Peers hear from witnesses involved in the negotiations of the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement, in relation to Article 2 of the Protocol/Windsor Framework and protecting rights in Northern Ireland after Brexit

On Wednesday 8 July the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee will continue its its inquiry on Article 2 of the Protocol/Windsor Framework and how rights in Northern Ireland are being protected following the UK's exit from the European Union.

The Committee will hear from witnesses involved in the negotiations of the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement, with the session focusing specifically on the rights, safeguards, and equality of opportunity (RSEO) chapter of the Multi-Party Agreement, as this is a crucial basis for Article 2 of the Windsor Framework.

At 10:45am,the Committee will hear from:

• Professor Monica McWilliams, Emeritus Professor of Women's Studies, Ulster University; Co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition
• Dermot Nesbitt, lead negotiator for the Ulster Unionist Party to the multi-party negotiations 1998, regarding human rights and equality
• Mark Durkan, former deputy First Minister and a negotiator for the SDLP during the multi-party talks leading to the Belfast Agreement

The evidence session will take place in Committee Room 3, Palace of Westminster and will be available to watch live from 10.45 or online at Parliamentlive.TV

The Committee is expected to ask questions on the following:

• The viewpoints concerning equality and human rights presented in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement negotiations
• How rights ultimately included in the rights, safeguards, and equality of opportunity (RSEO) chapter would be enforced given the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement is a political text and not a legal text
• Implementation of the RSEO provisions
• The role the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has played in protecting and promoting rights and equality in Northern Ireland
• The significance of the UK's vote to leave the EU for the RSEO chapter of the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement
• The significance of the Supreme Court's recent decision in the Dillon case for the RSEO chapter of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement
• How effective Article 2 WF is in ensuring the protection of rights following the UK's exit from the EU

The Committee has launched a call for written evidence inviting individuals and organisations to submit written submissions by 5pm on Thursday 9 July.