‘Violence inevitable with a hard border’ UN report warns of return of Troubles-type attacks

THE return of a hard border will categorically cause a resumption of violence by paramilitaries, United Nations experts have warned.

Nationalist youth will be inflamed by security apparatus at the border, while loyalists will be provoked into violence by a border poll, the UN has noted.

Research published today predicts that there will be a return to violence in the North as a result of a hard border due to either a no-deal Brexit or a rushed border poll. The report states: ‘For nationalist youth and those young people who are marginalised and more susceptible to being groomed into violent activity by dissident republicans, including the “New IRA”, the deconstruction of a border swiftly after its creation could become the absolute raison d’être for youth becoming engaged in violence.’

The research was conducted by Fianna Fáil senator Mark Daly in conjunction with Unesco professors Pat Dolan and Mark Brennan, with input from Michael Ortiz, who was a counter-terrorism expert at the US State Department during the Obama administration.

The report firmly concludes that violence would return if a hard border should materialise due to a no-deal Brexit.

A border poll will also likely prompt violence among loyalists, the research finds. Senator Daly said: ‘This research highlights the responsibility of the UK government to stand by the backstop that they agreed to in

‘Ensure peace is not jeopardised’

December 2017. This will ensure that the peace process on this island is not jeopardised.’

The report highlights the fact that a key element in preventing violent extremism is the role of community level leadership, which can counteract the emergence of violence by providing a space for interaction between different traditions.