Northern Ireland has failed dismally to deal with past human rights violations and to reform its outdated abortion laws, Amnesty International has said in its annual assessment of human rights around the world.

The State of the World’s Human Rights highlights repeated failures of the UK and Northern Ireland governments to put in place proper processes to ensure accountability for thousands of cases of killings, injuries and torture dating from the period of recent conflict, despite appeals by figures such as UN special rapporteur Pablo de Greiff, and the Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, Sir Declan Morgan.

The report also notes criticism by two UN bodies of NI’s abortion laws and prosecutions for taking medication to induce a miscarriage.

Amnesty’s Northern Ireland programme director, Patrick Corrigan, said: “Victims of Northern Ireland’s conflict continue to suffer the consequences of political failure to properly address past human rights abuses.

“This must be an urgent priority for agreement by the UK and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland political parties after next week’s Assembly election.

“Meanwhile, the right of women and girls to access safe and legal abortion services in Northern Ireland is being violated on a daily basis. Most people want to see significant abortion law reform in the next term of the Northern Ireland Assembly and we should expect nothing less.”