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Constitutional
right to environmental protection
In an
exciting change in the Republic, the High Court has recognised for the first
time a constitutional right to environmental protection "that is
consistent with the human dignity and well-being of citizens at large”. This
was in relation to a case taken by Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE)
regarding Dublin airport. In his lengthy judgement, Mr Justice Barrett said (para
264):"A
right to an environment that is consistent with the human dignity and
well-being of citizens at large is an essential condition for the fulfilment of
all human rights. It is an indispensable existential right that is enjoyed
universally, yet which is vested personally as a right that presents and can be
seen always to have presented, and to enjoy protection, under Art. 40.3.1 of
the Constitution. It is not so utopian a right that it can never be enforced.”
A
spokesperson for FIE said: "The judgement is
timely in light of the unprecedented threats to the environment and human life
posed by climate change. We expect this decision to have profound implications
beyond the scope of this case. The state now has a duty to protect the
environment in a way that is consistent with this newly established
right." See www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org for more information or phone 027-74771 (or 087 2176316), also environmentalpillar.ie
Corrymeela
events, Colin Craig departs
Colin
Craig retired as Executive Director of Corrymeela at the end of September after
many different roles over the years, with Corrymeela and other organisations,
including over a decade as Corrymeela Centre Director. A feature and tributes
to Colin appear in the current issue (Vol 17 No.2) issue of ‘Corrymeela’
magazine.
The
second annual Carafest Festival of Faith and Reconciliation will take place at
Corrymeela Ballycastle from Friday 30March to Monday 2 April 2018. As before there will be a wide range of speakers, poets and
musicians – the line up will be confirmed when booking opens on 10th January. The ‘Cara’ in Carafest comes from the Irish and Scots Gaelic for
‘friend’ and has been chosen because the word reconciliation means ‘to become
friends again’.
A
variety of other open events are taking place including a winter school
exploring heritage practice in contested societies, “Heritage as
Reconciliation”, from Monday 15th January to Friday 19th January. Details at www.corrymeela.org Other events include ‘Corrymeela Learning seminars’ with a variety of topics
(next one 12th December on LGBTQ visions of peace), a prayer and
reflection series (next one 10th December), and Public Theology and
Reconciliation events. An advent series at the Belfast office on ‘Border
crossings in the Nativity stories’ takes place at 7pm on 4th, 11th and 18th December. See the www.corrymeela.org
Consensual
Decision Making manual launch, Derry
St
Columb’s Park House in Derry have coming up the launch of a manual on
Consensual Based Decision Making. This was developed from a pilot project that
promoted the use of Consensual Based Decision Making within councils,
communities and also consultations. The project specifically used the Modified
Borda Count, promoting this as a tool to deal with contentious issues or to
include minority voices in decision making. The launch is on Friday 15th December from 11am until 12.30pm at St. Columb’s Park House, 4 Limavady
Road, Derry-Londonderry BT47 6JY. Please RSVP if wishing to attend: sharon@stcolumbsparkhouse.org or www.stcolumbsparkhouse.org
BrexitLawNI
This is a collaborative project between the Law
Schools of Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University (and the
Transitional Justice Institute there) along with the Committee on the
Administration of Justice (CAJ). The project will examine the constitutional,
conflict transformation, human rights and equality consequences of Brexit. The
main outputs of this project will take the form of 6 policy reports, each
examining a different theme: the peace process, North-South relations, border
controls and free movement, xenophobia and racism, socio-economic rights, and
wider human rights and equality issues. Along with these reports, the project
team will disseminate information through various outlets, including blog
posts, news articles and media interviews, videos, and academic research
articles. Six Preliminary Papers can be found on the Brexit Law NI brexitlawni.org
‘Section 75’ research
and project launch, Belfast
Tuesday 12th December from 10.30am - 12.30pm at UNISON,
165 York Street, Belfast, BT15 1GD, RSVP: equalitycoalition@caj.org.uk if wishing to
attend. The statutory equality duty in section 75 of the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 was one of the safeguards in the Belfast/Good Friday
Agreement which was actually implemented. There has, however, been a concern
for some time among members of the Equality Coalition that, notwithstanding
significant pockets of good practice, the equality duty is regularly flaunted
by many public authorities.
Research conducted by the Equality Coalition
has overviewed the application and impact of the enforcement powers over the
section 75 equality duties, documenting their scope, usage and precedents set
whilst making recommendations to civil society and the Equality Commission as
to how the powers could be used more effectively in future. This event will
launch CAJ’s new ‘Equality Duty Enforcement Project’ which has appointed a
coordinator and will work to assist Equality Coalition member groups and others
in taking complaints and other interventions to ensure the equality duty is
complied with. The Equality Coalition, co-convened by UNISON and CAJ, is the
umbrella representative body for the equality sector, composed of NGOs and
trade unions from all of the section 75 categories and beyond. The research
will be presented with discussion to follow. www.equalitycoalition.net and caj.org.uk
Let there
be – solar – light
Afri is
again making the option available of people purchasing solar lights as gifts to
families in Kenya, meaning those who do not have electricity will benefit in
terms of health (avoiding kerosene), income and learning (light at night time).
€15 buys one and you receive a gift card or buy more than one and a midwife
will also benefit. Details at www.afri.ie
Mairead
Maguire on disarmament, Yemen
The text
of a speech by Mairead Maguire at a conference in Rome on “Perspectives for a
world free from Nuclear Weapons and for Integral Disarmament” can be found at http://www.peacepeople.com/
Mairead
Maguire was one of the Nobel women peace laureates to call, 27th November, for an end to the Saudi and Emirates-led coalition blockade of Yemen;
“This blockade denies millions of vulnerable and innocent civilians access
to food, fuel and medical supplies. It further aggravates what the United
Nations has called the world’s ‘worst humanitarian crisis’ to date...”, see nobelwomensinitiative.org
Peace Forest Ireland
The Peace
Forest Ireland Project involves the creation of a peace forest stretching
throughout the counties north and south of the border, and besides the planting of
peace trees it aims to bring people together to better understand and share in
the richness of cultural diversity
and biodiversity of their communities. The first trees were planted in 2014 and
4,000 peace trees have been planted in 2017 in memory of all those who lost
their lives in the Northern Ireland conflict. It is hoped to re-launch the project
early in the new year, and build its structure and capacity - during 2018 it is
intended to plant a tree for each child born in the border counties in the year
2017. See www.facebook.com or phone John Haughton at 085 2536650.
State should stop
incentivising environmentally damaging forestry
The
Environmental Pillar has argued strongly for support towards more sustainable
native tree cover initiatives, and not for environmentally-damaging monoculture. environmentalpillar.ie
Chernobyl
survivor appointed to CCI board
A leading
Belarusian-born volunteer worker and campaigner for the rights of victims of
the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Julie Shynkarenka. has been appointed to the
Board of Directors of Chernobyl Children International (CCI) charity. She
personally suffered serious medical effects from Chernobyl and came to Ireland
in 2002. There are now 9 people on the CCI board CCI’s Board including businesswoman
Ali Hewson and former Minister Liz O’Donnell, while the Board is chaired by
Chartered Accountant Peter Lacy, and Adi Roche is Voluntary CEO. More news and
information at www.chernobyl-international.com
WRI
Prisoners for Peace, video
The War
Resisters’ International (WRI) produces an annual list of Prisoners for Peace,
available on the WRI website at https://www.wri-irg.org/en/inprison including information about sending messages of support for people behind bars
for taking a stand for peace. Meanwhile a short video about WRI’s work is
available at www.facebook.com on Vimeo at and towards the
bottom of this page on the WRI website. There
is much more valuable information on the website and a link to the countering
the Militarisation of Youth programme, and War Profiteers News. www.wri-irg.orgI WRI
also welcomes financial support for its work – click on ‘Support us’ on the
website. INNATE is an affiliate of WRI.
EPA
report highlights total failure to tackle air pollution
The Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) damning indictment of the Irish transport system's
contribution to poor air quality underlies the urgent need to move away from
polluting diesel and petrol vehicles. https://goo.gl/Xnax7c The
transport sector accounts for 21 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in
Ireland, with private cars accounting for over half of total transport
emissions – and the Citizen’s Assembly has been told that the number of cars on
Irish roads is predicted to increase from 2 million in 2016 to over 3 million
in 2050 in line with the economic recovery. The Environmental Pillar supports
the EPA's call for "a transition in our modes of transport away from the
use of the private diesel and petrol powered motor cars" to a more
sustainable model. There was even a failure to equalise the cost of diesel and
petrol in the 2018 budget. environmentalpillar.ie
Shrinking
civil society space for women
A report
on the Women Peacemakers Program website looks at how securitised frameworks of counter-terrorism and militarism undermine
women civil society and contribute to “shrinking civil society space”. It is a
report on an event marking the 17th anniversary of United Nations Security
Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325.
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