There is an alternative to the Legacy Act
Letter from the Truth Recovery Process published in the Belfast Telegraph and Irish Times, September 9th, 2023
The enactment of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill has rightly been condemned by political parties in Ireland, North and South, as well as by civil liberties campaigners. Eleven appeals have already been lodged in the British courts to contest its legitimacy in international law. Such moves are very much to be welcomed and hopefully the cases will be heard as a matter of urgency in order to test the legitimacy of the legislation in terms of the UK’s own Human Rights Act.
Even if such appeals succeed that still leaves us with the unresolved problem of how to address all the outstanding deaths and serious injuries cases, miscarriages of justice and other forms of suffering and loss that were caused by the Troubles, not alone in Northern Ireland but in the Republic and in England. If the appeals do not succeed and the legislation is referred to Europe the most that can be hoped for is a return to the status quo ante at some stage in the future.
The UK Government must accept that this new Legacy Act does not have the support of the people of this island, nor of even one major political party. Nor will the new Commission have the necessary support from divided communities to have any hope of making an impact.
For its part, the Irish Government must move on from simply condemning the Act to setting out a viable alternative.
We believe that a Truth Recovery Process such as we propose, while respecting the rights of victims and survivors to pursue cases through the courts should they so choose, remains the only viable option, if we are to achieve an honest appraisal of the past and do so on a basis that promotes reconciliation rather than division.
The means to do so are ready to hand in the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (Sections 41-50) of the Stormont House Agreement. This was successful in securing the return of the remains of most of the victims who were disappeared in the Troubles to their families. Both the British and Irish governments are signatories to Stormont House and the vast majority of political parties on this island also subscribe to the Agreement.
What has been lacking is the will of both governments and of political parties to use the agreement to address the problem. It is time to stop prevaricating and act in the interests of us all, but in particular in the interests of the victims and survivors.
Harry Donaghy, Northern Chair
John Green, Southern Chair
Padraig Yeates, Secretary