Impunity and the NI legacy bill – 50 years on from the Pinochet coup

This seminar will look at impunity both in the international context and specifically in relation to the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill. Hosted at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), the event is organised with the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), Pat Finucane Centre (PFC), and International Expert Panel on Impunity and the Northern Ireland Conflict. This Panel was convened by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo, at the request of the CAJ and PFC. Several members of the expert panel will present during the seminar.

REGISTER: www.bit.ly/ImpunitySeminar

AGENDA:

Introduction and welcome – Professor Joan Loughrey, Head of School, School of Law, QUB

Panel 1: Combatting impunity – The international context (featuring members of the ‘Expert Panel on Impunity and the Northern Ireland Conflict’)

Chair: Dr Ron Dudai, Ben Gurion University, Israel

Panellists:

• Maria José Guembe, Argentinian human rights lawyer – ‘Combatting impunity in Argentine context and the impact of the UK Pinochet case’
• Gisle Kvanvig, Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo – ‘The 9/11 wars; impunity and the current legitimacy deficit’
• Dr Aoife Duffy, Human Rights Centre, University of Essex – ‘The Legacy of Impunity for State Torture’

Panel 2: Impunity and the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill

Chair: Professor Anna Bryson, School of Law, QUB

Panellists:

• Daniel Holder, Director, CAJ – ‘Overview of the final legacy bill, the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR), and the closure of existing mechanisms’
• Professor Louise Mallinder, School of Law, QUB – ‘The conditional immunity scheme under the bill’
• Alan Brecknell, Case Worker, PFC – ‘Examples of the impact of the bill on individual families’

Panels to be followed by a discussion.

This seminar has been supported by the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (CFNI) through the Social Justice Small Grants Programme. If you have any questions about the event, please email [email protected].