ED Addresses Westminster Committee

Our Executive Director, Paul Smyth, recently (1 February 2023) testified to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in Westminster. They are currently investigating the impact of paramilitary organisations and he spoke about the impact of paramilitary violence and threat on young people as part of his work on the Stop Attacks Campaign. He was accompanied by colleague Megan Phair from Invisible Traffick who is also part of the Stop Attacks Forum. They both talked about the impact that the paramilitaries have on vulnerable young people and their communities and called on the Government to do more to protect young people's rights as well as supporting victims of paramilitary assaults.

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Paul also was involved in a workshop with the Committee on 20 March in Belfast looking at the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. He was able to share ideas coming out of our clusters of schools about the need to get an Executive up and running and ideas about changing some of the mechanisms such as the potential of a 'Voluntary Coalition'.