Northern Ireland Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) and abortion: Human rights lawyer claims government under 'no binding obligation' to impose recommendation from UN's CEDAW

The NIO said he was obliged to do so, due to recommendations for NI from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

This requirement for NI was controversially written into UK law by then Secretary of State Brandon Lewis in Westminster in 2019 - without the support of any NI MPs - and while the NI Assembly was suspended.

However human rights lawyer Roger Kiska, of Christian Concern, now says the government was under no obligation to implement the UN recommendation.

“The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has clearly overstepped his mandate by imposing abortion education on Northern Ireland’s schools, education being a devolved power, on the dubious premise that a radically pro-abortion unelected committee of civil servants at the United Nations has said it must be done," Mr Kiska said.

"The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women is an unincorporated treaty and places no binding obligations on the government of the United Kingdom. The Government has flagrantly ignored such treaty obligations in the past, where convenient, on the very basis that the treaties are unincorporated. Westminster’s actions show an utter disregard for Northern Irish self-determination in the area of devolved competencies. More than this, it shows a wanton disregard for the rights of Northern Ireland schools and parents who don’t want this material taught in their schools.”

In May the Court of Appeal identified a requirement to implement the CEDAW recommendations on NI. However Wesley Mitchell, of Abolish Abortion NI, said the requirement only exists because Westminster chose to insert it into UK statute law.

The NIO responded: "This is a specific and unique duty which arose from a vote in Parliament. The UK Government has only stepped in where necessary to ensure the implementation of the specific recommendations of the Report of the CEDAW are implemented in Northern Ireland."