Motion no: 14
Congress pays tribute to the work of the late Inez McCormack, former President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and former Regional Secretary of UNISON, for her unceasing and inspirational commitment to equality and human rights. As an enduring tribute this Conference pledges to pursue the completion of the Good Friday Agreement which has now reached its 15th Anniversary. In particular, we demand completion of the commitments on Equality of Opportunity, a Bill of Rights for NI and a process for Dealing with the Past. In particular, this Conference reaffirms its long-standing demand that the UK Government enact, immediately, a strong, inclusive and enforceable Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. On this the 15th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement many of the gains in the peace process have been put at risk by the absence of a Bill of Rights. For example, life expectancy for working class people, premature death rates and surging suicide rates for the long-term unemployed and the return of childhood diseases caused by inequality and poverty such as rickets, are destabilising our society. Policy and resource allocation decisions which compound this growing inequality are being taken on a daily basis in the absence of an equality and human rights framework. The protections promised by a Bill of Rights, with particular emphasis on socio-economic rights, could in large measure reverse the growing instability. The two core excuses cited by the British Government for the most recent delay over the past two and half years were the review being carried out by the UK Commission on a Bill of Rights and the fact there was no political consensus in Northern Ireland. The first excuse has been removed. The only agreed recommendation from the UK Commission is that there is a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. The second excuse is untenable given that there was no political consensus on issues such as the devolution of policing and justice, but the British Government brought pressure to bear to ensure a process which reached an agreed conclusion. Congress has recently witnessed how deep the chasm is between those in the NI Government who support the equality and human rights provisions of the Good Friday Agreement and those who reject them. It is our view that the peace process will be further destabilised if this veto is permitted to continue. Conference calls on the Executive Council to continue to engage strategically at all necessary levels to bring pressure to bear on both Governments to fulfil their obligations as co-signatories of this international peace agreement.
