Professor Colin Harvey:

I thank the Chairman and the committee members for the invitation to be here this afternoon. I have provided a written opening statement which has been circulated, so I do not intend to read that out, but will go through some of its key points with a view to moving on to the discussion. Some of it echoes what Mr. Allamby has already outlined this afternoon. There are three themes I would like to underline: the discussion around citizenship in context; Brexit, human rights and equality; and strengthening the protection of human rights and equality on the island of Ireland.

At the end of my written opening statement, I provided an annex which is a proposal for potential amendments of the political declaration in the context of an amendment that was circulated earlier this year that would explicitly recognise some of the things we were talking about this afternoon. Whereas the withdrawal agreement is to be taken as read, there has been some discussion about the scope for revisiting the political declaration about the future relationship. That amendment was advanced in the context of that conversation and I thought it would be useful for members to see that this afternoon.

First, I refer to citizenship in context. The Good Friday Agreement, and the birthright provisions that are there, the right to be accepted and identify as British or Irish, or both, have already been outlined. It is helpful to put that in context in terms of the current conversation that is happening in relation to the North, and is reflected in the very courageous campaign being undertaken by Emma and Jake DeSouza. That is the sense in which the parity of esteem, mutual respect, and equal treatment provisions of the Good Friday Agreement have been significantly neglected.

They have been subjected to systematic disrespect. I put that out there as a context for framing this conversation. I do not think it is possible to understand what is happening in the North at the moment unless we reflect on events in that context.

We have heard reference to the December 2017 joint report from British and EU negotiators. Many people will be aware of paragraph 52 in that report. It refers to the future rights of Irish citizens as European Union citizens and the debate that has emerged regarding Irish citizens born in Northern Ireland, in particular. There is a real and merited sense that the commitment given in paragraph 2 of that same joint report has been neglected and now requires urgent attention. I link that aspect to the earlier point made regarding the recognition of the principles of parity of esteem, mutual respect and equal treatment in the context of the current debate on the Good Friday Agreement.

An event is being organised in Newry tomorrow by Ireland's Future. It follows on from a previous event in January. The context for these events is a growing sense in Northern Ireland of Irish citizens being abandoned and disrespected and of basic elements of the Good Friday Agreement not having been implemented in full. Aspects of the joint report from December 2017, particularly paragraph 52 obligations, have also not been taken forward and implemented effectively and practically and that underlines a feeling of formalisation failure in respect of elements of the Good Friday Agreement. We need to see those rights codified in practice and the existing implementation gap closed.

In placing citizenship in context, I also want to underline another aspect which links with my next point. In the context of a current sense of disrespect and abandonment, arguments are being made in Northern Ireland for the principles of parity of esteem, mutual respect and equal treatment and the rights of Irish citizens to be respected. The people making those arguments are arguing for a levelling up in the sense that the rights of Irish citizens link directly to a wider debate about the human rights culture existing in Northern Ireland.

My second point is that Brexit has exacerbated the current human rights and equality crisis in Northern Ireland. The word "crisis" is merited and I explain that in more detail in my full written submission. There have been attempts to address this in the context of the Brexit conversation and the resultant withdrawal agreement and protocol for enforcement and implementation. It has to be noted that human rights and equality made it into the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and it must be acknowledged that work has been done in this area. There is a sense, however, as committee members will be aware, that this is an exercise in damage limitation. I refer to Northern Ireland getting to remain in the European Union and the sense that everything else is really second best. Regarding Brexit and the concerns remaining about paragraph 52, Irish citizens in the North are genuinely anxious that the obligations and commitments set out in that paragraph will not be realised in practice. I underline again that is why proposals were made earlier this year to amend the political declaration to give a clear commitment to those paragraph 52 responsibilities in respect of the future relationship conversation. The amendments proposed can, of course, be taken forward in a range of other contexts as well.

I also underline the need to strengthen significantly the human rights framework in the North and on the island of Ireland. My written submission contains a number of proposals on how that might be done. The overriding theme of this opening statement is that we have heard many references to the Good Friday Agreement in the context of a European-wide conversation on Brexit. As we are now finding out because of this Brexit process, and as we knew before, there has been a systematic implementation and formalisation failure regarding key concepts in the Good Friday Agreement. The case of Emma de Sousa serves as an example, as do other similar cases. We really need to do something about that implementation gap and formalisation failure. My written submission refers to some of the extensive measures needed. Many of the areas will be familiar. The bill of rights has already been referred to, as has the charter of rights for the island of Ireland. It is important to acknowledge the work being done by the joint committee of the two human rights commissions on the island in areas such as equal marriage, language rights, women's rights and socio-economic rights in the North. Action also needs to be taken, however, to address the significant implementation gap in a range of other areas with respect to the Good Friday Agreement. In that context, the failure to respect, and recognise in law, parity of esteem, mutual respect and equal treatment for the two main communities in the North is a yawning gap. Irish citizens have felt that absence strongly in the years since this implementation gap emerged.

The final part of my written opening statement refers to a way forward. I am more at liberty to speak about this topic than some of my colleagues here today. To put it simply, and from my own perspective, addressing this implementation gap and formalisation failure is long overdue. The way forward is very clear for Northern Ireland, the North. While negotiations are ongoing, both Governments and all political parties need to openly and honestly confront and address the human rights and equality crisis that objectively exists in Northern Ireland. If we are going to renew the Good Friday Agreement, its values and institutions, we have to face into confronting and addressing the human rights and equality crisis at the heart of the current problems in the North.