University of Ulster and the Basque Peace Process

This news release comes to us straight from the University of Ulster website:

UU Expert Helps Push for Peace in Basque Region

A University of Ulster academic is helping the search for peace in Spain’s Basque region.

Professor Alan Smith, UNESCO Chair in Education for Pluralism, Human Rights and Democracy was among a group of international experts invited by the Basque Regional President, Juan José Ibarretxe, to analyse and contribute to a peace plan for the region.

The Peace and Coexistence Plan was approved in April and sent to the Basque Parliament for consultation with interest groups.

It has five key points – promotion of human rights; solidarity with victims of terrorism; reparation for the victims of Franco’s regime; defence of civil and political rights; and, prevention of torture and defence of prisoners’ rights.

Each of the group has a particular field of expertise and Professor Smith along with Pamela Aall, vice president of the US Institute of Peace and Ann Hope, a member of the NI Human Rights Commission, studied the part of the plan dealing with the defence of human rights and the role of education in reconciliation.

Brandon Hamber, a clinical psychologist amd honary INCORE Fellow, who helped in the work of transition and reconciliation in South Africa and Northern Ireland, examined the section dealing with terrorism victims.

Pierre Hazan, former correspondent with French daily newspaper, Liberation, and a researcher with the Swiss National Foundation on Human Rights in Geneva, made recommendations on recovering historic memory and reparation for Franco’s regime victims.

Andrea Bartoli, director of the International Conflict Resolution Programme at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and advisor to the UN Secretary General on the prevention of genocide and conflict, analysed the section of the plan dealing with defence of liberties and civil and political rights.

Ciaran O’Maolain, of the NI Human Rights Commission, contributed to the section on torture and respect of prisoners’ rights.

During their visit to the region the group met with the Political Council of the Basque Government to analyse and make recommendations on the plan.

Ends


For further information, please contact:

Press Office, Department of Public Affairs
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk

Now, if they could all stop calling it a region, the Basque Country is exactly that, a country, a nation occupied by two foreign powers. Doing so would put everything into the right context.

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