Kerry Kennedy has called on the British Government to repeal the controversial Troubles Legacy Bill, which will grant conditional amnesty for all Troubles-era killings.
Speaking on behalf of the non-profit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Kerry Kennedy also called for a public inquiry into the murder of human rights lawyer Pat Finucane, in 1989.
Finucane was shot 14 times by loyalist paramilitaries as he sat eating a meal in his Belfast home with his wife Geraldine and their three children.
In 2003, the British Government Stevens Report stated that the killing was carried out with the collusion of the RUC.
Speaking on Twitter, Kennedy said Geraldine Finucane was still seeking the truth about her husband's murder more than 30 years later.
"Geraldine has not been looking for revenge or even punishment, she just wants the truth about who was behind her husband’s murder," Kennedy wrote on Twitter.
"Not one, but TWO public investigations concluded that elements of the British security forces colluded in Finucane's murder.
"30 years later Geraldine is still seeking the truth. Her demands are simple and necessary for closure, for healing, not only for her family, but for all of Northern Ireland."
Kennedy said Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is calling for a public inquiry with judicial powers to establish the facts in the case, adding that the organization is also calling on the British Government to repeal the Troubles Legacy Bill.
The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill offers a conditional amnesty to paramilitaries and members of the security forces accused of killings during the Troubles.
The Bill, which has been passed by the House of Commons and the House of Lords, will also stop any new Troubles-era inquests and court cases from being held.
Those accused of Troubles-era killings would be granted a conditional amnesty in exchange for cooperating with investigations carried out by the newly established Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.
The bill was originally introduced by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said it would "draw a line" under Northern Ireland's Troubles.
The controversial bill has been criticized by human rights organizations, the UK Labour Party, politicians in Ireland and the US, and politicians on both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland.
Kennedy also criticized the bill, stating that failure to deal with Northern Ireland's past would undermine the "stability of the future" and create intergenerational trauma.
"How can London overrule what all sides in Northern Ireland demand and need to heal? Who are they protecting and why?" Kennedy wrote on Twitter.
She called on the Biden administration to "weigh in" on both issues.
[1/6] Geraldine Finucane was sitting at dinner with her three children and her beloved husband, the great human rights lawyer, Pat Finucane, on February 12 , 1989, when two men broke down the door to their family home, shot Pat 2x, then stood over his body and shot his head 12x. pic.twitter.com/2Ni9Fb99xx
— Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) October 6, 2023
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