NI: Victims Commissioner warns of lack of awareness over legacy consultation
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Judith Thompson
The Victims Commissioner has warned that the Government’s public consultation on legacy issues is so low-key it risks a poor response rate, the Belfast Telegraph reports.
Judith Thompson said the information campaign as it stands could result in thousands of victims missing out on the opportunity to give their input on proposed new institutions to deal with the past.
She called on the authorities to support events encouraging victims to get in touch.
Ms Thompson’s comments come as a survey carried out by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) showed that just over a quarter of people, 26 per cent, said they were affected by the conflict while 58 per cent thought it was either important or very important to address them.
Seventy-three per cent of people said they supported the idea of a pension being given to the severely injured.
The survey, conducted last year, showed mixed support for the legacy institutions in the Stormont House Agreement.
Fifty-five per cent of respondents supported the establishment of a Historical Investigations Unit while 37 per cent backed an Implementation and Reconciliation Group and 33 per cent supported the Independent Commission for Information Retrieval.
Ms Thompson said of the consultation, which ends on September 10: “This is probably the most important public consultation process since the Good Friday Agreement referendum.
“Yet the lack of a high-profile public information campaign could result in thousands of victims and survivors in Northern Ireland missing out on the opportunity to have a say on the institutions designed to give them access to justice, information and services.”
She added it was “our best opportunity to have a meaningful say in the design and delivery of the proposed institutions”.
“To date, the public debate has centred around an issue that is not in the proposed legislation. A statute of limitations or an amnesty for security services cannot be delivered in isolation from others who have caused harm.
“This is a distraction that is in danger of generating a disproportionate response to the consultation from Great Britain and will effectively turn off potential respondents in Northern Ireland,” she said.
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