Sir, - In six months' time the Republic is scheduled to have a new Human Rights Commission, set up as part of the Good Friday Agreement. This could be one of the most exciting developments in human rights for years but so far we know nothing about what powers, remit or resources the commission will have.
Under the Agreement there will be Human Rights Commissions north and south with a joint committee to consider "human issues in the island of Ireland". The British government introduced its proposals for the Northern Ireland Commission in the House of Commons last July and they will be debated in the Lords this month, but up to now there has been only silence from Dublin.
The proposals for the Northern commission have been widely criticised by human rights groups. The new body would not have sufficient powers to investigate alleged human rights abuses and to compel the production of documents and the attendance of witnesses. And it would not have sufficient financial independence and resources. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has publicly expressed concern that the remit of both commissions should be as wide as possible and should conform to the UN's Paris Principles for national human rights institutions.
All this makes it essential that the Irish Government should publish its proposals for the Republic's commission immediately and begin a public debate and consultation on its role and remit, giving the human rights community an opportunity to contribute before final decisions are made. We should not just wait until the British legislation is passed and then copy it. And a debate in the Republic might help to secure a broader mandate for the North's commission as well.
Speaking in South Africa recently, Mary Robinson stressed "the importance not only of the mandate and legislative mechanism for creating a Human Rights Commission but also the process of public consultation and transparency which should precede its creation. A national institution established hastily, without public understanding of its role and responsibilities, will be unlikely to succeed in its mission." She could have been talking about Ireland as well. - Yours, etc., Michael Farrell, Siobhan Ni Chulachain,
Co-chairpersons, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Exchequer Street, Dublin 2.