In a report on the UK published today, human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatović said the UK government should reconsider its plans “in view of the widespread opposition in Northern Ireland, and fundamental questions about the compatibility of key parts of this instrument with the UK’s obligations under the ECHR”.

The report urges the UK government to “return to previously agreed principles in the Stormont House Agreement, and to use these principles as a basis to set out an approach to legacy cases that can carry the support of a considerable portion of society in Northern Ireland, that provides for ECHR-compliant investigations into killings and other serious human rights violations during the Troubles, and that prevents impunity for such violations”.

The commissioner also “stresses that any further steps on legacy must place the rights and needs of victims at its heart”, with a need for “timely, open and genuine consultations … with all stakeholders, but especially victims and their families, as well as victims’ groups”.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation Bill) proposes to create a new independent body called the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) and offer immunity from prosecution for individuals who co-operate with it.

Amnesty International recently called on the Irish government to bring the UK government to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) if it presses on with the legislation.