HR COMMISSION CHIEF BLASTS BRITISH GOV.T

HR COMMISSION CHIEF BLASTS BRITISH GOV.T
02/24/05 09:04 EST

Northern Ireland's chief commissioner for Human Rights has
launched a scathing attack on the British government for its
"major lack of support."


Just days before he is due to stand down as chief
commissioner Professor Brice Dickson criticised the British
Government for not taking the North's human rights issues or
the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission seriously.


From next Monday Northern Ireland will be left without a
human rights chief commissioner when Professor Dickson steps
down after six years of service.


Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary of State Paul Murphy
has yet to appoint a successor even though the post was
advertised nine months ago.


Mr Murphy has also failed to replace 50 per cent of
commissioners who have resigned or retired from September 2002.


Professor Dickson today warned that this could have serious
consequences for human rights cases within Northern Ireland
and added that he is very concerned by the lack of
governmental support.


In a scathing attack, the chief commissioner said he hoped
his successor and the new commissioners would be treated
more fairly and with more respect by the government than he
and his colleagues have been.


"Since September 2002 the government has allowed the number
of commissioners to decline from 13 to just six and my
successor has still not been named by the British government
despite the duty it is under to ensure that the Commission
is representative of the community in Northern Ireland," he
said.


Professor Dickson added: "Time and time again the Commission
has submitted recommendations to government only to have
them totally rejected, or worse, ignored. Despite our best
efforts to get through to them departments at Westminster,
especially the Home Office and the Department for
Constitutional Affairs, sometimes forget that we even exist,
let alone accept what we are recommending."


"I sincerely hope that the government will accord the new
commissioners a greater status than in the past."


He pointed to delays put in the way of disclosing the truth
about the murder of Patrick Finucane, and "obstructionism"
during the Bloody Sunday inquiry.
__________________________________________________________

The Irish American Information Service is a non-profit organization
providing up-to-the-minute political news from Ireland to the world.
The IAIS is funded entirely by your contributions. Please send your
tax-deductable contributions to IAIS at the 907 F st NE, Washington
DC 20002. You can visit us on the Web at http://www.iais.org