Other institutions

The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

The Equality Commission is responsible for ensuring that Northern Ireland is a fair place to work and live. Its duties were outlined in the Northern Ireland Act 1998: The Equality Commission is:

• working towards ending discrimination
• promoting equal opportunities
• promoting 'affirmative action', also known as positive discrimination
• promoting good relations between people of different racial groups
• making sure that the government acts fairly to everyone
• reviewing new laws to make sure they do not discriminate against anyone

In Northern Ireland, police officers are not allowed to investigate complaints made against other officers. This is the job of the Police Ombudsman.

The ombudsman investigates cases where the public have accused the police of misconduct or criminality.

It has done a lot of work investigating crimes committed by the police during the Troubles.