Publications

Submission of the NIHRC and ECNI to the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol’s follow up Inquiry on the impact of the Protocol

Date produced June 2022

Below is a summary of the recommendations.

You can also download the full document through the links provided.

The Commissions recommend that:

• the UK Government and EU urgently reach agreement on long-term, sustainable solutions relating to the supply from Great Britain to Northern Ireland of foods affecting faith communities in Northern Ireland, and on requirements for assistance dogs travelling from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

• the UK Government, working with the EU, continues to monitor and address any outstanding issues relating to the supply of medicines from Great Britain to Northern Ireland in order to allay fears relating to future availability, including for disabled people.

• there are no changes to the Protocol that would result in a weakening of either the Article 2(1) commitment or the Protocol’s rights, safeguards and oversight mechanisms relating to this commitment.

• the Sub-Committee urge the UK Government to engage in a public awareness raising exercise outlining the roles and remit of the various UK-EU oversight bodies of the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement and the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement and which clarifies the role of the Northern Ireland Executive input in relation to each of these bodies.

• the Commissions are not only kept informed of any future EU equality law developments relevant to the Annex 1 equality Directives in the Protocol, but also have the opportunity to highlight in advance any implications of those changes for equality law in Northern Ireland.

• clarity is provided on future proposals to be taken forward by the EU/UK in the areas previously highlighted by the Commissions.