Their words were obviously significant and may well have been the deciding factor when the commissioners came to make their decision. The people of Northern Ireland can sleep slightly more easily tonight in the knowledge that Mr Adair remains behind bars. Alliance THE Alliance Party is concerned that divisions within Northern Ireland could be further entrenched by the Human Rights Commission's remit only to reflect the ethos of two communities in its deliberations over an NI Bill of Rights. In its initial submission to the Human Rights Commission on the content of a local Bill of Rights to supplement the European Convention on Human Rights, Alliance called on the Human Rights Commission to incorporate international law into the Bill of Rights. However, we recognise its limitations, particularly regarding social and economic rights and protections for minorities.
Alliance therefore welcomes the initiative to create a further NI Bill of Rights.
We feel that this would further entrench the divisions in Northern Ireland, pigeon-hole people and suppress individuality, and prevent the emergence of greater pluralism and sharing with this society. International law provides us with a wide range of human rights protections. Although the UK Government has ratified many of these instruments, it has not brought them into domestic law. Human Rights protections are important in every society, but particularly so in Northern Ireland given the divisions within our society and our recent history.