The Assembly election and human rights
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Mar 08 2007 under Human rights, Alliance Party, DUP, Green Party, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP, PUP, Parties, Manifesto
Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International has an interesting post on human rights in Northern Ireland and whether this assembly election will make any difference.
Human rights have always been part of, what is now called, the ‘contested space’ in Northern Ireland, writes Patrick Corrigan. Sure, isn’t that how our recent local difficulties erupted in the late 1960s and early 1970s? Dispute over civil and political rights for all citizens, bleeding (literally) into … street disorder … the emergence of paramilitary organisations and … repressive tactics by the State (by the way, feel free to pick your own chronological order for these aforementioned events – for our current purposes, it doesn’t really matter), leading to a 25 year (and counting) cycle of violence and stalemate.
Anyway, after a dozen years of peace-processing, with polls opening in about 30 hours, will the 2007 Assembly election make any difference to human rights?
Read the rest of the entry at the Amnesty ‘Belfast and beyond’ blog.
PUP Manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Mar 07 2007 under PUP, Manifesto
The PUP have launched their party manifesto. You can download the full document here or read the BBC’s take on the manifesto.
‘Sharing’ or ‘Seperate but Equal’ Manifesto analysis from NICIE
Posted by Lisa on Mar 05 2007 under A Shared Future, Education & training, Alliance Party, DUP, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP, Parties, Manifesto
Pam Tilson from NICIE sent this helpful roundup of how the manifestos deal with the issue of creating a shared future.
‘Sharing’ or ‘Separate but Equal’?
How far along the road have each of the parties moved to recognising that ‘separate but equal’ – some kind of benign apartheid - is no longer acceptable and that we need to move towards a society where shared schools, housing, workplaces, leisure facilities and other services are commonplace?
Sinn Fein manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Mar 01 2007 under Sinn Féin, Manifesto
Sinn Fein have launched their party manifesto. You can download the full document here or read the BBC’s take on the manifesto.
Alliance manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 28 2007 under Alliance Party, Manifesto
The Alliance party have launched their party manifesto. You can download the full document here or read Mark Devenport’s views on the manifesto launch on the BBC blog.
SDLP manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 27 2007 under SDLP, Manifesto
The SDLP launched their party manifesto. You can download the full document here or read Mark Devenport’s views on the manifesto launch on the BBC blog.
DUP Manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 21 2007 under DUP, Manifesto
The DUP have released their manifesto today. You can download the full manifesto or read the BBC’s analysis of the document.
The Democratic Unionist Party has again insisted on upfront delivery by republicans before it will share power. DUP leader Ian Paisley said devolution would not be delayed by his party.
He said any delay would be because republicans or the government had not met all their obligations. Speaking at the launch of the DUP manifesto on Wednesday, North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds said it was about:
“Delivery, delivery, delivery.”
Green Party Manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 21 2007 under Green Party, Manifesto
The Green Party have presented their manifesto as a screensaver. To view the manifesto you’ll have to:
- Download this zip file
- Unzip this file
- Run the Green.exe file
- View the screensaver on your computer
UUP Manifesto
Posted by Feargal O'Kane on Feb 16 2007 under UUP, Parties, Manifesto
The Ulster Unionist Party have released their manifesto today in Belfast. The 36 page manifesto outlines their belief in the need for normal politics in Northern Ireland. The manifesto states that ‘it is now time to concentrate on the everyday issues which affect all of us: health, schools, rates and water charges, our environment, jobs and investment, and every other issue that matters to you and your family’.
You can download the full Manifesto from this site or have a look at the BBC analysis here
Sir Reg called for people to turn away from “stale, failed politics of the past”.
The DUP and Sinn Fein are more interested in dividing power between themselves rather than sharing office for the benefit of Northern Ireland” he said.”The DUP and Sinn Fein are more interested in polarising our society rather than finding ways of uniting us. The Ulster Unionist Party believes in the need for normal politics in Northern Ireland. It is now time to concentrate on the everyday issues which affect all of us: health, schools, rates and water charges, our environment, jobs and investment, and every other issue that matters to you and your family.”
The UUP manifesto also proposes an extension of the NHS Direct service to Northern Ireland - making health services more accessible to the public 24 hours a day. It also suggests free comprehensive eye examinations, an investment package for dental services, and a yearly free health check for all carers.
