[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5125-S5126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 493--CALLING ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM 
 TO ESTABLISH IMMEDIATELY A FULL, INDEPENDENT, PUBLIC JUDICIAL INQUIRY 
 INTO THE MURDER OF NORTHERN IRELAND DEFENSE ATTORNEY PAT FINUCANE, AS 
 RECOMMENDED BY INTERNATIONAL JUDGE PETER CORY AS PART OF THE WESTERN 
PARK AGREEMENT AND A WAY FORWARD FOR THE NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE PROCESS

  Mr. DeWINE (for himself and Mr. Dodd) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the committee on Foreign Relations:

       Whereas human rights defense attorney and solicitor Patrick 
     Finucane was brutally murdered in front of his wife and 
     children at his home in Belfast on February 12, 1989;
       Whereas numerous international bodies and nongovernmental 
     human rights organizations have made note of serious 
     allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and 
     British security forces in the murder of Mr. Finucane;
       Whereas, in July 2001, the Irish and British Governments 
     made new commitments in the Weston Park Agreement to hold 
     public inquiries into high profile murders if the Honorable 
     Judge Peter Cory recommended such action, and both 
     governments understood that such an inquiry would be held 
     under the United Kingdom Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 
     1921;
       Whereas Judge Cory found sufficient evidence of collusion 
     to warrant a public inquiry into the murder of Patrick 
     Finucane and recommended that such an inquiry take place 
     without delay;
       Whereas, in his conclusions, Judge Cory set out the 
     necessity and importance of a public inquiry into the 
     Finucane case and that the failure to hold a public inquiry 
     as soon as reasonably possible could be seen as a denial of 
     the agreement at Weston Park;
       Whereas, on May 6, 2004, Judge Cory testified in Congress 
     before the United States Helsinki Commission and presented 
     his report, which is replete with evidence of possible 
     collusion relating to activities of the army intelligence 
     unit and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in the Finucane 
     case;
       Whereas the United Kingdom adopted new legislation after 
     the public release of the Cory Report, the United Kingdom 
     Inquiries Act of 2005, which severely limits the procedures 
     of an independent inquiry and which has been rejected as 
     inadequate by Judge Cory, the Finucane family, the Irish 
     Government, and human rights groups;
       Whereas, on March 15, 2005, Judge Cory submitted written 
     testimony to the Committee on International Relations of the 
     United States House of Representatives stating that the new 
     legislation is ``unfortunate to say the least'' and ``would 
     make a meaningful inquiry impossible'';
       Whereas the written statement of Judge Cory also stated 
     that his recommendation for a public inquiry into the 
     Finucane case ``contemplated a true public inquiry 
     constituted and acting pursuant to the provisions of the 1921 
     Act'' and not the United Kingdom Inquiries Act of 2005;
       Whereas section 701 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
     Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228) and House 
     Resolution 128, 106th Congress, agreed to April 20, 1999, 
     support the establishment of an independent, judicial inquiry 
     into the murder of Patrick Finucane; and
       Whereas the Senate expresses deep regret with respect to 
     the British Government's failure to honor its commitment to 
     implement recommendation of Judge Cory in full: Now 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commends the Finucane family, wife Geraldine and son 
     Michael, who have testified 5 times before the United States 
     Congress (Geraldine in 2000, 2004, and 2005 and Michael in 
     1997 and 1999), for their courageous campaign to seek the 
     truth in this case of collusion;
       (2) welcomes the passage of a resolution by the Dail 
     Eireann on March 8, 2006, calling for the establishment of a 
     full, independent, public judicial inquiry into the murder of 
     Patrick Finucane as the most recent expression of support for 
     the Finucane family by the Government of Ireland;
       (3) acknowledges the United States Helsinki Commission 
     charged with human rights monitoring for their work in 
     highlighting this case;
       (4) supports the efforts of the Honorable Mitchell Reiss, 
     special envoy of President Bush for the Northern Ireland 
     Peace Process, in pushing for the full implementation of the 
     Weston Park Agreement and the establishment of an 
     independent, judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick 
     Finucane; and
       (5) calls on the Government of the United Kingdom--
       (A) to reconsider its position on the Finucane case to take 
     full account of the objections of the family of Patrick 
     Finucane, Judge Cory, officials of the United States

[[Page S5126]]

     Government, other governments, and international bodies, and 
     amend the United Kingdom Inquiries Act of 2005; and
       (B) to establish immediately a full, independent, public 
     judicial inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane, as 
     recommended by Judge Cory, which would enjoy the full 
     cooperation of the family of Patrick Finucane and the wider 
     community throughout Ireland and abroad.

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