Op-Ed piece from Commissioner for Victims and Survivors Joe McVey

In the aftermath of recent Troubles/Conflict-related court decisions, the public response in some quarters has been clear: relief, validation and, in some cases, celebration.

But elsewhere, families are living with something very different.

They are living with the loss of a family member, a life that does not return with a legal outcome. Missing from much of the public response is any recognition of that loss.

The trauma of the Troubles/Conflict is not confined to the past. It is still felt daily by those who were bereaved, injured, or who lived through its violence.  That contrast should give us all pause. Instead, it risks basic humanity being drowned out.

As the latest legacy legislation moves through Parliament, the public and political debate has become dominated by one narrative, that veterans are being unfairly pursued. It is a powerful and emotive lobby but one that does not fully reflect the evidence.

Since the Good Friday Agreement, there has been only one conviction of a veteran for a Troubles/Conflict-related offence. A majority of the prosecutions have involved paramilitary actors. Yet the perception of widespread targeting continues to shape headlines, political pressure and, increasingly, the direction of legislation itself.

The Government has confirmed that the Bill will include additional protections and reassurances for veterans, developed directly in response to concerns raised by those who served. This demonstrates how influential that narrative has become within both public discourse and policymaking. 

The Troubles/Conflict affected tens of thousands across communities, across generations, across these islands. Our most recent population survey last year found that nearly one in five adults in Northern Ireland reported that they meet the definition of a victim or survivor as described in the 2006 Victims Order (NI).

At the same time, far less attention has been given to a more fundamental question: whether victims and survivors will be given acknowledgement, and full and honest access to the information.

Concerns raised in Parliament and by Human Rights bodies point to ongoing limits on disclosure, particularly where national security is cited. For many families, the absence of information has imposed a lasting and considerable mental toll.

For many victims and survivors, this is the central issue. Not protection from process, but access to information and acknowledgement. Today, many families are still waiting for something far more basic than legal resolution. They are waiting for acknowledgement, for answers, for truth and accountability.

Victims are not a homogeneous group. They do not share a single view of justice or reconciliation. But they are united by loss and by the experience of that loss being sidelined in public debate. When one narrative dominates to this extent, it does more than shape perception. It shapes whose voices are heard and whose are not. It is now influencing the direction of legislation, and that should concern all of us.

This is not simply a political or legal issue. It is a human one, and there is a real risk that the human impact is being lost from the conversation.  If we are serious about dealing with the past, we cannot do so through a single lens. We cannot allow fact or narrative, however compelling, to eclipse all others.

Victims and survivors must remain at the centre of how we address the past. That is not simply a principle; it is a responsibility and a necessity.

Because beyond every process, every debate and every decision, there are people whose lives have been shaped by pain and loss.

Their voices must not be overlooked.

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