Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations - Transitional ...

3.2 Strand One: Democratic Institutions in Northern Ireland
3.2.1 The Northern Ireland Assembly
Strand One of the Agreement sets out the new democratic institutions: a democratically
elected 108-member Assembly in Northern Ireland with legislative and executive authority
over certain devolved responsibilities. Safeguards ‘to ensure that all sections of the
community can participate and work together’ are primarily concerned with the two,
Nationalist and Unionist, communities. Since inequality was at the heart of the conflict, an
Equality Commission was to be established ‘to promote equality of opportunity in
specified areas and parity of esteem between the two main communities’.
While this strand puts in place mechanisms to ensure participation by political parties
nothing is in place to ensure women’s participation, women relying therefore on
nomination by the political parties. The Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition position on
Strand One was that the ‘electoral system chosen for whatever chamber should deliver
fifty-fifty gender balanced representation’. 20 This recommendation is consistent with
international best practice as enshrined in article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), providing for ‘temporary
special measures aimed at accelerating de facto equality between men women’. 21
Women as citizens are protected from discrimination by the Agreement’s assertion that all
legislation passed should comply with the provisions of the European Convention on
Human Rights (incorporated in 2000 through the Human Rights Act) and any Bill of
Rights for Northern Ireland supplementing it, together with a Human Rights Commission.
3.2.2 The Civic Forum
Article 34 establishing a Civic Forum to include business, trade unions and the voluntary
sector provided an opportunity for women or women’s groups to participate. Yet only
approximately one-third of Civic Forum members are women 22 , and only two members
could be said to be drawn from the women’s sector. 23
3.3 Strand Two: North/South Ministerial Council
The Council allows for the participation of members and groups of civil society.
3.4 Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity
3.4.1 Human Rights
Guaranteeing rights and safeguards allowed Republicans to accept the constitutional
arrangements; couching rights as the universal entitlement of all men and women and
delivered largely through UK-wide initiatives enabled Unionist agreement. The main thrust
of the Agreement as a political document is evident when ‘the parties affirm their
commitment to the mutual respect, the civil rights and the religious liberties of everyone in
the community’. These are standard civil and political rights as outlined in international
human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Against the background of the
20 Ibid.
21 CEDAW is effectively an international bill of rights for women. By accepting the Convention, States
commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms.
Signatory states are required to submit periodic reports to the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women detailing measures they have taken to comply with their
CEDAW commitments. Both the Irish and UK governments are signatories to CEDAW.
22 Twenty-one of the sixty members are women
23 Co-ordinator of Women's Education Programme for the Workers Educational Association and Member
of Northern Ireland Committee of the Carers National Association and Secretary of Belfast branch.
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