Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics… Read More »Who runs Northern Ireland? Taking stock of gender and power in Northern Ireland
The most recent Global Report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) states that over 71 million people were ‘of concern’ in 2017.… Read More »Fleeing from conflict: Refugees and Northern Ireland
Following the referendum in June 2016, the UK Prime Minister has stated that Article 50, the trigger mechanism for withdrawal from the EU, will be initiated by the end of March 2017. There are still key questions about what laws will have to be changed, what relationship will exist between the EU and the UK and how free the UK will be to act domestically and internationally. Some of these questions have received spurious answers during and since the referendum debate.
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and Power in 2020.
In the context of International Women’s Day and following the election to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 2 March, we have updated a previous article on the representation of women in public life.
Read More »The representation of women in public life: where does Northern Ireland stand (now)?
Are we still sectarian, or the ‘race-hate capital’?
One area that has created considerable political division in Northern Ireland is how to deal with a contested past. Broadly, ‘dealing with the past’ tends to refer to issues relating to people affected by the conflict, how the past is commemorated or remembered and truth recovery and justice. How far is Northern Ireland from an agreed approach to deal with the events of the conflict?
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and Power in 2020.
Following the February 2016 election to Dáil Éireann, the Northern Ireland Assembly had the lowest representation of women of any legislature in Britain and Ireland. At 22%, the Dáil brushed in above the Assembly’s 21%. Even then, the number of women Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had been enhanced by more female than male co-options during the mandate: in 2011, 19% of elected MLAs were women. However, the 2016 Assembly election saw an unprecedented 30 female MLAs returned (28%), without the use of quotas.
Read More »Women in public life: Where does Northern Ireland stand?
The Belfast Agreement in 1998 contained a comprehensive suite of human rights safeguards. These include the introduction of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to be accessible in Northern Ireland courts, establishment of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, consultation by the Commission on any additional rights supplementary to the ECHR to constitute a Bill of Rights and prohibition of the Northern Ireland Assembly to legislate in any way contrary to the ECHR or any Bill of Rights.
Read More »Human Rights in Northern Ireland: What if the Human Rights Act were repealed?
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