Today Amnesty International presented their proposals to deal with the past conflict in the north at the Good Friday Agreement implementation committee.

Speaking at the meeting, Sinn Féin’s Sean Crowe TD said:

“Sinn Féin supports the rights of victims and survivors of conflict to truth.We believe that the best mechanism to deliver truth would be a fully independent, international commission.

“Sinn Féin supported the proposals of the Haass process as a further step in providing a truth recovery process.

“However, unionist parties have so far failed to either endorse these proposals or to concisely outline their opposition to them. It appears that unionists do not want a fair, open and equal process of truth recovery.

“The Irish Government needs to assert their role as coequal guarantor of the Agreements. To do this, they must hold the British Government to account for its refusal to have an inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane and for their failure to provide information with regard to the bombing of Dublin and Monagahan.

“The Irish government also needs to address the inequality in the provision of supports and services for victims and survivors north and south. All victims of the conflict regardless of circumstance are entitled to truth and support. Yet at present there is a disparity between North and South.

“Currently families in this state have on-going investigations into the failings of the RUC being carried out by the Police Ombudsman in the north. This is contrasted by the fact that they cannot have GSOC investigate the actions of the Gardaí in relation to historic cases.

“The government has also cut funding to victims advocate groups and supports to individual victims. This is unacceptable and should be addressed by the Irish Government as a matter of urgency.”