Welcome Address by John Hume

Civil Rights 1968 Commemoration Committee International Conference

Guildhall, Derry

Saturday 4 October 2008

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Speech by Mark Durkan MP MLA SDLP Leader
‘The Impact of Civil Rights on Northern Ireland’
Civil Rights 1968 Commemoration Committee International Conference
Guildhall, Derry
Saturday 4 October 2008

(more…)

Last week, SDLP Leader Mark Durkan gave a keynote speech to the British Irish Association’s Annual Conference. It has received a lot of media coverage, including good pieces by The Guardian and North by Northwest.

However, Durkan was mis-quoted by the Irish News who printed the headline Power-sharing should end soon says Durkan. I wrote a blog piece about it at the time, which I’ve now removed it as it repeated some erroneous quotes! I thought that I’d write another blog piece instead for clarity.

Durkan’s speech is available in full here. The speech is also being discussed on the SDLP Members Forum.

What Durkan Did Not Say:

Durkan definitely didn’t suggest any system resembling simple majority voting (50%+1). This wouldn’t work in N Ireland. Secondly, he did not suggest changing the D’Hondt mechanism – this would remain the same – whereby each parties entitlement to Ministries is on the basis of their electoral mandate.

And lastly (do I even need to point this out!), it’s quite clear from the speech that Durkan was not promoting an end to power sharing. That has been a principle of the SDLP since it was established and it remains so!

What Durkan Did Say:

He did say that in the future society should aim to dissolve the current system of designation used by the Assembly. This is not really a surprise. The SDLP has always said that the system of designation was only a temporary step. In the absence of a strong Bill of Rights that would include protection for community identities, the SDLP insisted on the system of designation 10 years ago as it was required to protect the nationalist minority after so many years of Unionist majority rule in the old days of Stormont. Designation provided important re-assurance that the Assembly would be better.

The cross-community decision-making apparatus was important to secure overwhelming nationalist support for the Agreement in the 1998 referendum in the absence of a stronger means of guarding minority rights, such as a Bill of Rights.

So why review the system of designation?

The Agreement was specifically designed to be reviewed after several years of successful government. It’s worth noting that there was a review of designation in January 2002, which recognised that designation was still necessary but should be continually reviewed. All the parties involved agreed to review it again in the full Strand One Review, but this wasn’t possible because the Assembly kept getting suspended!

However, 10 years have now passed and a lot has changed. Politicians in N Ireland have grown up a little, so the cross-community protections put into the Assembly through the system of designation could in future be replaced by a strong Bill of Rights and a Protected Majority Voting System.

A Protected Majority Voting System would need to be carefully examined by all the parties (and this is not SDLP policy, it’s just an example!) but in my opinion it could include elements of the Qualified Majority Voting used the EU Council, where 65% of the vote must be achieved for legislation to pass.

The EU-style system is different from a simple majority voting system used in Dáil Éireann or the UK Parliament because it would require 65% vote to pass any legislation, therefore making it impossible for any legislation to pass without the support from both communities. It would allow us to leave behind the unionist vs. nationalist system we currently use.

The SDLP always wanted a better system of designation at the Assembly, but recognised that a typical left-right political spectrum instead of a nationalist vs. unionist arrangement might not be possible at first. The unionist vs. nationalist agreement was also required to ensure cross-community consensus on legislation, but not everyone fits into a nationalist or unionist category, and at some point in the future, when we’re ready, NI will leave behind this system that divides our communities.

Mark Durkan said: “At the time, the system of designation was necessary because of what we were coming from but should not be necessary where we were going. Such measures with their arguably sectarian or sectional undertones should be bio-degradable, dissolving in the future as the environment changed. Most, if not all of us, had such future adjustments in mind when we wrote the review mechanisms into the Agreement. As we move towards a fully sealed and settled process we should be preparing to think about how and when to remove some of the ugly scaffolding needed during the construction of the new edifice.”

We are building towards a New Ireland. The SDLP is exploring the opportunities of political re-alignment and are in discussions with southern parties, Unionists and interested parties. Meanwhile, the UUP are exploring relationships with the Conservatives. These should not be prevented by our current system of designation.

On political re-alignment, Mark Durkan said:
“The possibilities for political realignment with new or changing party offerings in the future could be stunted by permanent reliance to the present degree on designation. If we are serious about a truly shared future then we have to allow for truly shared politics where parties can – and have to – appeal across the traditional divides. The fault-line in our society will still be there but it should not determine the party political cleavage for future generations.”

Speech by Mark Durkan MP MLA SDLP Leader

British Irish Association Conference

New College, Oxford

5 September 2008

When I was recently asked to step into this breach, I was told that this session was to provide some retrospective thoughts 10 years on from the Good Friday Agreement and to speculate on possible future prospects.

Here are 10 Recollections and Reflections

SDLP Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has outlined her vision for a Shared Future in the North which she said can help tackle the problems of prejudice, poverty and paramilitarism.

The South Down MLA told the SDLP Youth Conference said a carve-up of power within the Executive was detrimental to the concept of power sharing.

She said: “The honeymoon period here is well and truly over.

“We are seeing increasing stalemate and cynicism from the parties at the centre. We have power-sharing in name but less so in practice. There is a workable formula that locks us together in government but, sadly, not the goodwill and spirit of joint endeavour that should go with it.

“If we are to deliver a Shared Future, we cannot have politicians dividing the spoils selfishly between themselves or allocating resources for narrow political advantage. Our goal must be to work together on a common project in the common good � and nothing less.

“Sinn Fein is happy with equal but separate. Equal but still divided. But the SDLP is not. We have a higher ambition for people. Yes we will continue the drive for equality � but we want reconciliation, mutual respect, sharing and friendship among our divided people.

“My vision is of a shared future where all our people have the same life chances and feel comfortable and safe together - at work, at home and at play.

“To me a shared society is also one where opportunity and indeed wealth is shared. That’s why a major priority must also be to tackle poverty - both by encouraging self sufficiency and by supporting those in real need.

“Of course, the devolved administration does not control all the levers here. Tax and welfare policy is set in London. But through my Department’s programmes � and actions by many other Departments too � the Executive can make a real difference.

“To achieve real social mobility, and deliver real sharing, we have to tackle our physically divided society. Take social housing � probably the most important area that I am responsible for � and my number one priority.

“The reality is that social housing in Northern Ireland is totally segregated. The statistics are stark: 94% of estates are segregated by religion, rising to 97% in Belfast. That is part of the appalling legacy of the Troubles.

“This is unacceptable to anyone who holds to the values of the SDLP and I am determined to make a start on de-segregating housing in Northern Ireland.

“Worse still, estates of different religions are often divided by peace walls. I recognise that these barriers are there because of fear, but I also believe they can reinforce division and deprivation. After all, business-people and investors want stability � and peacelines suggest only barely contained strife.

“I want to see the day when peacelines come down. I know that it won’t be easy � and won’t come quickly. Peacelines will only come down when communities are ready and feel safe.

“Clearly, we have to build affordable and social housing for all who need it, no matter who they are. But it’s difficult in an area where space is so bitterly contested.

“That’s why united action by all politicians across the whole of the North is so important. The new Executive needs to agree on some key principles. That people should be free to live where they want. That people’s identities should be respected and protected.

“And that, above all, our future lies together.

“Then we need to convert those principles into concrete actions. To help resolve our disputes over flags and parades. To see our space not as “ours” our “theirs” but “everybody’s” � and to take action to guarantee this.

“One of the challenges that face us as we set out to do this is continued paramilitarism. Nothing has been more responsible for driving communities apart than the actions of paramilitaries.

“I want to enable people to live normal lives; to free up communities so businessmen and women can create jobs without fear of extortion; to provide better role models for young people in loyalist communities than paramilitaries.

“And I can assure you that as far as I am concerned, the days of appeasing and cow-towing to the hard men and gatekeepers are over.

“With devolution, despite its imperfections, now up and running, we have in place the political architecture to enable us to tackle our problems � poverty, prejudice, paramilitarism.

“We have the chance to deliver change. To forge a new future of peace, prosperity and partnership. It will take time � perhaps decades.

“But we have been here before: Forty years ago we started the struggle against discrimination and denial of civil rights in jobs, housing voting and many other areas.

“We have been hugely successful but there is still much work to be done.

“But for me, the main challenge for our party now is to build the Shared Future � and overcome the nay-sayers at the centre of government today. And it is work we are well placed to do.

“Building a Shared Future in the North and on the island is, I believe, uniquely our destiny.”

SDLP Youth member Matthew McDermott has outlined some of the key themes to the party’s plans for an overhaul of the youth justice system.

The Lisburn Councillor told the SDLP Youth conference that re-offending rates were on the rise and we should consider new innovative methods to deal with you crime.

These include treating youth crime as a health issue and detaining youngsters only at weekend while they attended supervised rehabilitation programmes in the community during the week.

He said: “There is a clear problem with our current youth justice system. No one will deny that is the case.

“Anti-social behaviour is on the rise, while rates of offending are as high as those for re-offending.

“And those involved in the system are just as easily identifiable.

“More than half come from state care they come from underprivileged backgrounds, many lack age appropriate education, or suffer from mental health problems or substance and alcohol addiction.

“These are society’s most vulnerable and fragile individuals and by the time they come into contact with the system any potential or opportunity for development has been lost.

“At present, more than two-thirds of the youth justice budget is being spent on locking up young offenders, while a tiny proportion is going on preventative measures.

“But the biggest scandal is the current government is drawing more than half of this budget from health and social services merely to lock people up.

“In essence it is disinvesting in social care services for our most vulnerable children. Some might say locking them up and throwing away the key is the correct approach but the SDLP say the answer is much wider.

“I would argue that the youth offending is no longer a criminal justice matter but a health issue.

“It is now time to raise fundamental questions about whether the present youth justice agencies can adequately address the complex economic and social factors which are the cause of youth offending.

“Are there more effective solutions to be found outside the youth justice system in the delivery of a co-ordinated service through mainstream local authority children’s and young people providers and more effective child services?

“The SDLP is proposing a complete overhaul of the youth justice system.

“Keep and invest and roll out what works. Scrap what doesn’t. We want to see a preventative and caring approach that targets our must vulnerable and troubled children.

“A troubled child is a child in trouble. We must target those who are most at risk. If we invest in tackling their social and economic needs at early age we save later.

“More than two-thirds of children who are identified and worked with at an early age do not re-enter the youth justice system.

“We will be proposing an early intervention package – single point of contact for every targeted child to ensure proper integrated services and the highest quality of care.

“Youth conferencing deserves and demands adequate resources.

“We believe children must have a sense of citizenship instilled in them. Too many fell like they have nothing to lose and nothing to gain.

“We must make them feel part of the system – that there is help available.

“Acknowledging this as the best way forward we are under no illusion that some children and young people need to be detained and punished for the most serious of crimes.

“But custody in general, as a punishment except for serious offences should only ever be used as a last resort and then it should be to prevent reoffending.

“However, we should be imaginative and creative and look at best practice.

“Germany offers a mode that sees children detained only at weekends. They are released during the week and must attend youth conferences, programmes and courses. If they don’t they lose a day in the community.

“This system keeps children in their community, reduces detention costs and makes further savings in ensuring they attend mainstream education.

“This is proving to work for children and for safer communities with a very high success rate of preventing youth crime.

“With regards to post-release we must tackle re-offending.

“Those who re-offend often have no job, no home and no chance in life.

“Then we must work with those who have no job until they do, provide them with accommodation and offer all the necessary support.

“The SDLP is looking at a radical, smart and sensible transformation of the youth justice system that will make our streets and communities safer for all.”

Addressing a meeting in Queens University Students on Civil Rights in the 21st Century SDLP Leader Mark Durkan MP MLA stated:

“Forty years ago a generation of young men and women were inspired by the example set by Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. That violence is not only morally bankrupt, but that it ultimately destroys that which it claims to defend. And that peaceful challenge and non-violent resistance are much more powerful tools for achieving change. And they did achieve change. Because of the terrible events that followed for the next thirty years, many people have lost sight of their achievements. By 1970, all the original demands of the Civil Rights movement had been granted or conceded in principle: voting reform, a points system for housing, unarmed police.

But civil and human rights are not static, even if the human values that underlie them are unchanging. Society changes, new challenges arise and new rights need to be laid down in law.

From the SDLP ‘s roots in the campaign for civil rights to our proud role in the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement or in delivering the new beginning in policing, making this country the best it can be – economically, socially, politically, culturally and environmentally – has always been the our mission.

As the party that brought a divided people to the dawn of a new, agreed Ireland in the last century; our work for the twenty first century is to lead a reconciled people into a truly united, just and prosperous new Ireland.

We will use the current debate on the realignment of politics on the island in an innovative and imaginative way. We will use it to maximise the potential for positive, constructive outreach. Engaging imaginatively with parties, partners and people in the South. Liaising positively with the unionist community and others in the North. Talking ambitiously with all the stakeholders and policy communities in this new Ireland we want to build. Focussing on the future direction of this country, as well the SDLP’s place in it.

We are determined to ensure that the SDLP, all that we stand for and everything that we believe in will be at the heart of the new Ireland in the future. We also know we need to be the heartbeat for progressive, visionary and creative politics right now.

Imagining the prospects for the new Ireland of the future also involves embracing the opportunities of the present, the opportunities that the Agreement provides for us all, North and South, Unionist and Nationalist.

So when we talk of the legacy of Civil Rights we must be aware that the struggle for Civil Rights continues to this day. We now have the power to tackle inequality in our society in our own hands.

We need to stand together for the right to fair play from a system that has delivered too little and needs to give us much more.

We have to stand strong for the rights of young people to be able to go out at night free from the fear of being attacked. And for all older people to sleep sound in their beds at night.

We need to stand determined to uphold the rights of women to earn equal pay with men.

We must stand up for the rights of our children not to be labeled as failures or left behind. As well as for the fundamental rights of children in developing countries to have access to clean water, basic medical services and the better future they continue to be denied.

We have to stand resolute by people with disabilities, whose rights should be equal with all others.

Stand firm by the rights of the people of Ireland, who voted so strongly for the Good Friday Agreement, and now want its institutions to be used to improve the lives of all its people.

Stand strong for the rights of all people to live free from sectarian intimidation, racist abuse or homophobic assault.

Stand up for what we know to be right. For the more inclusive society, the more prosperous economy and the better country we should all want for ourselves and for each other.”

Speech by Mark Durkan MP MLA SDLP Leader
SDLP Civil Rights Seminar
Belfast

29 September 2007

It is very encouraging to see so many young people here today.

But what is most encouraging is the quality of discussion and debate we have heard this morning. Clearly the passion for civil and human rights among young people is alive and well. As strong today as it was a generation ago, when Paddy O’Hanlon, John Hume and many other young men and women marched for equality, justice and fair play for all citizens regardless of religious faith or political outlook.

Inspired by the example set by Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. That violence is not only morally bankrupt, but that it ultimately destroys that which it claims to defend. And that peaceful challenge and non-violent resistance are much more powerful tools for achieving change.

Motivated by a deep desire - not just to take on the awful discrimination that locked so many people here into a cycle of deprivation, disadvantage and poverty - but to take forward the vision for a better country for all.

On these values the SDLP was founded. By these values the SDLP stands today.

Our mission now, as then:

A Better Ireland. Our people united under the principles of democracy, equality and respect for diversity. Living free of prejudice, poverty and disadvantage. Able to fulfill their potential, get a good education, earn a fair wage and live in a decent home. Not just standing tall for our own rights here, but for the rights and welfare of other citizens of this world as well.

Nearly four decades ago a generation of young people like you took a stand for a better Ireland through the Civil Rights Movement.

They wanted to do the best they could, not just for themselves but by the communities they lived in as well.

They looked out on a changing world and hungered for positive change in their world.

They not only saw injustice and inequality, they suffered it. And they rose against it in the campaign for civil rights.

Stood strong for the principle that all people are created equal and should be treated with equal respect and guaranteed equal opportunity.

Marched to challenge an old, unjust order and to create a new, fair one.

And changed the face of our society for the better and for ever.

That’s what that generation of young people achieved. The question I want to ask is: what will yours achieve?
SDLP constituency postbags and e-mail inboxes tell the true story of the character of young people. Every day of the week, local young people are contacting me - more often to lobby on behalf of others than for themselves.

Urging me to support good campaigns for a better deal for developing countries. To lobby government ministers for trade justice, debt relief and more & better aid for Africa.

To support environmentally sound ways of tackling climate change and promote different ways of protecting our planet’s resources now and into the future.

As well as, of course, to work to secure new jobs, better services, proper investment and safer streets for everyone. So that they are assured of the opportunities they deserve to fulfill their potential in their home place.

All these issues and more matter to our young people. They matter deeply to the SDLP. But what matters most is the stand we are all willing to take for them together. That’s what will make the difference.

We need to stand together for the right to fair play from a system that has delivered too little and needs to give us much more.

We have to stand strong for the rights of young people to be able to go out at night free from the fear of being attacked. And for all older people to sleep sound in their beds at night.

We need to stand determined to uphold the rights of women to earn equal pay with men.

We must stand up for the rights of our children not to be labeled as failures or left behind. As well as for the fundamental rights of children in developing countries to have access to clean water, basic medical services and the better future they continue to be denied.

We have to stand resolute by people with disabilities, whose rights should be equal with all others.

Stand firm by the rights of the people of Ireland, who voted so strongly for the Good Friday Agreement, and now want its institutions to be used to improve the lives of all its people.

Stand strong for the rights of all people to live free from sectarian intimidation, racist abuse or homophobic assault.

Stand up for what we know to be right. For the more inclusive society, the more prosperous economy and the better country we should all want for ourselves and for each other.

ENDS

Speech to Ogra Sinn Fein Forum, Omagh – 7/10/2006
Given by Matthew McDermott, SDLP Youth West Belfast Representative

First of all I’d like to thank OSF for inviting SDLP Youth to speak at today’s event, I believe that this is a weekend program for activists and gives you an opportunity to discuss the hunger strikes and that period in our history, and I wish you all the best with the rest of the events on your schedule.

There are two main reasons for the theme of my speech, firstly, coming from West Belfast – which I’m sure you are aware, is SFs strongest and safest constituency – I developed a different reading and understanding of our history and continue to do so to this day of our present political atmosphere,
so the theme of the speech will be quite different to many of you. Secondly I wanted to give a different perspective so that we can hopefully spark a lively debate and we can have an opportunity to engage in discussion, as I’m sure many different viewpoints will be heard.

Well, If you state that you believe in a truly democratic, free society that nurtures all its citizens needs, and if that is what you are fighting for, then the preservation of human life should be paramount. Preserving human life is a precious thing, a vital value to hold and should be at the forefront of any truly democratic party – preserving human life, whether it be by lifting the disenfranchised out of poverty, providing top quality health care or giving all an education for them to havethe best opportunities, is vital – its vital that all the citizens of a nation have these and this is what the SDLP, SDLP Youth and socialist democrats everywhere are fighting for and will continue to fight for.

For me it seems, to celebrate the death of anyone, for any reason, seems to be in direct conflict with this ideal. Its important to remember that families, wife’s, mothers, sisters, brothers and children suffered greatly, suffered the worst pain of all and this is never to be celebrated – anyone suffering is a terrible thing and we as a society should never highlight suffering and pain and should do everything in our power to prevent this pain.

That I suppose brings us to the point of who was to blame for the hunger strike, where the provisionals forced by the British government or did they believe that they could undermine that government and gain from the strike?

Well, firstly the strikers knew that they were going to their deaths and there’s no denying that this must have been a severely heavy burden on them. The previous strike had failed and ndermined their fight for political recognition and this strike had to be sincere, had to ‘go all the way’ for a lack of better words.

That implies that these men chose to go to their deaths – and it’s important to remember of course, that it was only one wing of the prison that participated in the blanket protest and subsequent hunger strike.
Why did the other prisoners not participate? Why did they seek to gain political recognition by disobeying prison rules and making it ungovernable - And not go on hunger strike?

That I’m afraid is a question that only those men and women can answer.

That’s not to dispute the fact that these men were treated harshly, demeaned, beaten and humiliated– but taking your life is an extreme, an extreme that many other prisoners felt was unnecessary and even futile.
There are two important factors that we should carefully consider when we’re analyzing the hunger strikes.

First of all, were these men political prisoners?

In my opinion, there’s absolutely no doubt that these men were political prisoners, men who were fighting for a political belief and strong political ideals – how those ideals were going to be reached by violence is to me however an alien concept. I’m not a pacifist by any stretch; I do believe that violence is justified, justified as a last resort and only as a last resort. But personally I don’t fell that the PIRAs campaign was taken as a last resort – diplomacy could have prevailed and there are too many different traditions and factors in our history for violence to have achieved anything – that should have been recognized.

Its well documented that the prisoners best weapon against the prison authorities and the ammunition that kept them going was their sense of brotherhood at the harsh, degrading treatment that they received at the hands of the wardens, they were more determined to stick together and continue the protest.
If that’s the case, which I don’t doubt, is it then conceivable that Unionists felt the same way when they saw the IRA kill their loved ones, kill, who they believed and saw as their kin, the British? - could they have felt a sense of togetherness, kept going? Absolutely – if the provisionals knew that receiving
harm made them determined, why then did they believe that bringing harm to the Unionist/British would force them out?

The second factor is the question of whether these men died for their country?

I admire any man who truly gives his life for his country. I admire James Connelly, I admire Pearse, Clarke and the rest that came out in 1916 but to distinguish between these men and the Provisionals it should be stated that the solders of 1916 tried a diplomatic solution, they tried alternative means
and the resulting violence was a last resort, a very last resort. Moreover they called the uprising off after
a week to preserve human life, so that no more Irishmen would die – the provisionals however engaged in a ‘long war’ that resulted in the death of many, many innocent people .

I do believe that when the HS died, that they died for their country. They died for what they wanted to see, a better Ireland, a 32 county, socialist republic and Bobby Sands is on record as saying just that – saying that the partition of Ireland and capitalism forced on the people is unacceptable and he most
certainly was not fighting for capitalism and partition.

Although I fundamentally disagree with their chosen means to achieving this I do believe that in prison, in the political atmosphere in the North at that time, those men died for their country.

However if you believe that, then you also cannot fail to believe, as it goes in tandem with today’s political atmosphere, that SF have undermined and raped those men of their ideals, of what they died for – SF have accepted partition and the ‘illegitimate’ parliaments that are on this island and are also accepting capitalism and working with it, taking donations off of big businesses in America, Europe and at home. Accepting exactly what these men believed to be unacceptable.

However, don’t get me wrong; I’m glad that SF is no longer engaged in physical force republicanism and has now accepted diplomacy as the way forward. SF have now recognized that saying ‘brits out’ and bombing them is no longer viable, that the different diverse traditions on this island have to work together for a common, shared future.

* SF have now recognized that working within the institutions and safe guarding the rights of everyone is a lot more productive for uniting Ireland than waging war on those different traditions and institutions.
* SF eventually recognized that working with the unionist tradition was the best way forward.
* SF recognized that working with both governments was the best way forward.
* They recognized that civil and human rights are fundamental to a democratic society, and
* SF now recognize that, when a united Ireland is achieved, the Unionist tradition will have to be a part of that united Ireland and need to feel safe and secure.
SF have in summary, now recognized just what John Hume was saying 35 Years ago and what the SDLP have been saying and doing for over 35years.
Constitutional Nationalism has prevailed over physical force republicanism, partnership and power sharing is the best way forward and to quote John Hume,“ It is only by spilling our sweat and not our blood that we will unite our people and our province”.

So on behalf of SDLP Youth and the SDLP I welcome SF to the political stage.

However the SDLP also recognize the perverse results that paramilitaries have on society and that accepting law and order and proper policing is the best way forward to a peaceful, democratic and better Ireland, along with these other necessities I’ve just mentioned. SF hopefully will catch up to that last reality and move forward with us.

Thank you.

“PROTECTING RIGHTS - LOCALLY, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY”
Speech by Mark Durkan MLA, SDLP Leader

St. Columb’s Park House, Derry

Friday 25 February 2005

I am very pleased to be here this afternoon and want to thank SDLP Youth for the invitation to address today’s seminar.

I intend to keep my initial remarks short because I believe that hearing what you think on these issues is just as important as telling you what I think.

The SDLP was born of the struggle for civil rights.

In defence of the ideal that all people are created equal and should be treated as such.

In defiance of those who sought to oppress our community, control our people and suppress our rights - not just as citizens - but as human beings as well.

It was on the streets of Derry and in other parts of the North that the first SDLP generation and others rose against injustice, prejudice and deprivation. Marched for fair treatment and equal rights for all. Brought our community out of grievance and into governance. And changed the face of our society for ever - without ever resorting to the brutality of violence.

That was the SDLP’s role then. It is our mission now.

To create a society where the rights of all people are respected unequivocally.

To work for a community where our older people don’t fear hearing a knock on their door and our young people aren’t scared to walk through the city centre at night.

To grow an economy where no young person is forced to leave their hometown in search of work or struggle to make ends meet in the work they get.

To build a country where our people and our communities can live free from fear. Where no one is above the law or gets away with acting as if they are the law. Where every person is guaranteed justice. Where people can not only live their own lives and fulfil their own potential; but are allowed to live to see their children fulfil theirs as well.

That is the Ireland the SDLP is determined to build. It is an Ireland the Good Friday Agreement can deliver.

Nearly seven years ago now, the people of Ireland voted for the Agreement. Yet the democratic mandate we gave to it - a much greater mandate than any political party on this island can command - is still being denied. By political parties who resent the very idea change. And paramilitaries who fail to recognise that their day has long since gone.

I resent it when I hear people say the Good Friday Agreement is dead and gone, because the Agreement remains the democratically expressed will of the people of Ireland and no one has any right to write that fact off. No one will stand stronger by the Agreement than the SDLP, because no one has greater respect for the people than the SDLP. Not because we did more to create the Agreement than anyone else, but because it offers us all our best hopes to achieve most for our generation and generations to come.

Either directly because of the Agreement or arising from the institutions, solid progress has been made on the rights agenda. The Human Rights Commission and Equality Commission are up and running and able to stand up for the rights of all. The Children’s Commissioner is delivering for children and young people with world leading powers. All government policy must now be equality proofed. Radical and rapid change is happening in policing with more to come. A new independent prosecution service is on the way. All very technical terms, I know. But what they add up to is this - greater rights and stronger protections than ever before for the people who need them most.

But we all need more. And those who continue to deny us the Good Friday Agreement are holding positive change back. In truth, those who promised people so much have delivered so little. Those who talk most about “change” and argue loudest for “rights” are responsible for frustrating those very objectives.

They are denying us - not just the democratic institutions of the Assembly, North South Ministerial Council and all-Ireland bodies - but the Bill of Rights and the Charter of Rights as well. Important new and stronger laws on equality are moving at snail’s pace. Resolute action against the flying of sectarian flags is on go slow. The Children’s Fund and the Children’s Strategy - which the SDLP created when we were in government - have been abolished by Direct Rule. And it is the people who are suffering.

That is why we need the Agreement back. To finish the job the people asked us to do. To follow a better way to a better Ireland.

An Ireland where the measure of our patriotism is the distance we are willing to go to keep the unfulfilled promise of the Easter 1916 Proclamation to cherish “all the children of the nation equally”.

Whatever about all the things that cause division and disagreement among us, every political party on this island should unite to keep that promise.

By making it our shared priority to eradicate child poverty in Ireland by 2016 - if not sooner.

By ensuring that no child of Ireland is ever left behind or branded a failure.

Where the “children of Ireland” doesn’t just mean children of Irish parents.

Where no child has to silently suffer bullying or abuse - in the schoolyard or at home.

Where no parent of a child with a disability has to negotiate with or between different services, as though their child is the first with such special needs. And no one with a disability has to endure the indignity of ignorant and intolerant name-calling.

Where society, all its systems and every service says and means “every child is our child” - no matter what their sexuality, their skin colour, or their religion.

Where all children live free, not just from the deprivation of poverty, but from the depravity of prejudice as well.

So that they can grow up with proper respect for all the differences on their island. Not just getting their history from a gable wall, but growing a positive regard for all the different hurts that people have suffered at different hands.

These are the high standards we must set for ourselves and each other - and deliver together.

But it is not just our own shared future or that of our country that concerns us.

We won’t be content to see child poverty eradicated in Ireland by 2016, without seeing the millennium goals to eradicate child poverty and hunger across the world delivered by that time as well.

We aren’t just worried about the one child in three in Irish society that lives below the poverty line; we are worried as well about the millions of children in Africa, Asia and around the world who are born to live only in poverty, disease and war. If indeed they live that long, as I saw for myself when I visited Malawi with Children in Crossfire two years ago.

And we aren’t content just to express our revulsion that the world’s leading powers don’t do more for these people, we want to do more ourselves - as we proved in our response to the tsunami disaster in Asia.

When I was your age, it was the denial of democratic and human rights in South Africa under Apartheid that caused affront. Today it is the new global apartheid. A small minority hold all the power, wealth and resources. Justifying their approach by claiming it is necessary for stability. Delivering so little for those who need most. Failing to tackle the basic underlying problems. ]Failing even to drop the debt for the poorest nations in world, while insisting on spending billions on dropping bombs on innocent people in Iraq.

We care about these things because we know Martin Luther King was right when he said that a threat to justice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

The SDLP is a small political party in Ireland. But we have big ideals and strong values. We have a vision for a better Ireland and a better world. Where all children are cherished equally, the rights of every human being are respected unequivocally and no one is ever left behind.