Maggie Beirne - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Maggie Beirne

Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, Jul 15, 2020

The Equality Working Group (Working Group) established by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commi... more The Equality Working Group (Working Group) established by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) was a model of consensual working practices. The group was quite mixed in terms of gender, religious and political opinion, age, and professional occupations, but there was extensive agreement, both as to the problems of inequality in Northern Ireland currently, and the measures that a Bill of Rights should include to counter these inequalities. People were also fortunate enough to be able to draw upon an extensive body of international and regional good practice, so that the group did not have to develop its own thinking entirely from scratch. There was a strong sense that, though the ways that questions of discrimination, disadvantage, and inequalities are experienced are unique to each society, there are also many universal factors, which can be usefully drawn upon. However, before addressing the NIHRC's draft Bill of Rights, and making comparisons between its proposals and the proposals received from the Working Group established to advise the NIHRC in its work, it would be worth exploring, albeit briefly, why the Working Group made the specific proposals it did.

Edição trilíngue: português, espanhol e inglêsTítulo em espanhol: ¿Estamos tirando la fruta sana ... more Edição trilíngue: português, espanhol e inglêsTítulo em espanhol: ¿Estamos tirando la fruta sana con la podrida?: la dinámica norte-sur desde la perspectiva del trabajo en derechos humanos en Irlanda del NorteTítulo em inglês: Are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater?: the north-south dynamic from the perspective of human rights work in Northern Irelan

Are We Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?: The North-South Dynamic from the Perspective of Human Rights Work in Northern Ireland

There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements ... more There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements of human rights activism can be pursued to an extreme. The author draws on experiences of working internationally and domestically on human rights protection to offer some reflections about how such efforts complement each other and the importance of not undermining — albeit quite inadvertently — the primacy of domestic human rights efforts.

Are We Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?: The North-South Dynamic from the Perspective of Human Rights Work in Northern Ireland

There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements ... more There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements of human rights activism can be pursued to an extreme. The author draws on experiences of working internationally and domestically on human rights protection to offer some reflections about how such efforts complement each other and the importance of not undermining — albeit quite inadvertently — the primacy of domestic human rights efforts.

A View from the Coalface: Human Rights Activism in Northern Ireland

Formal politics is vital in bringing an end to conflict and building a stronger democracy and res... more Formal politics is vital in bringing an end to conflict and building a stronger democracy and respect for the rule of law, but their often adversarial nature leaves an important gap to be filled by civil society. Maggie Beirne will use practical examples of the work of a domestic non-governmental organisation (NGO) in working on divisive issues such as policing and equality to explore different forms of social change which often underpin a move from conflict to peace. She will comment briefly on current street disturbances, and the "failures" and "successes" of the peace process that may hold lessons for addressing other community tensions, whether here in Britain, or internationally.

A View from the Coal Face: Northern Ireland, Human Rights Activism, and the War on Terror

Judges, Transition, and Human Rights, 2007

Progress or placebo? The Patten report and the future of policing in Northern Ireland

Policing and Society, 2001

... Special Branch, detention centres, the use of plastic bullets, or the extent of stop-and-sear... more ... Special Branch, detention centres, the use of plastic bullets, or the extent of stop-and-search activities - lies largely at the discretion of the ... Human rights also provides a measuring stick against which to gauge current policing arrangements - as well as any proposals for change. ...

The Political Quarterly, 2012

Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement?

... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide... more ... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement? In: Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Context: Columbia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. ...

Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement?

... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide... more ... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement? In: Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Context: Columbia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. ...

Journal of Human Rights Practice

Peace building interventions in Northern Ireland have attracted at least two approaches-those whi... more Peace building interventions in Northern Ireland have attracted at least two approaches-those which advocate from a human rights-based perspective, and others which promote community relations and reconciliation as a methodology to build and consolidate peace. These interventions have been seen by many practitioners as competing and mutually exclusive. Broadly expressed, human rights practitioners described their work as primarily about challenging governments; it focuses on issues of accountability; it relies on the law and legally imposed frameworks; it is a mixture of 'soft' and 'hard' law; it has, for some human rights practitioners, a confused stance regarding the overlap between civil and political rights on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other; and it relies greatly on international concepts, standards, and campaigning. Exponents of reconciliation, on the other hand, argued that their work is primarily about bottom-up human dynamics and relationship-building; the creation of trust as a prerequisite to working together and breaking down barriers; and, the importance of processes as much or more than the eventual product (on the 'how' as much as, or at least before, the 'what'). Drawing on primary qualitative data from activists in both 'camps', this article will evaluate if these approaches represent a false dichotomy which fails to acknowledge potential synergies.

Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly, Jul 15, 2020

The Equality Working Group (Working Group) established by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commi... more The Equality Working Group (Working Group) established by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) was a model of consensual working practices. The group was quite mixed in terms of gender, religious and political opinion, age, and professional occupations, but there was extensive agreement, both as to the problems of inequality in Northern Ireland currently, and the measures that a Bill of Rights should include to counter these inequalities. People were also fortunate enough to be able to draw upon an extensive body of international and regional good practice, so that the group did not have to develop its own thinking entirely from scratch. There was a strong sense that, though the ways that questions of discrimination, disadvantage, and inequalities are experienced are unique to each society, there are also many universal factors, which can be usefully drawn upon. However, before addressing the NIHRC's draft Bill of Rights, and making comparisons between its proposals and the proposals received from the Working Group established to advise the NIHRC in its work, it would be worth exploring, albeit briefly, why the Working Group made the specific proposals it did.

Edição trilíngue: português, espanhol e inglêsTítulo em espanhol: ¿Estamos tirando la fruta sana ... more Edição trilíngue: português, espanhol e inglêsTítulo em espanhol: ¿Estamos tirando la fruta sana con la podrida?: la dinámica norte-sur desde la perspectiva del trabajo en derechos humanos en Irlanda del NorteTítulo em inglês: Are we throwing out the baby with the bathwater?: the north-south dynamic from the perspective of human rights work in Northern Irelan

Are We Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?: The North-South Dynamic from the Perspective of Human Rights Work in Northern Ireland

There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements ... more There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements of human rights activism can be pursued to an extreme. The author draws on experiences of working internationally and domestically on human rights protection to offer some reflections about how such efforts complement each other and the importance of not undermining — albeit quite inadvertently — the primacy of domestic human rights efforts.

Are We Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater?: The North-South Dynamic from the Perspective of Human Rights Work in Northern Ireland

There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements ... more There is a risk that the otherwise welcome move to challenge the northern hegemony over elements of human rights activism can be pursued to an extreme. The author draws on experiences of working internationally and domestically on human rights protection to offer some reflections about how such efforts complement each other and the importance of not undermining — albeit quite inadvertently — the primacy of domestic human rights efforts.

A View from the Coalface: Human Rights Activism in Northern Ireland

Formal politics is vital in bringing an end to conflict and building a stronger democracy and res... more Formal politics is vital in bringing an end to conflict and building a stronger democracy and respect for the rule of law, but their often adversarial nature leaves an important gap to be filled by civil society. Maggie Beirne will use practical examples of the work of a domestic non-governmental organisation (NGO) in working on divisive issues such as policing and equality to explore different forms of social change which often underpin a move from conflict to peace. She will comment briefly on current street disturbances, and the "failures" and "successes" of the peace process that may hold lessons for addressing other community tensions, whether here in Britain, or internationally.

A View from the Coal Face: Northern Ireland, Human Rights Activism, and the War on Terror

Judges, Transition, and Human Rights, 2007

Progress or placebo? The Patten report and the future of policing in Northern Ireland

Policing and Society, 2001

... Special Branch, detention centres, the use of plastic bullets, or the extent of stop-and-sear... more ... Special Branch, detention centres, the use of plastic bullets, or the extent of stop-and-search activities - lies largely at the discretion of the ... Human rights also provides a measuring stick against which to gauge current policing arrangements - as well as any proposals for change. ...

The Political Quarterly, 2012

Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement?

... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide... more ... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement? In: Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Context: Columbia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. ...

Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement?

... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide... more ... Ni Aolain, Fionnuala and Beirne, Maggie (2009) Rights after revolution: progress or backslide after the Good Friday Agreement? In: Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Context: Columbia, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland. ...

Journal of Human Rights Practice

Peace building interventions in Northern Ireland have attracted at least two approaches-those whi... more Peace building interventions in Northern Ireland have attracted at least two approaches-those which advocate from a human rights-based perspective, and others which promote community relations and reconciliation as a methodology to build and consolidate peace. These interventions have been seen by many practitioners as competing and mutually exclusive. Broadly expressed, human rights practitioners described their work as primarily about challenging governments; it focuses on issues of accountability; it relies on the law and legally imposed frameworks; it is a mixture of 'soft' and 'hard' law; it has, for some human rights practitioners, a confused stance regarding the overlap between civil and political rights on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other; and it relies greatly on international concepts, standards, and campaigning. Exponents of reconciliation, on the other hand, argued that their work is primarily about bottom-up human dynamics and relationship-building; the creation of trust as a prerequisite to working together and breaking down barriers; and, the importance of processes as much or more than the eventual product (on the 'how' as much as, or at least before, the 'what'). Drawing on primary qualitative data from activists in both 'camps', this article will evaluate if these approaches represent a false dichotomy which fails to acknowledge potential synergies.