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Nationalists in the North of Ireland have suffered a compound set of denials of rights. Cultural rights have been systematically trampled upon, national and economic rights have been denied, rights of democratic participation have been withheld, individual rights have not only been curtailed, but curtailed in a discriminatory and frequently brutal fashion. The root cause of these violations has been partition, resting as it does on the denial of the right of the people of Ireland as a whole to national self-determination. The communal experience has been, in the words of the late Paddy McGrory that of `living in an alien and hostile environment... strangers in their own land' .
The six county state has never been able to afford its citizens the justice and equality fundamental to a peaceful and democratic society. The consequence has been a cycle of repression, conflict and resistance.
Unionists cannot be solely held responsible for this. Britain's policy created a sectarian state. Since the collapse of Stormont the British government has failed to effectively tackle economic and structural political discrimination against Catholics and the continuing cultural discrimination which denies Irish children their right to be taught through the medium of Irish. It is British policy which today labels nationalists as inferior and second class.
The excesses of the British state in defence of the northern statelet have been well documented.
Every major human rights agency in the world, from Amnesty International to Helsinki Watch, have accused Britain of torture, summary execution and extensive violations of human rights. London holds the distinction of having been found guilty before the European Court of Human Rights more often than any other signatory since 1950. The British governments role in the north has perhaps best been summed up by human rights lawyer and anti-apartheid campaigner (now a Minister in the South African government) Kadar Asmal who remarked: ``The British government has shown scant regard for international opinion and international and domestic legal standards.....My contention is that the United Kingdom is behaving and has behaved in the north in the same way that colonial powers exerted their sovereignty in the old fashioned empires''.
This then is the reality of the northern statelet. Over 75 years on a life support of oppression, injustice and inequality, it is a history of failure. It was a unionist one-party state which rejected basic principles of democracy, justice and equality.
Equality should now be at the heart of the British government's decision making and it must underpin our deliberations. It cannot be simply an illusion. It must be a fact. We need a wholehearted commitment to ensuring political, social and cultural rights to freedom from discrimination for all citizens, on parity of esteem and on just and equal treatment for the identity, ethos and aspirations for all our people.
The responsibility for this rests primarily with the British government - a government which has placed human rights in other countries at the top of its international agenda.
As we seek to restructure relationships this equality ethos needs to map out how we can ensure equality in employment, in economic investment, for the Irish language and culture, in education and for political representatives. It must tackle the difficult issue of cultural symbols, of flags and emblems and of policing.
Equality is not a threat to unionists. It means civil and political rights for unionists as well as nationalists and republicans. Whether it is the right to march, or the right to worship or the right to vote - these are civil, religious and political rights which must be guaranteed and protected.
Inequality and social exclusion are the enemies of peace. We need a partnership, based on equality, which will empower and improve the quality of life of citizens by being open, inclusive and democratic.
In the search for a just settlement, parity of esteem, equality of treatment, and full human rights protection must be guaranteed. These are rights, not privileges. Here Sinn Fein sets out what parity of esteem, equality of treatment, and meaningful protection of rights entail.
- Group rights
- Individual rights
- Mechanisms for the protection of rights.
Sinn Fein tables these proposals without prejudice to the outcome of the negotiations on the constitutional issues in the process.
Sinn Fein's views on constitutional issues are contained in the paper submitted on 17/10/97.
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