[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 23, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E529-E530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CONDEMNING THE MURDER OF ROSEMARY NELSON AND URGING PROTECTION OF 
                 DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 1999

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce a 
bipartisan resolution which condemns the brutal murder of Northern 
Ireland defense attorney Rosemary Nelson and calls on the British 
Government to launch an independent inquiry into Rosemary's killing.
  The resolution also calls for an independent judicial inquiry into 
the possibility of official collusion in the 1989 murder of defense 
attorney Patrick Finucane and an independent investigation into the 
general allegations of harassment of defense attorneys by Northern 
Ireland's police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). I am 
pleased that Mr. Gilman, Mr. King, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Payne, and Mr. 
Menendez are original sponsors of this resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, Rosemary Nelson was a champion of due process rights and 
a conscientious and courageous attorney in Northern Ireland. She was 
the wife of Paul Nelson and the mother of three young children: 
Christopher (13), Gavin (11), and Sarah (8). Her murder was a cowardly 
act by those who are

[[Page E530]]

the enemies of peace and justice in Northern Ireland. Her death is a 
loss felt not just by her family and friends, but by all of us who 
advocate fundamental human rights.
  I first met Rosemary Nelson in August, 1997, when she shared with me 
her genuine concern for the administration of justice in Northern 
Ireland. She explained how, as an attorney, she has been physically and 
verbally assaulted by RUC members and how the RUC sent messages of 
intimidation to her through her clients. Many of her clients were 
harassed as well.
  Notwithstanding these threats, Rosemary Nelson still carried an 
exhaustive docket which included several high profile political cases. 
She became an international advocate for the rule of law and the right 
of the accused to a comprehensive defense and an impartial hearing. She 
also worked hard to obtain an independent inquiry into the 1989 murder 
of defense attorney of Patrick Finucane.
  For this, Rosemary Nelson was often the subject of harassment and 
intimidation. For her service to the clients, on March 15, 1999, 
Rosemary Nelson paid the ultimate price with her life--the victim of a 
car bomb.
  Last September, 1988, Rosemary testified before the subcommittee I 
chair, International Operations and Human Rights. She told us she 
feared the RUC. She reported that she had been ``physically assaulted 
by a number of RUC officers'' and that the RUC harassment included, 
``at the most serious, making threats against my personal safety 
including death threats.'' She said she had no confidence in receiving 
help from her government because, she said, in the end her complaints 
about the RUC were investigated by the RUC. She also told us that no 
lawyer in Northern Ireland can forget what happened to Pat Finucane, 
nor can they dismiss it from their minds. She said one way to advance 
the protection of defense attorneys would be the establishment of an 
independent investigation into the allegations of collusion in his 
murder.
  Despite her testimony and her fears, the British government now wants 
to entrust the investigation of Rosemary Nelson's murder to the very 
agency she feared and mistrusted most, the RUC. Instead, I believe that 
in order for this investigation to be beyond reproach, and to have the 
confidence and cooperation of the Catholic community that Rosemary 
Nelson adeptly represented, it must be organized, managed, directed and 
run by someone other than the RUC. It just begs the question as to 
whether or not we can expect a fair and impartial investigation when 
the murder victim herself had publicly expressed deep concern about the 
impartiality of RUC personnel.
  Mr. Speaker, the major international human rights groups, including 
Amnesty International, Laywers Committee for Human Rights, British/
Irish Human Rights Watch Committee for the Administration of Justice, 
and Human Rights Watch have all called for an independent inquiry. 
Param Cumaraswamy, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the independence of 
judges and lawyers, who completed an extensive human rights 
investigative mission to the United Kingdom last year, has also called 
for an independent inquiry of Rosemary Nelson's murder.
  At our September 29, 1998 hearing, Mr. Cumaraswamy stated that he 
found harassment and intimidation of defense lawyers in Northern 
Ireland to be consistent and systematic. He recommended a judicial 
inquiry into the threats and intimidation Rosemary Nelson and other 
defense attorneys had received. It's hard not to wonder if the British 
government had taken the Special Rapporteur's recommendations more 
seriously, Rosemary Nelson might have been better protected and still 
with us today.
  I express my hearfelt condolences to the Nelson family and I urge my 
colleagues to support the following resolution.

                          ____________________