Date: 1999-07-19
Speaker: PETER KING (republican)
Chamber: H
State: New York

during consideration of this legislation in the International Relations Committee. Section 408and. by extension. the language offered todayseeks to end the intimidation of defense attorneys in Northern Ireland. and to secure just and impartial investigations of the murders of two heroic defense attorneys. Rosemary Nelson and Patrick Finucane. As adopted by the full committee. Section 408 cuts off funding authority for U.S.-sponsored training and exchange programs offered to Northern Irelands police force. the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). unless the President certifies that the United Kingdom has initiated independent investigations into the murders of two Catholic defense attorneys. It also conditions the funds on the President certifying that the UK is appropriately protecting other defense attorneys who have been harassed by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). On September 29. 1998. Rosemary Nelson. a defense attorney from Northern Ireland. testified before the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights and told us that. as a defense attorney working on highprofile. political cases. she feared the RUC. She reported that she had been "physically assaulted by a number of RUC officers." and that the harassment included. "at the most serious. making threats against my personal safety including death threats." Six months later. on March 15. 1999. Rosemary Nelson was murdered. the victim of a car bomb. Because of Rosemarys own stated fears. and because of subsequent reports issued by Northern Irelands Independent Commission on Police Complaints. several questions have been raised about RUC complicity in her murder. Amazingly. however. the British government insists that the RUC be the agency most involved in investigating Rosemarys murder. In addition to the Nelson family. numerous international human rights organizations. the European Union. the Northern Ireland Law Society. elected officials from both sides of the divide in Northern Ireland. and the U.S. Congress have all called for independent inquiriesRUCfree inquiriesinto Rosemary Nelsons murder. Similarly. leading human rights activists are calling for an independent judicial inquiry into the allegations of government collusion in the murder of slain defense attorney Patrick Finucane. In an extraordinary show of bipartisan support. this past April. the U.S. House of Representatives passed my bill. H. Res. 128. condemning the Finucane and Nelson killings and calling on the British government to adequately protect defense lawyers. The resolu- tion unequivocally linked Ms. Nelsons murder with that of Patrick Finucane. recognizing the hostile environment within which Northern Irelands defense lawyers function. particularly aggravated by threats coming directly or indirectly from the police. Section 408 of this bill renews our previous calls for the independent inquiries as but one step toward accountability for human rights violations against defense lawyers in Northern Ireland. It blocks U.S. funds to RUC programs and requires the President and the State Department to do more to persuade the Blair government to mitigate the harassment of defense attorneys in Northern Ireland. Mr. ENGELs amendment extends our efforts in Section 408 by restricting the export of law enforcement equipment to the RUC until the Section 408 goals are met. While the RUC does not currently receive the equipment banned by the Engel amendment. the added language precludes them from doing so. or even qualifying for such equipment. until the standards are met. It is important to note that even while negotiations have been stalled and the future of the new Northern Ireland Assembly is in jeopardy. the British government can take some unilateral steps to restore confidence in the peace process. As recommended in this bill. the Blair government should pull the RUC off the Rosemary Nelson murder case. take decisive action to protect defense attorneys. and initiate an objective. public inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane.