Professor Colin Harvey:

I thank the committee for the invitation to appear. I am the professor of human rights law in the school of law at Queen's University Belfast. I led a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, ESRC, called Brexit Law NI, looking at the consequences of Brexit for Northern Ireland in the areas of human rights, equality, conflict transformation and constitutional law in practice.

I will speak to three themes: context; Brexit rights and equality; and strengthening the protection of human rights. With regard to context, there is a rights and equality deficit in the North. I would put it as strongly as saying that there is a crisis in the North relating to rights and equality. Brexit is one part of that but it is not the only part. That said, I acknowledge that there have been advances since 1998. There is the Human Rights Act, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and the section 75 equality duty. There have been important advances since 1998 in the protection and promotion of human rights but I would like to make clear at the start that the context in the North of this island is profoundly troubling. There is an ongoing crisis relating to human rights and equality.

We know that the UK is leaving the European Union. EU law is one part of a complex arrangement of rights and equality protections in the North that have fundamental significance and importance in supporting and underpinning the peace process in areas such as human rights, equality and socio-economic guarantees in areas such as employment law. The picture is complex but there is no doubt that Brexit will have a serious impact on rights and equality. We must acknowledge that rights and equality have made their way onto the agenda for the Brexit negotiations. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the people both in and beyond this room who made sure that rights and equality featured in that conversation. There was a real risk at the start of all this that rights and equality would be airbrushed out and this would be a narrow conversation. That has not proved to be the case and that is not an accident, due to extensive mobilisation relating to rights and equality by people in and beyond this room. We can see that in the recognition in the joint report from December 2017, the withdrawal agreement, the protocol and the political declaration.

The protocol and withdrawal agreement contain an intriguing formula in respect of the protection of human rights. The agreement indicates that there will be no diminution of Good Friday Agreement rights in the rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity section. It lists relevant provisions of European Union law. The protocol refers to dedicated mechanisms for enforcing the obligation relating to no diminution. We will hear more today about the ongoing conversations regarding those dedicated mechanisms, what they will be and how effective they will be. It recognises the common travel area and its ongoing operation. In the context of the level playing field discussions, we have seen important references in the protocol to socio-economic protections. Important mechanisms are in place in the withdrawal agreement and protocol for enforcement and implementation. They are detailed and complicated and we can talk more about them today. We know there will be a specialised committee in Northern Ireland as one mechanism under that agreement. If the protocol is made operational and enforced, it is clear that rights will inform many elements of the process. As members know, that is a very big if. Even if the withdrawal agreement is secured in Parliament, getting it implemented in practice via legislation passed by Parliament will be an interesting and challenging task.

It is worth noting that these rights elements of the protocol and withdrawal agreement seem not to be the principal source of contention. The real task ahead will be maximising the potential and rights in the withdrawal agreement. Rights are also outlined in the political declaration on future relations. Discussions regarding rights and equality at this phase of the process need to be carried forward.

As many people have stated, it is disappointing that rights of Irish citizens in the North and questions about the identity provisions of the Good Friday Agreement have not featured more prominently than they have in these legal arrangements. Both Governments could address this but it is fair to ask why more was not said about it at this stage. We can discuss that further today.

In terms of strengthening the protection of human rights on the island, as a matter of principle it is important that human rights frame the conversation going forward because it is important the conversation focuses on all of the people of the island of Ireland. In terms of rights reform, it is clear solutions to the human rights and equality deficit exist. There are proposals on the table. The problem is not the lack of solutions. There are credible legal proposals for the North, for example, with regard to a bill of rights, equal marriage, language rights and women's rights. There are, therefore, credible legal ways forward.

It is important the statutory bodies on the island of Ireland in the areas of human rights and equality are fully resourced and supported to do their work. It is important to note the recognition these bodies received through the withdrawal agreement and the recognition that human rights received through the political declaration. Equally important has been the work of civil society on the island of Ireland. In terms of protecting the human rights culture, North and South, it is important that civil society is also supported and resourced effectively to do its work. It is no good talking about civil society and its role in mobilising rights and equality if it is not adequately resourced and supported to do so. There is a crisis in that area right now.

It is important that the joint committee is given a much more central role on human rights on the island of Ireland. Its role could be widened and deepened and its work could be further expanded. How could it include the voices of civil society? How could it speak to many of the questions we will address today? The joint committee will have a fundamental role in the time ahead, not least in protecting the notion of equivalence, which is in the Good Friday Agreement and needs to be revisited by another solution to some of the questions we are talking about today, including the neglected charter of rights on the island of Ireland. There have been proposals for a bill of rights for the North since 2008. There is advice from the joint committee on a charter of rights for the island of Ireland in 2011. Both those matters need to be urgently revisited in the context of the conversation we are having now in addition to the conversations we are having around the withdrawal agreement and the protocol and its implementation.

On strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights, there is a conversation ongoing. That conversation is not regarded as helpful by everyone on the island of Ireland but there is a conversation taking place about the constitutional status of the North. It is reasonable to have this conversation given the terms of the Good Friday Agreement. It is equally important that the discussion on constitutional status includes a human rights and equality framework. Let us be in no doubt, whether it is regarded as helpful or unhelpful, that this discussion has started. It is better to be prepared and plan and frame the conversation around rights and equality protections for everyone on the island.

In the North, there is a crisis and a deficit in regard to rights and equality. We are not starting on a blank page. There are legally credible solutions and proposals to address that crisis. The question I have with regard to the current discussions around Brexit is whether there is a willingness politically - that is where we are at - to confront and address the human rights and equality crisis in the North because legally credible solutions exist to solve that crisis.