Submission by the Equality Coalition to the draft Programme for Government Consultation
30 October, 2025
The Equality Coalition has submitted our response to the draft Programme for Government consultation. Our response focuses on: Programme for Government legal framework The previous draft PfG in the New Decade New Approach deal The 2024 PfG consultation Equality Coalition members ‘asks’ for areas in the PfG
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‘Inciting a Pogrom?’ Social Media and the Racist Disorder in Ballymena
8 September, 2025
This report builds on the Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland Project Report (May 2025), which examined case studies of far-right activity, from racist housing intimidation in South Belfast (2023) to the racist and Islamophobic violence in Belfast on 3 August 2024. That report analysed social media narratives, political messaging, and responses to these incidents, and was launched...
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‘Screened Out Without Mitigation’ Returning Equality in Northern Ireland to the Margins
27 June, 2025
This report examines how the statutory equality duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, as well as the use of the ‘call-in’ mechanism, are operating within Northern Ireland’s 11 local councils. Authored by independent researcher Dr Robbie McVeigh and commissioned by the Equality Coalition, the report provides background on the legacy of sectarian discrimination in local government,...
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Seminar Report: How could minority and women’s rights be protected in a united Ireland?
15 May, 2024
On 15th November 2023, the Equality Coalition and the Transitional Justice Institute, with support from the LSE Gender, Justice and Security Hub, hosted a seminar which discussed how the rights of minorities and women could be protected in a United Ireland. The seminar consisted of two panels. Panel one covered issues around post-unification cross-border constitutionalism, unionist rights in a united...
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Equality Coalition Committee for Communities Oral Evidence
25 April, 2024
On 25 April, the Equality Coalition gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Communities on the Anti-Poverty Strategy. Daniel Holder (CAJ), John-Patrick Clayton (UNISON), Becca Bor (Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network) and Trása Canavan (Barnardo’s) represented the Coalition. They spoke about the duty to adopt an Anti-Poverty Strategy, judicial reviews of the Northern Ireland Executive and the 2020-2022 Mandate...
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Policy Asks 2022
1 January, 2022
The Equality Coalition has developed a series of ‘Policy Asks’ for Northern Ireland, which have a particular emphasis on rights and equality. These ‘asks’ are based on a recent mapping exercise examining the status of rights-based commitments from the agreements of the NI peace process.
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Submission in relation to the ECNI draft legal assistance policy
1 September, 2021
The Equality Coalition for NI (ECNI) recently consulted on their new (draft) Policy for the Provision of Legal Advice and Assistance. In response, we produced this submission suggesting a number of changes to the draft document. Our recommendations focus primarily on encouraging ECNI to use their enforcement powers strategically and proactively going forwards.
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Submission on Programme for Government outcomes and draft budget
1 February, 2021
We have finalised our submission on the Programme for Government (PfG) outcomes and draft budget (including departmental screenings/EQIAs). Given their interlinking nature, this submission responds to a number of different, concurrent consultations at once. Our submission examines the rights and equality implications of current plans, including whether the Section 75 statutory equality duty has been applied adequately throughout the budgetary process. We...
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Stormont’s vetoes in the context of a pandemic – An Equality Coalition briefing note
1 November, 2020
In 2019, our Manifesto for a Rights Based Return to Power Sharing called for a new agreement to remove those political vetoes within the NI Executive that are not based on (and have conflicted with) equality and rights duties, and as such contributed to the destabilisation and collapse of the NI Executive in 2017. The issue returned to prominence in November...
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Written Evidence to the NI Assembly Ad Hoc Committee on the Bill of Rights from the Equality Coalition Co-Conveners
1 October, 2020
A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland was first promised in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, but progress towards its development has repeatedly stalled. The establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Bill of Rights at Stormont represents a fresh attempt to move things forward. On 22 October 2020, the Co-Conveners of the Equality Coalition (CAJ and UNISON) gave...
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Equality Proofing the Return to School – Briefing Paper
1 September, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic has had far reaching impacts on all aspects of NI society, not least education, with most pupils being withdrawn from school for five months due to the strict lockdown period and the subsequent summer break. As staff and students begin the new school term, we must ensure that their return to school is carried out in a...
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Manifesto for a Rights Based Return to Power-Sharing
1 April, 2019
More than two years have elapsed since the devolved power sharing institutions provided for under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) collapsed in Northern Ireland. Additionally, many of the rights based commitments of the peace settlement, including those originally designed as to act as safeguards on the NI Executive and Assembly, remain unimplemented or have been misimplemented. Fresh cross-party talks to...
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Briefing summarising the Expert Advisory Panel reports on the social inclusion strategies
In March 2021, the Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey published the reports of four Expert Advisory Panels to help inform the development of the new social inclusion strategies for Northern Ireland. We have drafted a short briefing paper summarising each of the four reports and their key recommendations.
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Sectarianism: The Key Facts
Commissioned by the Equality Coalition, independent researcher Dr Robbie McVeigh has authored a piece of research on contemporary sectarianism in Northern Ireland. Across 50 pages, Sectarianism: The Key Facts looks at ‘institutional sectarianism’ in NI – especially where there is evidence of sectarianism in decision-making.
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