New Report: ‘The Enforcement of Statutory Duties’
22 April, 2026
This conference report is from our ‘The Enforcement of Statutory Duties’ event, co-hosted with Ulster University’s Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) and held on Thursday, 23rd January 2025 at Ulster University, Belfast campus. The event brought together campaigners, legal practitioners, academics and community leaders to reflect on the effectiveness of equality and related statutory duties in Northern Ireland. The discussions focused...
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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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Mapping Far Right Activity Online in Northern Ireland Project Report
2 May, 2025
This report explores the rise of far-right discourse in Northern Ireland on social media has become a key platform for spreading racist stereotypes, misinformation, and hate targeting migrants and minority ethnic communities. Drawing on detailed case studies, it outlines how such narratives—often rooted in discredited ideas like the “great replacement theory”—fuel fear, division, and in some cases, real-world violence and...
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Seminar Report: Could rights-based safeguards make Stormont functional?
15 May, 2024
On 13th October 2023, the Equality Coalition and the Transitional Justice Institute, with support from the LSE Gender, Justice and Security Hub, hosted a seminar which explored whether rights-based safeguards could make Stormont functional. The seminar consisted of two panels. Panel one covered a range of issues including a Bill of Rights, Stormont vetoes, and judicial interventions. Panel two covered...
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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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Progressing an anti-poverty strategy for Northern Ireland – Seminar report
1 January, 2024
On 28 June 2023, the Equality Coalition, Barnardo’s NI, and the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network (NIAPN) held a joint seminar calling for the development of an anti-poverty strategy to be a day one priority for the next NI Executive. ‘Progressing an anti-poverty strategy for Northern Ireland’ took place at Stormont and was sponsored by MLAs from five political parties. Northern...
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Defining Public Duties to Tackle Incitement to Hatred whilst Respecting Freedom of Expression: Reviewing the Legal & Policy Framework – Conference Report
13 October, 2019
A one-day conference was held on 13 October 2017 to explore, from a human rights perspective, when public authorities can or must act against speech and cultural expression in order to protect the rights of others. The event was organised by the Equality Coalition, with support from the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice. It was...
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Post-Brexit Citizenship Status: Divided by the Rules? – Conference Report
1 March, 2019
In March 2019, the Equality Coalition, in partnership with BrexitLawNI, held a major conference on ‘Post-Brexit Citizenship Status: Divided by the Rules?’ in the Moot Court Room at Queen’s University Belfast. Featuring expert practioner and political panels, the conference explored how Brexit will transform the citizenship landscape in Northern Ireland and could lead to hardened entitlement boundaries between different groups of...
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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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