Controversial UK parliament vote grants immunity in Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’

The UK parliament voted Tuesday to adopt a controversial law granting immunity to combatants involved in the decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland known as “the Troubles”, despite criticism from Ireland and the Council of Europe.

The law, proposed by Conservative government in May 2022, calls for the creation of a truth and recovery commission offering amnesty to British security personnel and paramilitaries if they cooperate with its enquiries.

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More than 3,500 people were killed during the conflict that began in the 1960s over British rule in Northern Ireland.

Around 1,200 deaths remain under investigation, according to the UK government.

The law has been fiercely criticised by families of those who died during that period, by all political parties in Northern Ireland, and by the Irish government, which said this month that it is considering legal action against it.

Europe’s leading rights watchdog, the Council of Europe, has expressed “serious concerns” about the amnesty and its compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), of which the UK is a signatory.

But veterans groups have welcomed the move, saying former soldiers have been unfairly targeted in prosecutions for taking part in the conflict.

In November 2022, former British serviceman David Holden became the first soldier convicted of a killing committed during the Troubles following the signing of 1998 peace accords.

He later received a three-year suspended sentence for manslaughter for shooting 23-year-old Aidan McAnespie.

The UN Human Rights Office said Tuesday that “We deeply regret the passage of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill despite concerns… that it violates the UK’s international human rights obligations”.

“We urge its reconsideration and call for victims’ rights to be central in addressing the Troubles’ legacy,” it posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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