:00:21. > :00:24.Hello and welcome to the programme. Coming up this week:
:00:24. > :00:29.The Anglo-Irish Treaty is the first of a string of anniversaries coming
:00:29. > :00:32.up. But could we ever agree how to mark these memorable dates?
:00:32. > :00:36.Is Belfast's Dome of Delight reverting to the bad old days of
:00:36. > :00:40.sectarian strife? The MLA who rejected the priesthood
:00:40. > :00:47.in favour of politics. And where the Human Rights
:00:47. > :00:50.Commissioner believes the Programme for Government has got it wrong.
:00:50. > :00:53.On an island renowned for its long memories, the next few years will
:00:53. > :00:56.be throwing up a long line of anniversaries for both sides of our
:00:56. > :00:59.divided society. In a Westminster debate tabled by the Alliance's
:00:59. > :01:04.Naomi Long, the NIO Minister Hugo Swire said the challenge is to
:01:04. > :01:07.ensure nobody is able to hijack history for a narrow, biased agenda.
:01:07. > :01:10.But is there any prospect that these memorable dates could create
:01:10. > :01:20.better relationships or are they likely to lead, as Mrs Long warns,
:01:20. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:25.to fractious and deepening antagonism? Alex Maskey, let's
:01:25. > :01:29.start with you. I suppose the next anniversary will be the signing of
:01:29. > :01:36.the Covenant. Can you look at that with a degree of excitement and
:01:36. > :01:40.anticipation? These events are normally a rematch so I think it is
:01:40. > :01:45.important that we look at all of these commemorations and historic
:01:45. > :01:50.events with immaturity and reflection. Obviously, we all have
:01:50. > :01:54.a different perspective butter think we can do it in a
:01:54. > :01:59.commemorative wave. It can certainly be done in a way that
:01:59. > :02:03.allows for a greater understanding between the various communities.
:02:03. > :02:08.There are so many which are due in the next few years and I think we
:02:08. > :02:13.can do ourselves, as a whole community, a good service and
:02:13. > :02:22.within the context of the time. What do you mean by a "in the
:02:22. > :02:25.context of the time? We have to look at people's reaction to these
:02:26. > :02:34.things so there is no point in dealing with the covenant on his
:02:34. > :02:38.own. I have no reason to fear any examination of history, far from it.
:02:38. > :02:45.I think it is what we do learn from it. I want to listen to other
:02:45. > :02:50.people's views on it. I don't expect to change a Unionist
:02:50. > :02:55.perspective, for example and I want to listen to their views as they
:02:55. > :03:00.should listen to mind. Some Unionists are a bit afraid of what
:03:00. > :03:08.it might bring? I do not know if there were afraid. I think there is
:03:08. > :03:16.a concern, for example, of the government would want to go ahead
:03:16. > :03:24.because of where it took place and that is fine. It is whether then an
:03:24. > :03:27.importation of a replica of that for a new generation comes about. I
:03:27. > :03:34.think if sensitivities are dull with we can get these
:03:34. > :03:39.commemorations going and deal with it. -- are dealt with. The event
:03:39. > :03:43.took place in Dublin and us suppose that is where it should be to be
:03:43. > :03:52.most memorably commemorated. You would not expect the Battle of the
:03:52. > :03:59.Boyne to be commemorated in France. In Belfast, may be? We have done
:03:59. > :04:03.and whenever other battles and other events are commemorated, they
:04:03. > :04:08.are done so on those occasions. But you don't transported to another
:04:08. > :04:12.country. But when sensibilities are used in terms of these
:04:12. > :04:16.commemorations, I think we can get through them and in a way people
:04:16. > :04:24.can understand what it is is being commemorated and not trying to
:04:24. > :04:29.rewrite history. Chris Little, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was passed off
:04:29. > :04:33.this week with any great mention at all. Certainly no great fuss. It
:04:33. > :04:39.was the treaty that gave birth to the new Ireland. Do you think that
:04:39. > :04:43.would be something you would like to see happen on every anniversary
:04:43. > :04:49.or almost ignored? I think there are some key centenaries coming up
:04:49. > :04:54.in the next decade. I would congratulate the MPs to put this on
:04:54. > :04:58.the agenda at Westminster. This is an opportunity to commemorate these
:04:58. > :05:02.events in a way that will help us build a shared future in Northern
:05:02. > :05:08.Ireland. I have seen the Queen's visit to Northern Ireland recently
:05:08. > :05:15.and it was hand -- handled in a very conciliatory way. I think we
:05:15. > :05:22.can do the same. There is a clear danger that it could be hijacked.
:05:22. > :05:27.That is still a danger, isn't it? There is no need for scaremongering
:05:27. > :05:31.around these issues. I think the governments can work together. I
:05:31. > :05:34.think it is about approaching this in a positive fashion to make sure
:05:34. > :05:41.we work together to commemorate these events in a positive way.
:05:41. > :05:48.Alex Maskey, there is a commemorative committee and a
:05:48. > :05:52.working group with the city council. What sorts of issues will come up?
:05:52. > :06:00.Could it be a return to the old days of sectarian rivalry and
:06:00. > :06:09.bitterness? We have got a lot of work involving all the parties and
:06:10. > :06:16.the city council. There's tremendous work being done so it is
:06:16. > :06:22.not anywhere near as bad as it was a few years ago. First of all, I
:06:22. > :06:29.would like to make the point that the comments from Hugo Swire were
:06:29. > :06:35.very unhelpful and very unnecessary. But surely realistic? There are
:06:35. > :06:41.people that he tried to translate it into terms of violence. We all
:06:41. > :06:48.have different views on prospects - - aspects of Arab history. Ireland
:06:48. > :06:53.was not a participant in 1960 or 1912. We have to look at these
:06:53. > :06:56.things in the round. I do believe there are very his commemoration
:06:56. > :07:03.committee is now starting to be formed and people are grasping the
:07:03. > :07:07.nettle of, how do we do this in a way which is reflective and can add
:07:07. > :07:17.to our nation and our national reconciliation. I do not think
:07:17. > :07:19.
:07:19. > :07:24.anybody should be afraid of history. We do need to learn from it. All
:07:24. > :07:28.these events are very important part of our collective history.
:07:28. > :07:33.important would it be, Gregory Campbell, that you would go to
:07:33. > :07:39.whichever commemoration, 1916, for example, and the covenant
:07:39. > :07:42.commemoration? It would not be important at all. It would be
:07:42. > :07:47.important that others understand that they would want to go to
:07:47. > :07:51.events that they commemorate. Why would I want to go? To show an
:07:51. > :08:00.understanding of history. And I can't understand it by not being
:08:00. > :08:07.there? No... But Unionists want Sinn Fein Lord Mayor has to go to
:08:07. > :08:10.various services for Remembrance Sunday and wear poppies.
:08:10. > :08:15.Remembrance Day is not our commemoration. It is a
:08:15. > :08:19.commemoration for everybody - Protestants, Catholics, everybody.
:08:19. > :08:23.There should not be any problem there. Some people might say in
:08:23. > :08:30.1916 is the same thing. The problem has been that in the past, some did
:08:30. > :08:33.not know what happened 100 years ago. Now, Protestants and Catholics
:08:33. > :08:36.served in the Great War and some have even discovered their
:08:36. > :08:41.grandfathers and great uncles, their names are on the Cenotaph,
:08:41. > :08:47.the send-off to which they can go to pay tribute. -- the Cenotaph to
:08:47. > :08:51.which they can go. Hopefully that helps them commemorate. When we
:08:51. > :08:58.come to a day where others understand what we want, then that
:08:58. > :09:03.is good. What Hugo Swire said was quite helpful and the Commons from
:09:03. > :09:10.everybody on all sites were held for. How important is it, do you
:09:10. > :09:16.think, Chris Little, is it to find a common nature in these things?
:09:16. > :09:20.The 10th Irish division was involved as well. I think there is
:09:20. > :09:25.more of a shared history than we care to realise. It is not about
:09:25. > :09:29.specific individuals and how they attend specific events. Those will
:09:29. > :09:35.mean different things to different people. But I think it is about
:09:35. > :09:39.working with people in different ways. One commemoration committee
:09:39. > :09:43.has identified specific era's where different events which mean
:09:43. > :09:47.different things to different people can be respected and
:09:47. > :09:53.commemorated in a shed weight. And I do not think we can forget that
:09:53. > :09:55.there are specific economic and tourist opportunities. People in
:09:55. > :09:59.Northern Ireland should feel welcome to attend any of these
:09:59. > :10:04.events and we want to make sure others can come and attend the
:10:04. > :10:09.events and share the historical nature. Maybe we should think about
:10:09. > :10:15.the mess and commemorate less? think maybe that is a head in the
:10:15. > :10:18.sand, and. It is important that we take pre-emptive action and plan
:10:18. > :10:22.and prepare in a way people are comfortable with so that whoever
:10:22. > :10:27.wants to go to events like that are allowed to go, to commemorate
:10:27. > :10:31.events they feel strongly about and events which they cherish and
:10:31. > :10:35.Aachen -- important in their community. As long as there is not
:10:35. > :10:39.an attempt to stop those who do want to commemorate, that they are
:10:39. > :10:45.allowed to do that. And if people do that sensitively, we will get
:10:45. > :10:48.through the next 10 years. The 100th anniversary of Northern
:10:48. > :10:56.Ireland, we should be looking forward not only to that 100 years
:10:56. > :11:03.but the next. And a politician might object to that? Had become
:11:03. > :11:09.100 years on, we might have started... -- hope for leave.
:11:09. > :11:18.think leaders need to look at history in the round. We are not
:11:18. > :11:22.about people's opinions of 1916. But I hear a lot of people saying
:11:22. > :11:26.and talking about the Battle of the Somme and Irishmen of all
:11:26. > :11:32.persuasions lost their lives there, but there are those who lost their
:11:32. > :11:38.lives and came back to Ireland and fought with the Republic forces
:11:38. > :11:44.against Northern Ireland. People from a broader community would
:11:44. > :11:47.understand that. They are prepared, on the one hand, to put a halo on
:11:48. > :11:55.the Battle of the Somme but they are not acknowledging that they
:11:55. > :12:01.came back and fought against the British. It is part of its history.
:12:01. > :12:06.But we need a greater understanding of everything? The problem is, it
:12:06. > :12:12.is a bit odd to go out and fight for freedom and then come back and
:12:12. > :12:17.fight against it. Some people were fighting for freedom in recent
:12:17. > :12:22.years and paid the ultimate prize when the IRA's campaigns were on.
:12:22. > :12:26.But I think we are preparing well in advance of a series of
:12:26. > :12:30.government -- commemorations. If we do it in a quiet, respectable way
:12:30. > :12:36.and we are sensibly using our heads about how to get through the next
:12:36. > :12:42.10 years, we can turn it into a plus rather than a minus. But this
:12:42. > :12:48.is Ireland, and the danger will always remained that fractiousness
:12:48. > :12:53.will rule the day? There is a consensus about how we approach
:12:53. > :12:57.this issue and the Westminster debate showed there was consensus
:12:57. > :13:02.as well. So I am confident that parties and ministers can work
:13:02. > :13:05.together. Thank you very much indeed, gentlemen.
:13:05. > :13:09.It must be a rare treat for Stormont Assembly Members to feel
:13:09. > :13:11.grand, dignified and superior. But they got ample opportunity this
:13:11. > :13:13.week, with the ridiculous protracted row at Belfast City
:13:13. > :13:19.Council over Lord Mayor Niall O'Donnghaile's refusal to present
:13:19. > :13:21.an award to a teenage Army Cadet. It was obviously a complete
:13:21. > :13:24.horlicks from the start, with the young and inexperienced
:13:24. > :13:29.O'Donnghaile caught on the hop by the unexpected appearance of an
:13:29. > :13:32.adolescent British army volunteer. Martin McGuinness eventually struck
:13:32. > :13:37.the right note by admitting that the Lord Mayor's failure to present
:13:37. > :13:40.the award was undoubtedly a mistake. Undoubtedly it was. But after
:13:40. > :13:42.O'Donnghaile had choked out an early, qualified apology, and
:13:42. > :13:49.afterwards a more sincere-sounding, expansive one, it was clearly time
:13:49. > :13:51.to move on. Or at least it would be in any normal democratic set-up.
:13:51. > :13:54.Instead, we had the farcical situation of an angry Loyalist
:13:54. > :13:56.crowd hurling abuse and attacking cars out the back of City Hall,
:13:56. > :14:02.while Christmas shoppers munched roast chestnuts and sipped mulled
:14:02. > :14:05.wine at the continental market out the front. Inside the Dome of
:14:06. > :14:09.Delight, the mood wasn't much better. And how fortuitous that
:14:09. > :14:13.this was the very week that City Council meetings went live on the
:14:13. > :14:17.internet. It meant we could see every snarl, frown and pout as it
:14:17. > :14:20.happened. I don't know who was operating the webcam, but it
:14:20. > :14:24.created a dizzying effect as it whizzed from speaker to speaker.
:14:24. > :14:28.Motion sickness soon set in. But it was worth watching just to see the
:14:28. > :14:31.inadvertent cameos of councillors caught in repose. The DUP's
:14:31. > :14:33.Christopher Stalford seemed to be lost in secret fantasy, a half-
:14:33. > :14:39.smile playing around his lips, and Ulster Unionist Jim Rodgers
:14:39. > :14:42.appeared to be chewing a wasp. Various issues were discussed at
:14:42. > :14:47.length, not least the row over whether to erect an Irish language
:14:47. > :14:51.Christmas sign at the side of City Hall. Festive spirit and all that.
:14:51. > :14:53.But of course, the big topic was the first citizen's misdemeanour.
:14:53. > :14:58.Young DUP councillors Guy Spence and Gavin Robinson passionately
:14:58. > :15:02.berated the equally youthful O'Donnghaile for his failings. It
:15:02. > :15:05.was like showdown at the Junior Debating Society. But it was left
:15:05. > :15:08.to Deputy Lord Mayor Ruth Patterson, in full finger-waving school matron
:15:08. > :15:14.mode, to fully apprise O'Donnghaile of how very, very naughty he had
:15:14. > :15:18.been, and how he must never, ever do it again. "You do not disrespect
:15:18. > :15:22.anyone!" she rapped out, as the Mayor lolled in his massive throne
:15:22. > :15:27.like a recalcitrant schoolboy. I half-expected him to mutter, "I
:15:27. > :15:29.will if I want to". Belfast City Council has form with these voluble
:15:29. > :15:32.and nonsensical spats, including the row over O'Donnghaile sticking
:15:32. > :15:38.the official portraits of the Queen and Prince Philip behind the door
:15:38. > :15:40.of his parlour. In fact, the fresh intake of younger members at the
:15:40. > :15:45.last election seems to have inflamed hostilities rather than
:15:45. > :15:48.calmed them. Whatever their ages, when they start making Stormont
:15:48. > :15:57.look like a Swiss charm school for young ladies, it's clearly time for
:15:57. > :16:01.And now we return to our occasional series introducing some of the new
:16:01. > :16:11.generation of MLAs. Julia Paul's been to Fermanagh to meet a Sinn
:16:11. > :16:20.
:16:20. > :16:27.Fein representative who originally I grew up in a rural area in County
:16:27. > :16:31.Fermanagh. I am from a family of six children. I come from a non-
:16:31. > :16:37.political family, politics was never discussed in our house. When
:16:37. > :16:45.I was young, I wanted be a priest. That was my calling but I grew out
:16:45. > :16:49.of that and got an interest in current affairs and later politics.
:16:49. > :16:53.I joined Sinn Fein at university and they gave me a flavour about
:16:53. > :17:00.political life and what was involved in politics and the
:17:00. > :17:04.difference you can make to people's lives. A position came up to beat a
:17:04. > :17:09.councillor and I put my name forward. I have no regrets about
:17:09. > :17:14.that. I am the youngest MLA in the Assembly. It is difficult to get
:17:14. > :17:19.young people involved and there is a disconnect between young people
:17:19. > :17:25.and elected representatives and politics. I do not think
:17:25. > :17:29.politicians need to be men in grey suits. They should represent the
:17:29. > :17:34.people. We need a greater number of young people and women involved in
:17:34. > :17:39.politics and I encourage people to get involved because up the minutes
:17:39. > :17:46.the system is dominated by men and young people are not represented in
:17:46. > :17:51.any political arena. One key issue in the constituency is the growing
:17:51. > :17:55.rate of emigration of young people. We need to take a handle on this
:17:55. > :18:00.and address it. One reason people are leaving his there is a lack of
:18:00. > :18:10.jobs but also lack of hope. We need an approach to create jobs and give
:18:10. > :18:14.
:18:14. > :18:19.I am very committed to the unifying Ireland. Is the only way forward
:18:19. > :18:24.for political, economic and social reasons. It is for the good of all
:18:24. > :18:28.the people. It is not an ideological reason. It is a
:18:28. > :18:33.commonsense approach that services need to be organised, we need to
:18:33. > :18:37.come together as a people of the island to work together. I am
:18:37. > :18:43.active in the community and engage with people. I get out and about
:18:43. > :18:48.and see the issues affecting the. Unless the people elected to know
:18:48. > :18:52.what the issues are, you never can make a difference. I am involved in
:18:52. > :18:57.listening and finding out what the problems are and dealing with them
:18:57. > :19:01.accordingly. I do not agree with just tea and sympathy. I am in
:19:01. > :19:09.favour of taking a problem, finding out about the issue and brilliant
:19:09. > :19:14.for. Small issues, you can ring the Housing Executive and sorted out.
:19:15. > :19:20.If you come across a problem affecting 5,000 people, and you can
:19:20. > :19:23.change policy so it effects people, it is a good thing to do. It's what
:19:23. > :19:26.politicians should be doing. It took a long time to produce the
:19:26. > :19:29.latest programme for Government, and of course it has its critics in
:19:29. > :19:32.and outside Stormont. The latest volley comes from the Human Rights
:19:32. > :19:34.Commission, which is unhappy that the programme makes but passing
:19:34. > :19:43.allusion to the human rights which the Commissioner believes should
:19:43. > :19:47.underpin the whole edifice. Michael O'Flaherty is with me. This is a
:19:47. > :19:53.comprehensive document covering every element of the assembly's
:19:53. > :19:59.efforts. You have picked out a lack of commitment to victims of sexual
:19:59. > :20:04.crime and travellers as major criticisms. In the sense of a whole
:20:05. > :20:08.doctrine, is it not nit-picking? Good evening, it's a pleasure to be
:20:08. > :20:13.here and we welcome the programme for government. It's an important
:20:13. > :20:16.initiative and we welcome much of the contents. There's a lot of good
:20:16. > :20:22.stuff which will make a real change for human rights of people in
:20:22. > :20:26.Northern Ireland. We are concerned, not about the individual document,
:20:26. > :20:31.it's the lack of a global framework which goes deeper into what it
:20:31. > :20:34.means to promote equality and human rights and to take care of what the
:20:35. > :20:39.ministers talk about as being the most vulnerable and disadvantaged
:20:39. > :20:43.in Northern Ireland. You say that but the chapter headings are
:20:43. > :20:49.creating opportunities, improving health and well-being, protecting
:20:49. > :20:53.the people, environment and creating safer communities. They
:20:53. > :20:59.are great chapter headings. What we need is a human rights based
:20:59. > :21:04.approach to implementing that. For example, the situation of poverty
:21:04. > :21:10.is the very serious in Northern Ireland. 22% of the people are
:21:10. > :21:16.deemed to be poor, the highest rate in the UK. 50% of households are
:21:16. > :21:20.fuel for, the choice between food and fuel. We are pressing
:21:20. > :21:23.government the extent to which its obligations under it the
:21:23. > :21:26.international treaties require it to put combating poverty not just
:21:26. > :21:36.as an element in this or that chapter but an overarching
:21:36. > :21:38.
:21:38. > :21:43.framework. As you say, the document could say it universal... It
:21:43. > :21:47.underpins what is said. We want to make sure that happens, the
:21:47. > :21:50.quotation from the declaration is welcome. We need to see the
:21:50. > :21:55.provisions of the declaration carried through. How would the
:21:55. > :22:01.document that different if you're writing it? We would not write it.
:22:01. > :22:08.Our job as human rights commissions is to provide advice on standards.
:22:08. > :22:11.We do not supplant government. How it might be different would-be an
:22:12. > :22:15.acknowledgement of who the most vulnerable are at the outset and
:22:15. > :22:18.then up spelling out chapter by chapter how the programme for
:22:18. > :22:24.government will deliver for them, how will it deliver for the poorest,
:22:24. > :22:29.how will it deliver for those living at the interface and for old
:22:30. > :22:38.folks in nursing homes and so on? It does that by implication.
:22:38. > :22:42.sufficiently. We need it explicitly at the heart of policy-making. A
:22:42. > :22:46.far more explicit demonstration of how the rights holders, the people
:22:46. > :22:50.of Northern Ireland, will be involved in the business of
:22:50. > :22:54.implementing the programme for government. The last page sets up
:22:54. > :22:58.the implementation same work. This ministry does that, that department
:22:59. > :23:03.does the other. It has to mention the communities for whom the
:23:03. > :23:07.programme is intended. They should be built in full consultation and
:23:07. > :23:13.as partners in the choices of high income and the programmes and how
:23:14. > :23:18.you evaluate it. If the programme said we will lift everyone out of
:23:18. > :23:23.poverty by 2015, but it's an impossible thing for any government
:23:23. > :23:29.to promise at any time. We are not asking for the government to make
:23:29. > :23:38.any unreal statements be carried a basis in reality. We are asking the
:23:38. > :23:45.great crisis of the state's... Everyone has the right to decent
:23:45. > :23:50.housing, decent education, to those sorts of things. You could not find
:23:50. > :23:57.a way of guaranteeing that. commission calls for only what the
:23:57. > :24:00.UK has already declared and none of them establish a deal is life for
:24:00. > :24:06.everyone. It is about the bare minimum for human dignity to allow
:24:06. > :24:10.people to have human dignity to live and survive. That is all they
:24:10. > :24:15.are asking for. The commission is reminds me executive to pay
:24:15. > :24:21.attention. You talk about the lack commitment to transitional justice,
:24:21. > :24:26.the aspect of dealing with the past. You know that we cannot even agree
:24:26. > :24:30.here what a victim is when we talk about a conflict, how could a
:24:30. > :24:34.programme for government possibly set out at this stage what it would
:24:34. > :24:38.do in terms of what she called transitional justice? Firstly, the
:24:38. > :24:42.programme of government declares itself to be the global vision of
:24:42. > :24:46.governments for this part of the world the next few years. It has to
:24:46. > :24:50.deal the big issues. One of the big issues, the unavoidable issue for
:24:50. > :24:55.Northern Ireland, is dealing with the past. We use different terms,
:24:55. > :25:00.transitional justice is technical. We are missing a global vision of
:25:00. > :25:07.how to deal with the past across all its dimensions. The traditional,
:25:07. > :25:13.criminal, inquest, truth-telling, memorial, honouring. If they could
:25:13. > :25:18.do that, they would have done it. No one can agree on it. The fact
:25:18. > :25:23.the problem has to be acknowledged and processes -- crisis towards
:25:23. > :25:27.acknowledging it. We are asking the executive takes leadership in a
:25:27. > :25:32.proper process which will lead us towards a possible answer, we are
:25:32. > :25:34.not asking for miracles. We're asking for a commitment and
:25:34. > :25:39.acknowledgement that this is a fundamental issue facing Northern
:25:39. > :25:44.Ireland. What would you say to people and politicians, the
:25:44. > :25:48.programme for government is not -- is the business of democratically
:25:48. > :25:51.elected governments not appointed human rights commissioners. It is
:25:51. > :25:56.the business of government and we are supporting government in its
:25:56. > :25:59.work. I applaud the many commitments to human rights icy in
:26:00. > :26:03.departments, I have met many ministers and unimpressed by the
:26:03. > :26:08.way many are determined to get it right in terms of human rights. We
:26:08. > :26:15.are here to support that, no more, no less. On the basis of the human
:26:15. > :26:20.rights treaties to provide space -- advice, we give advice not because
:26:20. > :26:28.we think it is right but we give advice on the basis the treaties of
:26:28. > :26:32.the UK, many it is the primary author of. The Bill of Rights for
:26:32. > :26:38.Northern Ireland. You have a new commissioner, are you ready to
:26:38. > :26:46.accept defeat? The government has set itself against it. The
:26:46. > :26:50.government has said -- set up its own commission to investigate. Do
:26:50. > :26:55.you think a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland is dead? Not at
:26:55. > :26:58.all. There is nothing to accept defeat on. A few days ago in the
:26:58. > :27:01.Assembly the First Minister came back to speak about the Bill of
:27:02. > :27:06.Rights again. They did not speak about it being dead. This began on
:27:06. > :27:13.ongoing process which has to take... That is one way in Northern Ireland
:27:13. > :27:18.of saying it is dead! I take it on its face value. The commission
:27:18. > :27:24.stands by the advice which was for a Bill of Rights to be based on the
:27:24. > :27:28.UK's international human rights standards. Well beyond his brief.
:27:28. > :27:32.am not aware of the statement. What I am aware of is a good document
:27:32. > :27:37.which we stand over which commits the States to not an ounce more
:27:37. > :27:44.than it has signed up to three treaties which were not a magic
:27:44. > :27:49.bullet,... We needed because it brings a human rights more locally,
:27:49. > :27:54.it is easy to hold states to account against the measurement of
:27:54. > :27:57.a national, local Bill of Rights and allows matters to be explored
:27:57. > :28:02.more comprehensibly. It does undoubtedly strengthened human
:28:02. > :28:06.rights protection even though it is not absolutely necessary. Thank you.
:28:06. > :28:16.And that's where we must leave it this time round. We'll be back next
:28:16. > :28:22.
:28:22. > :28:29.week at the usual times. I hope I need a good discussion about
:28:29. > :28:38.politics! Some Carry On This Week, an old-fashioned Christmas. Open
:28:38. > :28:44.fires, snow and sectarian rows about signs in Irish and flags. The
:28:44. > :28:49.pantomime season has begun as people run-up to Man United fans