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2009 (151)
Mar 3 2009 12:45AM
The Perils of Politicising the Transfer of Policing and Justice Powers to Northern Ireland.

With the dust settled on Belfast's link up with the Modern Liberty Convention in London, it is time to take stock of all that has been achieved. As a paying customer I found the convention to be a resounding success thanks to the...

Feb 28 2009 1:12PM
Belfast: Human Rights and budget decisions (Convention on Modern Liberty, Belfast)

The discussion 'Human Rights and budget decisions' was given in a tripartite format, between Dr Aoife Nolan, Ms Mira Dutschke and Mr Eoin Rooney, and concerned the development of methods to measure governmental resource-allocation in...

Feb 25 2009 9:34AM
All hail the Daily Mail!

No, I'm not turning into Northern Ireland's answer to the Pub Landlord (anyway, I think that job is already taken by David over at the unintentionally hilarious A Tangled Web ). I'm simply giving credit where it's due to to the editor...

Feb 24 2009 1:38PM
Bill of Rights case made at Westminster

It's good to see that Professor Monica McWilliams and colleagues from the NI Human Rights Commission are in Westminster today, giving evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights at Westminster on their advice for a Bill of Rights...

Feb 22 2009 9:28PM
UK exports £20m arms to Israel?  Legal challenge.

I wouldn't normally copy-and-paste a press release without commentary as it's a rather lazy form of blogging, but in this case, it's an urgent press release: all in London should turn up at the court to show support. Good on veteran...

Feb 22 2009 11:21AM
Strasbourg must correct this aberrant decision

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary was jumping for joy this week with the decision of the Law Lords to permit her to press ahead with the deportation of terrorism suspect Abu Qatada to Jordan and two (unnamed) others to Algeria. I think...

Feb 19 2009 11:50AM
University honours Malaysia. Malaysia tortures prisoners.

I see that Queen's University Belfast has awarded the King of Malaysia an honorary degree . I trust it was not for human rights law, the subject I'm studying currently at the esteemed institiution, given Malaysia's poor rights record...

Feb 17 2009 9:42PM
Photographers zoom in on rights abuses

If anyone doubts that social and economic rights are real human rights, then they should take a look at this powerful picture, by Brazilian photographer Luiz Vasconcelos, one of the winners of the 2008 World Press Photo of the Year...

Feb 17 2009 9:14AM
Dame Stella, take a bow!

I don't know If Dame Stella Rimington is an Amnesty member or not. But she should be. The former spy-boss has become one of the UK's most eloquent defenders of rights and liberties since she left the government's payroll and started...

Feb 12 2009 7:19PM
Time to boycott Israel?

Tuesday morning and I made it along to Stormont's Long Gallery for the launch of ICTU 's Israel Palestine report (available here to download , exclusively for Belfast and Beyond readers!). Hosted by Sinn Féin leader, Gerry Adams MP...

Feb 9 2009 12:03AM
Slugger versus The Past

Slugger O'Toole is the daddy of the Northern Irish blogosphere. Founded and run by the inestimable Mick Fealty as a uniquely popular, cross-community blog for debate and discussion of NI politics and life, it is always worth a visit...

Feb 7 2009 9:10PM
Beyond Guantanamo:  the inhuman body of the iconic face

Tony Blair famously said that Guantanamo bay is ‘ an anomaly’ . House of Lords Law Lord, Lord Steyn, called Guantanamo Bay a ‘ legal black hole ’. Both these descriptions would help us believe that, if carried out, Obama’s pledges to...

Feb 5 2009 8:11PM
Spotlight on prison suicide

BBC NI's Spotlight programme was back on form this week with a review of the case of Prisoner B2970, Colin Bell. He was the prisoner at HMP Maghaberry near Belfast, who committed suicide while his prison guards – supposedly keeping a...

Feb 4 2009 8:34AM
Raging Bull, Raging Bull and the Guantanamo Guard

"Raging Bull Raging Bull", that's all that Chris Arendt heard down the phone line before it went dead, and this was how he found out that he had been deployed, although he and the rest of his unit initially thought they were going to...

Feb 2 2009 3:19PM
Struggling for rights, defending our liberties

Since World War II, this country and the world have built up a system of protections for all our rights. From the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 to the Human Rights Act of 1998, we saw five decades of progress in the...

Jan 30 2009 3:21PM
Me, My Nose and I

Just a quick blog as I can’t resist sharing my recent misfortune with the Amnesty community and beyond. Similarly to Patrick I have been struck down by an ailment, although speaking literally it wasn’t an illness that struck me but...

Jan 30 2009 2:23PM
Amnesty International at Davos

Northern Ireland-educated Secretary General of Amnesty International, Irene Khan, is in Davos for the World Economic Forum. Of course, as this blog has recorded, its not the first time that Amnesty or Irene has been to the gathering of...

Jan 29 2009 9:35AM
Irish Blog Awards: nominated!

Am at home in my sick bed, popping penicillin and paracetemol like sweeties, but just wanted to post a quick 'ta very much' to those who nominated Belfast and Beyond for the Irish Blog Awards . We've been nominated in the News /...

Jan 27 2009 6:19PM
Putting the Past Before Us: On the eve of the Eames Bradley Report, the story thus far

Tomorrow the long awaited Eames-Bradley Consultative Group on The Past (CGP) report will be released. Recent reports suggesting that all victims of the troubles (irrespective of their own roles in the troubles) will be entitled to the...

Jan 26 2009 12:41AM
'Please, please pray that we will get justice'

Satrurday was spent at the SDLP annual party conference in Armagh. It was normal party conference stuff. A very early start, a very late finish and lots of resolutions, speeches and delegates to be talked to at our Amnesty stand and...

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