Human Rights Commission visits Newry to discuss Traveller accommodation

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) visited Newry recently to meet with local Traveller support groups and organisations as part of its ongoing engagement work.

The visit was facilitated by the Promoting Wellbeing Team of the Southern Trust, Health and Social Care NI.

Speaking to Newry Times, Les Allamby, the Northern Ireland Human Rights Chief Commissioner said, “We were delighted to visit Newry to discuss the findings and recommendations of our recent investigation into Travellers accommodation.

“The report found a range of systematic issues, including inadequacy of sites, racial discrimination and a lack of engagement between public authorities and Travellers in Northern Ireland.

“We are committed to engaging with Travellers and Traveller support groups as it is important that we listen again to local experiences and then work together with local authorities to bring about the change that is currently needed,” Les added.

The Commission’s investigation report into Travellers’ accommodation was published in March this year.

Since the publication, the Commission has put in place an implementation plan to pursue the recommendations in the report.

As a result, the Commission has continued to engage with relevant public authorities, Travellers, and Traveller support groups to resolve the issues identified in the investigation report.

Further planned engagement visits will take place over the coming weeks.

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Posted by Newry Times News on May 30 2018. Filed under Community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry