Relatives of people killed during the Troubles will take part on a conference focusing on the future of a controversial British government legacy body this weekend.
The conference, which has been organised by Relatives for Justice and the Pat Finucane Centre, is expected to hear calls for the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery (ICRIR) to be scrapped.
The contentious body was established under the Conservative Party’s Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which ended all inquests and civil cases, as well as introducing conditional immunity.
Many victims and relatives are strongly opposed to the ICRIR, believing it to be part of British government attempts to protect state participants from accountability.
Last month the Court of Appeal in Belfast found that the ICRIR is not capable of carrying out human rights-compliant investigations into Troubles-era murders.
The Labour Party has said it intends to repeal and replace the Legacy Act, although the ICRIR will be retained.
Relatives of people killed and support groups will gather in west Belfast this weekend to discuss the Legacy Act and ICRIR.
Mark Thompson of Relatives for Justice said the act did two things.
“Firstly, it shut down all routes to truth and justice for those bereaved and injured during the conflict by preventing inquests, independent investigations, and civil actions,” he said.
“Secondly, it inserted a body, the ICRIR to examine all conflict deaths and injuries and to administer an amnesty, principally designed to protect British soldiers and British agents involved in murder.”
Mr Thompson said the ICRIR will “conduct much of its main work in secret”.
By deliberate design, the ICRIR is incapable of delivering truth and justice not least in respect to collusion and state violence.
“Families will not be legally represented or have access to disclosures.
“This veto empowers the British government and its agencies, in particular MI5, to determine all outcomes.
“Families clearly see through the cynical attempts to promote the ICRIR as workable knowing full well this serves British state interests.”
In a statement the ICRIR said: “The ICRIR is not going to protect anyone involved in murder. Our purpose is to tell the unvarnished truth and that includes exposing collusion and state violence where it has occurred.
“The Court of Appeal recently accepted that we recognised the need for legal support for families in complex cases and that those lawyers should be involved in an effective process of information recovery in each complex case.
“We support the need for judicial oversight of the disclosure process.”
The spokeswoman added that “victims, survivors and families are at risk of being misled by some of the information being reported about the commission.
“We would urge people to contact the commission, engage with our staff and make their own decisions about concerns they may have,” the statement added.
The conference will take place at St Comgall’s Conference Centre, Divis Street, on Saturday with registration required.
