Counter-Insurgency and Human Rights in Northern Ireland

Author: Dickson, Brice¹

Source: Journal of Strategic Studies, Volume 32, Number 3, June 2009 , pp. 475-493(19)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

This article challenges traditional dualist thinking concerning the balancing of counter-insurgency tactics against a commitment to human rights. It argues that, far from being forces which weigh against each other, they can be made to pull in the same direction, for the betterment of society as a whole. The article goes on to consider particular counter-insurgency practices used in Northern Ireland and maintains that they did not take proper account of human rights, thereby prolonging rather than shortening the conflict. The courts, even in Strasbourg, were slow to protect human rights in line with developing international standards on accountability.

Keywords: Counter-Insurgency; Human Rights; Northern Ireland

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/01402390902928297

Affiliations: 1: School of Law, Queen's University Belfast, UK