsley, claimed the appointment had been approved by the DUP only.
"If government is serious about parity of esteem for all victims then it should not be consulting with or seeking the approval of one political party only for an appointment.
"That undermines confidence, not just to victims but the whole of society generally. Playing the concessions game will only sour politics and take us all away from reconciliation and working together."