NORTHERN IRELAND:
MONITORING THE 1998 MARCHING SEASON

Human Rights Watch has an observer team in Northern Ireland from July 3-14, 1998, that will be monitoring the events of the Marching Season and will be posting brief reports and photographs on this site regularly. The information gathered during this observing mission will be used to continue our advocacy work on the promotion and protection of human rights in Northern Ireland and to inform those committed to the creation of an authentic rights culture in Northern Ireland in the aftermath of the April 1998 Multi-Party Agreement.

Human Rights Watch developed this site to inform visitors about the human rights implications of the marching season in Northern Ireland and to provide updates on marches taking place in July 1998. Northern Ireland's annual marching season involves loyal fraternal orders such as the Orange Order marching in processions in cities and towns to commemorate events of historcial significance to the Protestant community. Some of these marches have been labeled contentious because they proceed through predominantly Catholic/nationalist neighborhoods. Members of the nationalist community view the marches as triumphalist, serving to fuel tensions between the Catholic and Protestant communities. All too often the policing of these marches is inadequate and in some cases, the police use excessive physical force, indiscriminately fire plastic bullets, and use sectarian language in police operations.

For more information on this project click here.