Letter proposes NI Bill of Rights in bid to ‘protect all’

LEADING charities, lobby groups and trade unions have called for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

A letter in today’s Belfast Telegraph, signed by 26 groups across the country, marks International Human Rights Day.

It’s 70 years since the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the United Nations on December 10, 1948

But organisations including Action on Elder Abuse, Disability Action and Unison say the protection of human rights of all in Northern Ireland is far from secure.

In the letter, they state that “the tragedies of the past have left a deep and profoundly regrettable legacy of suffering”.

“Twenty years on from the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the vindication and protection of the human rights of all is far from secure.

“Many of the rights contained within the UDHR continue to go unprotected and our system of governance has a clear human rights deficit.

“We have failed to deliver on this core promise of the Agreement.

“It is time to secure our rights — it is time for the Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.”