Publications

Historic institutional child abuse - advice on a public inquiry

Historic institutional child abuse is a very prevalent and deeply sensitive issue in Northern Ireland. It is estimated that hundreds of individuals are affected. The abuses included sexual# emotional and physical abuse and neglect in numerous church and State run institutions such as children’s homes# training schools and orphanages# and by individuals exploiting their positions within such bodies.
In light of the decision by the Northern Ireland Executive# this advice paper was prepared.
The Commission examines the issues raised by establishing a public inquiry from a human rights perspective -

• the legislative framework for a public inquiry
• the international and domestic human rights standards which are relevant
• the human rights benchmarks for inquiry terms of reference# drawn from experiences in Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

institutional-child-abuse-public-inquiry-january-201.pdf