ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to answer the question of the extent to which, and ways in which, human rights influenced the Northern Ireland conflict. It examines the related question as to how the conflict in Northern Ireland influenced the understanding of human rights within Northern Ireland with specific reference to the two main political traditions: unionism and nationalism. The chapter discusses the effects of human rights on the conflict, as well as the impact of the conflict on human rights, throughout the pre-violent conflict phase, the violent conflict phase and the post-violent conflict phase. In the crucial post-Agreement phase, both the UK and Irish governments gave priority to saving the Agreement from the various insidious obstacles it faced. Northern Ireland was born in early 1920s when Woodrow Wilson's call for the self-determination of peoples was at the cutting edge of international politics. The right of self-determination for the majority community had to be tempered with minority protection.
