Mr. Colm O'Gorman:

To add to that last point, what is crucially important in that context is a transparent process through which people can see how decisions are made. That is where the bill of rights becomes fundamentally important. In this jurisdiction we have just had a debate at the Constitutional Convention on the question of constitutional protection for economic, social and cultural rights. We argue for that protection because, as Mr. Patrick Corrigan said, it does not bind the hands of governments. Instead, it provides for an objective framework through which difficult and complex decisions are made about resource allocation, service delivery and guiding principles for social policy; a framework that is transparent, where there is accountability and clarity of responsibility. In that way, people can have confidence in the decisions made by governments. It also ensures that governments can make decisions that are outcomes focused, evidence based and so forth. In the context of the conflict and the view of various communities in Northern Ireland that they have been left behind, it is even more important. That is why, for us, the bill of rights is so fundamentally important.

This research is part of work carried out by Amnesty International at the global level. My colleagues, Mr. Kartik Raj and Mr. Patrick Corrigan, have been leading this work and have been engaged in Ireland in advocacy and other work following on from the publication of the report. Looking at it from this part of this island, one of the things that struck me was a comment by Mr. Paul Gallagher who said that there was a feeling that people are waiting for the victims to die out. We do not have a great history on this island of dealing with our past. Surely, one of the things we can learn is that when we do not deal with the past, it lives on. If Mr. Gallagher and other victims eventually die out and we fail to deliver justice, truth and reparation for them, the past will not go away. These are issues which are cross-generational and which, to make a philosophical point, live in the stones of places.

Many of us on this side of the Border will remember that after the Good Friday Agreement, conversations suddenly started about things that happened in earlier generations including, for example, during the Civil War. I remember growing up in rural Wexford and stories were told but never told about the fact that three Free State soldiers had been shot dead outside what became the back door of the house in which I grew up. I never heard anything more than the fact that it happened. We talked about it but did not talk about it. Then, in 2004, I was contacted by someone who wanted to raise money to erect a memorial to those three soldiers because they had died a bad death. Gradually that story emerged and came out. It is extraordinary the things we do not talk about. There was nobody still alive who was involved in that incident.

This was not something that was dealt with even by the descendants of those individual victims but lived on and resonated within that small community.

Dealing with the past needs to be victim-centred but we also need to recognise the importance and value of doing it on a much broader scale. Our focus is on the international human rights law framework and the need for effective justice and reparations for victims of violations, wherever they might be. In the context of this research, we are looking at mechanisms in Northern Ireland. All of us need to reflect on the vital importance of learning from the mistakes of failing to deal with the recent past and to think about the level of courage that is required for us to do it better in the future.

I thank the committee for giving us so much time today.