The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:06 a.m., in room 2200, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Hon. Christopher H. Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mr. SMITH. The Subcommittee will come to order. The purpose of this hearing is for the congressional committee with prime jurisdiction over human rights to conduct a fair and thorough examination of human rights abuses in the north of Ireland. This is but the first step in what I hope will be an exhaustive, ongoing examination of this vexing problem.

Recent events provide tragic evidence of the deterioration of respect for fundamental and God-given human rights. In May, RUC constable Greg Taylor was kicked to death by a Loyalist gang in Ballmoney. In June 16, an IRA gunman shot to death two policemen, John Graham and David Johnston. And just this weekend two men were injured by a car bomb in an apparent Loyalist retaliation for the recent murder of the two policemen.

These events should be a lesson to all of us that violence begets violence, that lawlessness begets more lawlessness. A system of law enforcement and dispute resolution grounded in the rule of law and in the respect for the rights of all human beings may sometimes be fragile. Such a system may even carry important risks, such as the risk that respect for procedural rights has the potential of allowing criminals to go free. But the events of the last month are further proof that a system of respect for law and for rights is far more stable and far less risky and obviously far more just, than any of the alternatives.

So this hearing will be about respecting rights and the inherent worth, value, sacredness, and dignity of every human life.

I should add that when I speak of God-given rights, I do not use the term lightly. It is particularly tragic that some of those who resort to extrajudicial execution and other forms of violence in the north of Ireland pretend to be employing these tactics in the service of religion. Indeed, this fact has often been noted by the enemies of religion, who conveniently overlook the fact that the great butchers of our century-Hitler, Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Pol Pot and others have all been atheists.

Nevertheless, if there is anything Catholics and Protestants should remember, it is that every human being is created in the likeness of God. We Christians, and our brothers and sisters of other faiths as well, believe that rights are given by God, not by governments or ideologies, and the most fundamental of these Godgiven rights is the right to life. Every murder is a crime not only against the victim and his or her family, but also against Catholicism, against Protestantism, and against Jesus Christ.

It is also important to point out that whatever the crimes perpetrated by the partisan paramilitary forces, or by the police for that matter, the central responsibility for protecting rights and maintaining the rule of law belongs to the government-which in this case, at this particular time, is the British Government. When governments resort to methods that are illegal, unjust, or inhumane, even when these methods are seemingly directed against the guilty or the dangerous, the effect is not to preserve law and order but to undermine it.

It is particularly shocking that the British Government, America's trusted ally, is the object of serious and credible charges of disrespect for the rule of law in the north of Ireland. Just as the My Lai massacre was especially revolting because it was carried out not by the Viet Cong, but by Americans, freedom-loving people everywhere are outraged to learn that law enforcement officials of the United Kingdom tolerate and even perpetrate some of the gross abuses that have taken place in the north of Ireland.

The State Department's most recent Country Report on Human Rights Practices-which I believe tries to be an honest and comprehensive document although I am disappointed that the Administration did not see fit to send Assistant Secretary Shattuck or any other representative to our hearing today, and they were invitedhighlights important human rights abuses in Northern Ireland during 1996 and I commend it to all of my colleagues for their reading.

That report and numerous others by Amnesty International, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, the Committee for the Administration of Justice, and others, all concur that one of the most basic problems in the north is that pervasive restrictions on due process of law remain in effect.

Under emergency legislation applicable only to Northern Ireland, police have expansive powers to arrest and detain suspects and to search premises without a warrant. In addition, the government can suspend the right to trial by jury-the much maligned Diplock Courts System-and the universally recognized right to be preserved from self-incrimination has been abridged.

According to the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights, the socalled "emergency" statutes, that is, the Emergency Provision Act, or EPA, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the PTA, "are designed to obtain convictions in cases involving those suspected of paramilitary activity, based on confessions obtained through detention and intense interrogation." The administration of justice in the north of Ireland is not only flawed, but its basic unfairness and lack of transparency exacerbate tensions and I believe that it

Amazingly, and regrettably, the British Government failed to repeal these sweeping policy State powers when it had a clear window of opportunity to do so-during the year-and-a-half cease-fire which began in the late summer and early fall of 1994.

It seems to me that the power to arbitrarily arrest, detain, intimidate; the power to deny timely and appropriate legal counsel; and the power to compel self-incrimination is an abuse of power normally associated with dictatorships and authoritarian regimes. Human rights abuses committed by the members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the RUC, Northern Ireland's police force, is a pathetic reality. In addition to questions surrounding the deaths of Dermot McShane, who was run over by an armored personnel carrier, and Richard O'Brien, who was killed by police in 1994, credible accusations persist that security forces harass citizens and leak names of suspected Republicans to Loyalist paramilitary groups who then carry out the killings.

Michael Finucane, who as a teenager sat with his family at the dinner table when Loyalist thugs burst into the kitchen and shot his father, human rights lawyer Patrick Finucane, 14 times, will testify that, in his belief, collusion between security forces and Loyalist armed groups is at the root of his father's murder.

According to the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, "at least 352 persons have been killed in Northern Ireland since 1969, by the use of lethal force by members of the security forces, many in disputed and controversial circumstances. In the same period, 32 agents of the State had been tried for offenses arising from or related to these deaths. Only six have resulted in successful prosecutions."

The quotation continues, "No soldier or police officer has ever been detained for 7 days in a holding center in connection with incidents which have occurred while they were on duty. Access to counsel of choice is never denied to agents of the State under investigation for scheduled offenses."

Why, I ask, the double standards in the administration of justice? The time has come, I believe, for the British authorities to respect and guarantee the rule of law for all. This should apply in all cases, to all suspects regardless of religious denomination, regardless of place of residence. No more double standards in law enforcement.

And speaking of double standards, in contravention of internationally recognized standards, the British Government uses plastic bullets in one and only one place-in the north of Ireland. This has not escaped the notice of the U.N. Committee Against Torture which has been highly critical.

Brenda Downes, whose husband was killed by these so-called "non-lethal means of crowd control," is representing the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets and says in her testimony, "the security forces in the north of Ireland have been guilty of, and continue to perpetuate, gross human rights abuses. No member of the security forces has been convicted of any incident in relation to the use of these lethal weapons. They have been granted impunity in respect of the murder of 17 men, women, and children and the in

And another witness, Martin O'Brien, executive director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice, will testify that in 1996 his organization received first-hand accounts of police behavior from more than 60 observers who were deployed at the various controversial marches in Northern Ireland. Mr. O'Brien will testify that "these accounts describe the massive and indiscriminate use of plastic bullets, sometimes against completely innocent people coming out of restaurants and discos. In excess of 6,000 plastic bullets were fired by the security forces in the space of a week (normally the average is about 1,000 per year). This led to numerous injuries, many of a very serious nature," he says.

He also comments that there has not been an adequate explanation for the significant disparity in the targets of the plastic bullets, with some 5,340 being used against Catholic crowds.

The recent revelation about the use of defective bullets, their sectarian use, and the tragic consequences of death and permanent injury bring us to one conclusion: it is time to ban the bullets.

Today in the north of Ireland detention conditions are deplorable. The United Nations Committee against Torture and many human rights groups have raised concerns about mistreatment of detainees in Northern Ireland, where suspects arrested under emergency legislation are interrogated in special holding centers. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has termed conditions in certain facilities "unacceptable" and even the government-appointed Independent Commissioner for Holdings Centers has stated that some do not meet "minimum standards.

And then, of course, there is the continuing terrorist violence by both Loyalist paramilitary groups and the Irish Republican Army, including the detonation of a massive bomb in the Docklands area of London by the IRA in February of last year, which injured hundreds and killed two innocent people, and a double bomb attack on British army headquarters in Northern Ireland last October.

While it may be a surprise to some, according to the Congressional Research Service, Loyalist paramilitary groups were responsible for more fatalities between 1992 and 1994 than the Republican groups. But let me say this very clearly, both sides commit atrocities and should be condemned by all who seek justice and peace in the north of Ireland.

Finally, Northern Ireland is caught in a cycle of retribution and violence that we all believe needs to be broken. To shed some light on the scope of the conflict and to suggest possible solutions we have invited many distinguished guests to testify before the Congress today.

In addition to international human rights experts, we are pleased to have with us human rights advocates not only from the United States but also from both the Protestant and Catholic communities in the north of Ireland, as well as some who have most acutely felt the human cost of the conflict-relatives of victims. claimed by violence or by the miscarriage of justice.

I look forward to hearing their insights, to hearing their experiences, and I hope that they will offer suggestions about what the United States can do to restore respect for human rights and to encourage all those involved to more respect the rights of each other