Belfast and Beyond

Many in Northern Ireland and much further afield will be deeply saddened to hear news of the the death of Professor Kevin Boyle, who passed away yesterday. Prof. Boyle was one of the UK and Ireland’s leading human rights academics, as...

The right to marry is protected by Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights . In today’s Chamber judgment in the case O’Donoghue and Others v. the United Kingdom the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that...

A great evening in the Europa Hotel. Senator David Norris delivering the Amnesty International Belfast Pride Lecture , followed by Pride Talks Back , when Norris joined local politicians and the Rev David McIlveen of the Free...

Really looking forward to meeting Senator David Norris later. I'm meeting him off the Dublin train this afternoon, in anticipation of the Amnesty International Belfast Pride Lecture later in the Europa Hotel. Senator Norris at the...

Nobel Prize-winning economist Prof Amartya Sen is in Belfast to pick up an honorary degree from Queen's University Belfast. The university was kind enough to extend invitations to me and about 20 other Amnesty members to attend a small...

A version of thie piece appears in today's Belfast Telegraph . It's not currently in the online edition so am posting below instead: One of my friend Mairead Maguire's favourite items of clothing is an old t-shirt. It bears the image...

Depressing news in Belfast this afternoon as a man is shot dead in broad daylight by two masked men on the Shankill Road, while a pipe-bomb explodes outside a Sinn Fein office in Castlewellan. You would think that some people don't...

Peace processes and the role of national human rights institutions – that's the theme of a lecture to be delivered next month by Northern Ireland's Chief Commissioner for Human Rights, Prof Monica McWilliams. The lecture will explore...

“Citizenship should be experienced with an uncovered face.” So said French President Nicholas Sarkozy, addressing theFrench cabinet on Wednesday, when it approved a draft law banning the wearingof full-face veils in public places. The...

“A commission is to be set up to review the Human RightsAct, as two terror suspects are allowed to stay in the UK ” reads the misleadingheadline on the BBC’s homepage. Two suspected al-Qaeda terrorists appealed againstextradition to...

On 20 April 2010 the First and Deputy First Ministers publisheddraft legislation for the ‘Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill(Northern Ireland). The Bill is tortrayed as a tool to find solutions to contentiousparades through...

Some disturbing allegations are coming out of Maghaberry prison these days. In my opinion, they're just as disturbing if they're not true as if they are true – due purely to the condescending response by authorities, particularly the...

Live in or near Belfast and looking for something different to do this Saturday? How about celebrating Africa Day with some authentic African food, music and dancing, courtesy of local charity Camara , colleagues of Amnesty in CADA...

International Day Against Homophobia is on Monday. Changing Attitude Ireland are holding an event in Belfast to mark the occasion this Sunday. It's a service on on the theme "OPEN DOORS" on Sunday 16th May 2010 at 3pm in St. George’s...

In 1786, a meeting was organised by a merchant called Waddell Cunningham just returned to Belfast from New York where he’d made his fortune in trade. The meeting was held in the Assembly rooms (the old Northern Bank building) on...

The QUB Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice Annual Lecture will take place on Thursday 20th May at 5.30pm, in Room 121, Lanyon Building. This year the theme is: “ Re-conceptualising Fair Trial Rights for the 21st Century ”...

"He will be confined in a cell 7 feet by 12 feet, with a moulded concrete bunk; his food will be delivered through a slot in the door; external communication, even with a doctor, will come via a closed-circuit television in his cell...

This General Election matters for human rights around the world. It's true that no-one’s going to force any of us to vote one way or another, or lock us up for speaking out on behalf of our particular political favourite. But human...

Are rights and religion natural partners with an overlapping worldview, or arch-enemies with conflicting interpretations of how we live with our neighbours near and far. Two-and-a-half years ago, I couldn't spare the two days to attend...

Is it only States which have a responsibility to uphold human rights? What about companies – especially these days when some multinationals have annual turnovers larger than the Gross Domestic Product of some countries? That's the...