Dunja Mijatović

In a letter to Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatović, said the proposals “appear indistinguishable from a broad-based and unconditional amnesty for those not yet convicted”.

“In this regard, I recall that the [European Court of Human Rights] has previously recognised a growing tendency in international law to view the granting of amnesties in respect of grave breaches of human rights as unacceptable,” she said.

Ms Mijatović said the “shutting down” of prosecutions, police investigations and judicial activity in favour of an information recovery body with “limited investigatory powers” would “fall short of the requirements under the ECHR”.

“I am concerned that this approach is based on a false dichotomy between investigations and prosecutions on the one hand, and truth and reconciliation on the other, as well as on problematic assumptions about how these interact,” she added.

“In addition to being an international legal obligation, fighting impunity through criminal justice is one of the well-established pillars of transitional justice. Virtually every effective transitional justice effort to date has relied on elements of both criminal justice and truth and reconciliation.

“Conversely, impunity and the absence of justice can be a major impediment to achieving lasting peace and reconciliation.”

Mr Lewis, in response to Ms Mijatović’s letter, said: “The UK Government is committed to dealing with legacy issues in a way that supports information recovery and reconciliation, complies with international human rights obligations, and responds to the needs of individual victims and survivors, as well as society as a whole.

“In publishing our proposals for addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland’s past in the command paper of 14 July, we were clear that these were intended not to represent a final position but rather to inform a process of engagement.

“This engagement – which involves meeting with political representatives, representatives from the victims sector and victims and survivors directly – is ongoing and we are listening to and considering the views we are hearing very carefully as we reflect on the way forward.”