Letter from Peter Kissel to the Prime Minister June 29, 2023
His Excellency Rishi Sunak, MP
Prime Minister
Office of the Prime Minister
No. 10 Downing Street
London, United Kingdom SW1A 2AA
The Irish American Unity Conference calls on the United Kingdom to restore democracy in Northern Ireland by requiring the Democratic Unionist Party to take up their seats in the Legislative Assembly and enter the Stormont Executive, and by withdrawing The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill currently before Parliament. The IAUC, a non-sectarian human rights organization, closely monitors the continuing denial of fundamental civil rights to UK citizens living in the North of Ireland. It is beyond comprehension that your government allows one small, anti-democratic minority party to stonewall the functioning of a democratically elected government because it opposes the Windsor Framework and refuses to acknowledge a Nationalist First Minister.
In addition, it is imperative that the amnesty legislation known as the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill be withdrawn in toto without delay. As you know, this amnesty bill would deny justice to people in Northern Ireland and conceal the truth of the past by granting immunity to murderers for their crimes.
A modern democratic society does not deny redress of harm inflicted on its citizens by their government by banning an open investigation into the circumstances surrounding an injury or death. The citizens of Northern Ireland are not second-class and are entitled to the same rights as every other citizen in the United Kingdom.
We insist that the British government take the following steps to bring about a functional democracy in the north of Ireland:
- Re-establish the Northern Ireland Executive by requiring the Democratic Unionist Party to honor their democratic mandate, or:
- Invoke the authority in the North-South Governmental Body to oversee the full functioning of government operations in Northern Ireland jointly with the Irish Government, and
- Withdraw the proposed Amnesty legislation to give victims and victims’ families the justice they deserve and to which they are entitled under the Stormont House Agreement.
If the British Government is unable or unwilling to abide by democratic principles, then we, along with our colleagues in the AOH and other Irish-Americans, will continue our advocacy with the Biden Administration, the US Trade Representative, and Members of Congress to halt any new trade initiatives which may be contemplated in the wake of the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the US.
Peter C. Kissel
National President
Irish American Unity Conference 202-262-4 785
peterkissel@kisselaw.com
www.iauc.org
cc:
Joseph R. Biden
Antony J. Blinken
Joseph Kennedy III
Charles E. Schumer
Richard E. Neal
Friends of Ireland
Geraldine Byrne Nason
