Rights and Responsibilities
The BBC Talkback programme provoked a response yesterday with its story about an East Belfast minister whose church was under siege from attacks by children. After waiting for the police to respond, the Reverend Charles McCartney took action himself by taking photos of the youngsters he believed were responsible. But instead of being commended for gathering evidence, the minister ended up being warned by the police about the dangers of taking photos of children.
The story spurred a fair bit of debate amongst listeners about where children's rights end and their responsibilities begin. That's just the kind of issue that the Bill of Rights Forum might have to wrestle with as it draws up proposals due to be published in March next year.
Despite the Orange Order's talk of "civil and religious liberties for all", unionists have traditionally been suspicious of the civil rights lobby, which they associate with nationalists and left wingers. But now the DUP's Nelson McCausland and others are taking part in the Rights Forum. This could make for some interesting 'tugs of war' with nationalists over questions like the right to march, gay rights, abortion and the whole debate over rights and responsibilities.
The forum's 28 members include politicians, trade unionists, employers and clergy who meet under the chairmanship of the Australian lawyer Chris Sidoti. They are looking for anyone with a view on what should be in a local Bill of Rights to get in touch.
Some of the recent debates over human rights here have been inexpicable to anyone outside a small clique of experts. Let's hope that the Forum follows the example of the American founding fathers and Eleanor Roosevelt who managed to produce declarations written in clear and elegant prose.
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