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

explain that the paragraph ‘is intended to say something fundamental about the type of
society that we want, and the duties that lie on government and on each of us to secure
and maintain such a society.’ 185
Acknowledging that violence against women ‘is a manifestation of women’s inequality of
status and ineffective access to the legal system’ the Commission’s 2001 proposals 186
include in the section on the Rights of Victims a clause on violence against women, drafted
from international standards, which stated: ‘The State shall take all appropriate measures to
prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls whether physical,
mental or emotional.’ 187
In spite of the issue being a priority for women, reference to gendered violence is omitted
from the 2004 proposals. In Section 6: The right to be protected against violence, the
clause now reads: ‘Laws shall be passed to ensure that the use or threatened use of all
forms of violence, including violence in the home, bullying in the workplace or in schools,
and intimidation or harassment in any context, is prohibited and, where appropriate,
punished.’ 188
This fails to note the link between violence against women and inequality. Several
submissions want to strengthen this right by including sexual violence in the clause and
rights to compensation as well. In both cases there is a duty on the state to make the right
effective. However, since violence has been desegregated in terms of gender there is no
explicit duty on the state to create women-centred supports and legal remedies. The issue
of violence against women raises particular implementation issues: should obligations be
on government only to do more to address violence against women? If so, how proactive
should their obligations be? Or should obligations also be put directly on individuals?
Normally bills of rights address only state action, but more recently bills of rights have also
addressed the actions of others.
7.7 Under-representation in the Political Process:
The full, fair and effective participation of women is specifically mentioned in the
Agreement as a right to which the parties are committed. The initial wording for the Bill of
Rights read: 189
The State shall take all appropriate measures to promote the right of women to fair, full and equal
participation in public life, including participation in decision-making processes and access to power.
The Commission’s subsequent wording read: 190
The State shall take all appropriate measures to promote the right of under-represented sectors of
society, in particular women, to fair, full and equal participation in public life, including participation
in decision-making processes.
The Commission has retained the wording ‘all appropriate measures’ (some submissions
had suggested a change to ‘all necessary measures’). The original wording has been
185 Ibid.
186 NIHRC, Making a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, Consultation Document, September 2001
187 Ibid, section 8(c)(1)
188 NIHRC, Progressing A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, An Update, April 2004, section 6(2)
189 Ibid.
190 NIHRC, Progressing a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, An Update, April 2004
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