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UK-wide legacy consultation about The Troubles

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Public consulation, Northern Ireland Office, NOI, Addressing the legacy of Northern Ireland's Past, UK-wide consultation Are legacy institutions the best way to try to meet the needs of victims and survivors?

The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has launched a UK-wide consultation on ‘Addressing the Legacy of Northern Ireland’s Past’.

More than 3,500 people were killed as a result of the Troubles. The hurt and suffering caused is still felt by people within and outside Northern Ireland.

The Troubles affected lots of different people, including victims and survivors, and people have been affected in different ways.

The government is trying to find the best way to meet the needs of victims and survivors and to help people address the impact of the Troubles in the areas of information, justice and acknowledgement and help Northern Ireland transition to long term-term peace and stability.

This needs to be done in order to support true reconciliation and healing at a societal level.

The Northern Ireland Office supports the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in promoting the best interests of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

It aims to ensure that Northern Ireland’s interests are fully and effectively represented at Westminster and that the government’s responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Northern Ireland, and to make politics work by working alongside the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Stormont House Agreement was reached in 2014. It followed many weeks of talks between the five main political parties in Northern Ireland, the UK government, and the Irish government.

It described a new way of dealing with what happened in the past that tries to put the needs of the victims and survivors first.

The government is now proposing a number of initiatives.

This new way would mean setting up four new legacy institutions.

The government thinks that legacy institutions are the best way to try to meet the needs of victims and survivors.

The four new legacy institutions would be:

the Historical Investigations Unit (HIU) which would take forward outstanding investigations into Troubles-related deaths in the pursuit of justice;

the Independent Commission on Information Retrieval (ICIR) which would enable family members to seek and privately receive information about the Troubles-related deaths of their relatives in the pursuit of truth;

the Oral History Archive (OHA) set up by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI); and

the Implementation and Reconciliation Group (IRG) which would be set up to promote reconciliation and anti-sectarianism. This means trying to rebuild relationships between communities and stop discrimination. It would also review and assess reports on the work of the other legacy institutions. The group would be made up of 11 members representing the UK and Irish Governments, and the 5 main political parties.

This consultation is being carried out by the Northern Ireland Office and they want to know what you think.

Please let them know by completing the survey online at: www.gov.uk/nio or writing to the Legacy Policy Team at Northern Ireland Office, Stormont House, Stormont Estate, Belfast BT4 3SH

The consultation will close on 10 September 2018.

To read the consultation summary click here.

To read the full consultation document click here.

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