The Catholic bishops’ Council for Justice and
Peace has said there are “more peace walls in Northern Ireland now than
existed in 1998” despite the progress achieved by the peace process.
In a statement marking the 15th anniversary of
the Good Friday agreement, concluded in Belfast on April 10th, 1998, the
council said: “those communities worst affected by the violence
continue to experience the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation,
unemployment, antisocial behaviour, drug abuse and suicide among young
people, in addition to the ongoing threat of paramilitary violence”.
It also said this situation was “mirrored in
the most deprived communities in the Republic, where the threat of
violence and a lack of hope for the future are part of the daily reality
of too many young people”.
Noting that April 11th of this year also marked the 50th anniversary of Pope John XXIII’s encyclical
Pacem in Terris
, they said both anniversaries “underline the crucial role of human rights in ending violent conflict”.
Only long-term solutions “founded on the values and approaches outlined in
Pacem in Terris
– dialogue, respect for human dignity, promotion of human
rights and acceptance of our corresponding duties – can bring hope to
those people in Ireland and throughout the world who are suffering as a
result of violent conflict”, it said.
Ireland had “rightly achieved the reputation of
global leadership in the field of peace-building “as a result of the
peace process and the contribution of Irish troops to peacekeeping
missions throughout the world”, it said.
Ireland too had “the potential to show
leadership once again through our response to the Optional Protocol of
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
which entered into force on 5th May 2013”.
But this State, it noted, had
yet to ratify that protocol.