Burrows says 'base laws on hard realities' - after human rights body cites 'soft law' in call to raise child crime threshold
Jon Burrows says laws on the the age at which children can be prosecuted must be “based on hard reality” after the NI Human Rights Commission backed raising the threshold to at least 12, citing “soft law” from UN and European rights organisations.
It comes after the Ulster Unionist Party provided the signatures required to block an Alliance Party proposal to raise the age to 14, from 10, with some exemptions.
The DUP had launched a petition of concern on the matter, meaning it required cross-community consent.
The move sparked heated scenes in the Assembly earlier this months, with nationalist and Alliance MLAs furious at the move – saying it undermined democracy. However, unionists defended their decision – saying the matter was gravely serious and the plans were ill-considered.
The human rights commission (NIHRC) has now set out its position on the matter, and criticised the Alliance plan to have exemptions for certain offences.
The quango says they “do not sit easily alongside human rights standards which attach to the age of the child, rather than the nature of the offending”. Mr Burrows questioned Alliance MLAs on the logic of the proposals during the Stormont debate on the matter.
NIHRC also suggests raising the age from 10 to at least 12 years old. It says this is based on “on the full range of internationally accepted human rights standards” including the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as well as the “treaty obligations of the Council of Europe (CoE) and United Nations (UN) systems”.
It also cites “a body of ‘soft law’ developed by the human rights bodies of the CoE and UN which are “non-binding but provide further guidance”.
Jon Burrows told the News Letter: “The NIHRC might base its decision-making on what it calls ‘soft law’. We make laws based on hard reality, and the hard reality is that there are real victims behind these offences.
“The concerns of victims cannot be tacked on at the very end of a 16-page document as an afterthought; they have to be at the heart of it. Victims and public protection are at the heart of our party’s position on every aspect of the justice system.
“This intervention is as inappropriate as it is late. The debate has already happened, the Assembly has already weighed these amendments in detail, and only now does the Commission decide to wade in.
“Did the commissioner and her team even bother to listen to that debate, or engage with the arguments actually made in the chamber?
“Did they hear the glaring flaws we exposed: amendments that captured rape but not aiding and abetting rape, and captured attempted murder but not conspiracy to murder?
“Does the Commission deem it acceptable that victims of crimes like grievous bodily harm wouldn’t even get a say if a suspect just one day under 14 faced justice?
“Did they hear that the amendments would render the PSNI powerless even to investigate crimes committed by under-14s, to secure forensic evidence, or to prove or disprove allegations?
“I make no apology for using every legitimate means available to stop a badly drafted law that would have let victims down and endangered our citizens, especially women and girls.
“The Commission is funded by the public to protect everyone’s rights, and that has to include the rights of victims and potential victims, not leave them as an afterthought. Sadly, in the eyes of many human rights organisations, the rights of perpetrators are given greater weight than those of victims.”
The NIHRC report said the the impact of proposed changes “should also be assessed from a victims' perspective and using safeguarding principles”.
During Assembly exchanges on the matter earlier this month, Sinn Fein MLA Emma Sheerin questioned the UUP leader’s claim that a 13 year old could be prosecuted for rape under the plans, but not aiding and abetting rape – citing a recent case in England.
Ms Sheerin said: “Rape is included as an acceptable offence in this amendment. This is all a waste of time because they’ve already employed their POC and we’re not getting to deliver for children anyway”.
Mr Burrows replied: “The Member is quite wrong. Attention to detail when legislating is vital. Rape and attempted rape are included in some of the amendments. Aiding and abetting rape is not”.
Someone on the Alliance benches appeared to accuse the UUP leader of being “obsessed with rape”. He responded: “You say that I am obsessed with rape. I am obsessed by the fact that people want to legalise it”.
Alliance leader and justice minister Naomi Long, who backed the changes, responded “How dare you”.