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Ulster Human Rights Watch is asking all political parties who oppose terrorism at Stormont to state clearly what their position is on the Victims’ Payment Scheme 75 days from the date it was due to be implemented.

The scheme was left in limbo in late May as a result of a dispute over who can benefit from the scheme since the legislation appropriately distinguishes between victims and perpetrators.

Today, the human rights charity, which is based in Lurgan, said it is time the parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly ‘stepped up to the plate’ and announce where they stand.

UHRW Advocacy Manager, Axel Schmidt, said: “We have reached this shameful milestone of 75 days without the Victims’ Payment Scheme being implemented.

“Hundreds of innocent victims of terrorism have been left in a bad place because of the political failure to get on with what Westminster passed into legislation. The Northern Ireland Executive has failed them.

“This failure leaves many feeling they have been re-traumatised, abandoned and shunted to the sidelines as some politicians argue over something that has already cleared all legislative hurdles.

“Ulster Human Rights Watch believe the time is right to call on all parties who adhere to democracy and oppose terrorism to publicly state their positions on the scheme.

“Let’s see if positions are the same as they were in May. If they remain deadlocked, one of the following things could be done: either the Northern Ireland Executive takes the decision to forge ahead with the introduction of the scheme on the basis of majority support or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland can step in to ensure the administration of the scheme is delivered by Westminster.

“The delay is unconscionable, mean-spirited and reprehensible. It bestows no credit on those who want to amend the legislation to lend legitimacy to terrorists who delivered a lifetime of pain, agony and distress to tens of thousands of innocent victims.

“We are waiting for the political parties who stand on democratic principles to give victims of terrorism the clarity they deserve.”

Innocent victims of terrorism who were killed, maimed or otherwise injured have constantly been put on an equal footing with the perpetrators of acts of terrorism which led to the death or injuries of their victims. On many occasions Ulster Human Rights Watch respectfully challenged Ms Judith Thompson, the Victims and Survivors Commissioner, to take a stand for and champion the cause of victims of terrorism.

It is therefore, as she leaves the post, a matter of great disappointment and hurt that throughout her tenure the Victims and Survivors Commissioner did not appear to question the ‘interpretation’ of ‘victim and survivor’ provided in the Victims and Survivors (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 – a position she may have sincerely held to – but in the opinion of the UHRW and victims of terrorism we represent, a position which was sincerely wrong.

It is now essential and a matter of priority that the future Commissioner addresses this vital issue of a proper definition of victim of terrorism, as being victims of crime, as a result of the Troubles. Only by doing this will a way be opened to adequately address and resolve the legacy of the past.

A victims’ group has written to all 650 MPs urging them to put pressure on the UK government to make sure that Sinn Fein do not derail the pension for victims of the Troubles.

The regulations for the pension were passed by Parliament and are therefore a national scheme. The guidance provided by the secretary of state excludes terrorists ‘injured at their own hand’ and this, Ulster Human Rights Watch maintain, is precisely in line with the purpose of the scheme.

Ulster Human Rights Watch (UHRW) has told the MPs that terrorists must not be treated the same as the people they harmed.

The scheme stalled at the 11th hour in a disagreement at Stormont over the definition of a victim that had been approved in Westminster legislation.

The UHRW letter says the postponement of the scheme was a shattering blow to innocent victims.

“Innocent victims have waited years for a scheme that acknowledged their pain and suffering and held out the prospect of some much-needed financial assistance for them”, the letter states.

The guidance provided by the secretary of state excludes terrorists ‘injured at their own hand’ and this, the UHRW maintain, is precisely in line with the purpose of the scheme.

The letter continues: “Literally hundreds of victims with life-changing physical and psychological conditions have been treated appallingly and inhumanely.”

UHRW managing director, Robert Campbell, and advocacy manager, Axel Schmidt, state: “The Victims’ Payment Scheme must be implemented without further delay.

“There is an impasse within the devolved Northern Ireland Executive due to the stance adopted by Sinn Fein. There is little real prospect of bridging the divide that separates the parties.

“That being the case, there is a clear and moral responsibility on the United Kingdom government to step in. These regulations were passed by Parliament and are therefore a national scheme which some of your constituents may be entitled to.

“Ministers at Westminster and the NIO cannot go on indefinitely waiting for a political change of heart at Stormont. It therefore falls to the UK government to take control of the operation and management of the scheme to end this scandalous state of affairs.

“We would strongly urge you to lobby ministers. We would ask you to be the voice for innocent victims of terrorism not only in Northern Ireland, but in Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.”

The letter continues: “The terrorists who murdered, bombed and maimed do not deserve to be treated in the same way as the innocent people they so grievously harmed. The life-changing injuries sustained by the innocent do not in any shape or form equate with the individuals who planted the bomb or pulled the trigger.

“We respectfully ask you to bring the voice of the innocent to the floor of the House of Commons and the ear of Cabinet. It is time to bring this shameful delay to an end and your support would be invaluable in persuading Ministers to intervene in order to bring this appalling injustice to an end.”

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