Belfast and Beyond

Ten years on from the landmark Patten report on policing in Northern Ireland, authored by former Conservative minister and Hong Kong governor general Chris Patten, this Saturday the SDLP are to stage a half-day conference on "policing...

Secret Policeman on the loose in Britain. Whodda thought? Well done to my Amnesty colleagues whose persistence appears to be paying off in the case of Remzi Hoxha , who is believed to have died under torture at the hands of the...

Just a quick blog about a spirited debate happening over at our friends 'Slugger O'Toole'! In an interview for the Observer Gordon Brown has been framing his drive for security on the recent situation over here. Slugger blogger Brian...

Northern Irish politicians have never been shy about going cap in hand to Washington to ask for help with our political and economic problems. They were there again this week for the annual St Patrick's Day shindiggery . Now it's time...

Can't resist the provocative title of this public lecture , being staged next Thursday evening at the University of Ulster's Belfast campus. It is a Lenten initiative from the University chaplaincy and will be delivered by Dr David...

Radio Ulster responded to messages from the Refugee Action Group and ran a piece about the UK Border Agency's St Patrick's Day enforcement operations on 'Good Morning Ulster' this morning. You can listen to it online here (just scroll...

"Just … follow the money" was the advice given by Deep Throat to Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward in the brilliant 1976 film All the President's Men . It is sage advice to which I frequently turn when trying to get a handle on...

I have just attended the Peace Rally at the City hall in Belfast. I stood alongside trade unionists, unionists, republicans, nationalists, socialists, parents, young people a complete cross section of Northern Irish society. We all...

I see that BBC online has picked up on my blog about the killings in Northern Ireland and used it to reflect on some of the opinion being aired in the blogosphere. From my scanning of some my usual and not so unusual blog haunts, I'd...

I'm from Antrim. Born and brought up there. Eighteen years. I know it well. Including the gates of Massareene army barracks where two soldiers were shot dead and four others, squaddies and civilians alike, were left wounded on the...

The wonderful Ulster Hall re-opens tomorrow after two years' closure for refurbishment. The opening programme will have something for everyone – from Stiff Little Fingers to the Ulster Orchestra – and seems designed to rekindle fond...

In Westminster today the second reading of the Bill to Devolve Policing and Justice to Northern Ireland has received some staunch support from the Secretary of State Shaun Woodward. A BBC report on the proceedings indicates that Mr...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...