The DUP said the decision has ‘shredded public confidence and indeed the confidence of our community in the processes we are governed by in this council’
The Palestinian flag will fly on Belfast City Hall after a legal delay and “call-in” by Unionist politicians.
On a tight vote during a special meeting of the full council on Monday (December 1), the chamber voted to fly the flag from midnight for 24 hours, after a particularly bitter debate. The flag will fly on City Hall throughout December 2 until 11.59pm.
A Sinn Féin proposal to erect the Palestinian flag on City hall saw 32 votes in support, from Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Greens and People Before Profit, to 28 votes against from the DUP, Alliance, the UUP and the TUV. Alliance u-turned after voting in favour of flying the flag last month. The council vote was unusual in that all 60 members turned up to cast their vote.
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The debate was filled with a mixture of legalese and acrimony, with the City Solicitor Nora Largey stating she had “not received so many legal questions since law school,” as the DUP and TUV raised a series of council Standing Orders.
Both unionist parties argued that another vote on raising the Palestine flag would require a “qualified” majority for success as opposed to a “simple” majority – that means any decision to raise the flag would require more than 50 percent. The DUP said their confidence in legal advice coming from the council’s City Solicitor was “severely damaged” and Belfast Council was now based on “majoritarian” rule.
The debate saw bitter exchanges between parties, with the Lord Mayor, DUP Councillor Tracy Kelly constantly reminding members, including some from her own party, to make their comments through the Chair. At one point the Alliance Party’s Michael Long threatened legal action against the TUV’s Ron McDowell on allegations of accusations Alliance were “siding with Hamas.”
At the last meeting of the full Belfast City Council in November, a majority of elected representatives approved a Sinn Féin proposal to erect the national flag of Palestine above City Hall on Saturday November 29, the International Day for Solidarity with the People of Palestine.
A vote on the proposal saw 41 in favour from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit, and 15 against from the DUP, the UUP and the TUV. The proposal was carried.
This decision was subsequently called in by 12 unionists from the chamber, from 10 DUP councillors, one UUP councillor and one TUV councillor. The flag was not flown on November 29.
According to local government law, only 15 percent of a council is required to call-in a decision, setting off independent legal examination, a potential equality impact assessment, then a redetermination of the decision. If the call-in is seen as competent, it will go back to the full council, where the original proposal might then have to pass anything up to an 80 percent threshold of the vote to be successful.
The 15 percent may ask for a decision to be called-in on two grounds: firstly, that the decision was not arrived at after a proper consideration of the relevant facts and issues; ie, procedural grounds; and/or secondly that the decision would disproportionately affect adversely any section of the inhabitants of the district, ie community impact grounds. The unionist call-in requisition referred to both grounds.
Legal counsel considered that the call-in on the Palestine flag decision had merit on procedural grounds. The council report for Monday’s meeting states: “This is due to the decision not being screened in advance and also that, given City Hall is also a work place, the council did not have regard to its obligations under the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998. Counsel did not consider the call-in on community impact grounds to be made out.”
Denise Kiley KC, of the Bar Library, who gave legal counsel on the matter, wrote: “I do not consider that the decision has an adverse impact on the Jewish community as asserted by the requisitioners.”
She wrote: “I do not conclude that the flying of the flag constitutes the Council “taking a side” in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The evidence does not support a conclusion that the decision will “send a message which is overtly hostile to the Jewish community”. The evidence from the UN on the purpose and aim of the International Day of Solidarity with Palestine People (set out above) does not support such a proposition.”
She added: “The Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 governs an employer’s duty to its employees. Equality Commission guidance on the duties focuses on the concept of a “harmonious” working environment. Since City Hall is a workplace, it is necessary to consider the effect which symbols, emblems and flags have on the working environment. The draft equality screening document is also relevant to this ground.”
On Monday evening at City Hall, unionist politicians raised a list of specific legal questions, and cited a variety of council Standing Orders which they argued meant that any further vote on flying the Palestinian flag would have to abide by a “qualified” vote, meaning it would require more than 50 percent.
The legal opinion given by the City Solicitor was that if the chamber were to determine, as advised by Denise Kiley KC, that there was no substantive community impact made by the flying of the flag, then a vote to fly the flag would only have to achieve a simple majority, that is over 50 percent.
The City Solicitor said: “If the council finds there is a disproportionate adverse impact on any (group) of inhabitants, that is when a qualified majority kicks in. The purpose of the process is to protect minority rights..”
On a vote regarding whether flying the flag would have adverse community impact, 44 councillors said it would not have adverse impact, from Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit, against 17 from the unionist parties.
DUP Alderman James Lawlor said at the meeting: “This proposal has shredded public confidence and indeed the confidence of our community in the processes we are governed by in this council. The decision to attempt to take forward the display of the Palestinian flag at City Hall has highlighted significant inconsistencies in respect of procedure, obligations and the advice provided to elected members.”
He added: “It is understandable that our confidence in the advice we are being given has been severely damaged. The manner in which this council is now operating is completely and fundamentally majoritarian, which is at odds with the language we often hear from the very councillors so eager to quash unionist concerns once and for all.
“We are asking the majority, who are able to force through anything, to decide if the minority’s concerns are correct. The idea that such a proposal could proceed without the appropriate equality impact assessment or screening is laughable, and fails to take into consideration the feelings of the minority Jewish community or indeed the feelings of many of our council staff, who are well aware that the parties opposite aren’t known for taking their views into consideration.”
DUP Alderman Dean McCullough said: “Since the start of this new term, there has in our view been a clear attempt by the pan-republican front in this chamber, to rub our noses, and the noses of our communities, in it. Every meeting, every debate, every divisive decision, all giving one impression, this is our city now. Well on November 29th, they learned a harsh lesson, it is not.”
The Alliance Party’s Michael Long said his party would not be supporting the flying of the Palestinian flag on its second vote. He said: “We don’t feel that reopening the debate on flags at City Hall is a good idea. We have an established position which polls have regularly shown to have support from the majority of the people in this city.” He added: “We do believe it is right to mark support for Palestine.”
He proposed City Hall would be illuminated in the colours of Palestine in the first week of the New Year. On a vote this proposal fell, with 11 in favour from Alliance, and 49 against from all the other parties.
Green Party Anthony Flynn said: “The Alliance Party amendment is as clear as mud. You cannot take the decision to sit on the fence on this issue during a genocide, I think it is abhorrent.”
The City Solicitor said: “It is disappointing to have my legal advice criticised in the manner of which it has been. It is also disappointing that there has been criticism of a very well respected KC in this jurisdiction.
“Nonetheless I would refer members to the legal advice which talks about the impact on Jewish communities in respect of this decision, and in particular…the argument that “any impact would be minimal given the express purpose of the decision and the effect of it.” (The KC says:) “It will result in the flying of a flag for a single day, and it will not result in any long-term policy change or position on the part of the council””.
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