Policy Exchange report adds to ongoing debate in Northern Ireland over Belfast Agreement and quitting ECHR
The report by Policy Exchange stating that the Belfast Agreement is not a block on the UK leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR) is set to keep the hotly contested debate running.
With Reform UK last week proposing quitting the treaty – and suggesting a renegotiation of the 1998 peace deal – there has been a mixed reaction from Northern Ireland political leaders about what such a move would mean.
None of the unionist parties accept that the province should leave on any other basis than with the rest of the UK, however their approach to quitting the ECHR varies.
The DUP want the illegal migration crisis dealt with, but at the weekend its leader Gavin Robinson urged caution about quitting the treaty entirely. His comments came after Reform boss Nigel Farage said it would take longer for Northern Ireland to leave.
UUP MLAs Doug Beattie and Steve Aiken warned about the risk of following Mr Farage’s policy – arguing that a “people border” could be created and Northern Ireland could become a magnet for illegal migration, as it would not leave on the same basis.
The Policy Exchange report says that specific legislation – such as the Human Rights Act – could be kept in Northern Ireland, so far as local institutions are concerned. That is what the ECHR’s role was envisaged as in the Belfast Agreement – a check on the Assembly’s powers.
TUV leader Jim Allister supports withdrawal from the ECHR – which he says “as a matter of constitutional integrity, must be a UK wide exercise”.
The North Antrim MP said: “Otherwise we would have the constitutional absurdity of rights in one part of the Kingdom being governed by the wishes of Parliament and another by the diktat of a foreign court”.
Nationalists, Alliance and the Irish government are opposed to any UK withdrawal – arguing that it would breach the Belfast Agreement. SDLP leader Claire Hanna said the Agreement “belongs to the people of this island” and “is not Nigel Farage’s to tear up, nor any other British politician’s” – saying Mr Farage has no interest in Northern Ireland.