The Northern Ireland Assembly is to vote next week on draft standing orders for its operation. Members will be asked on Monday to approve the draft orders by joint chairmen of the committee on standing orders, Mr Denis Haughey of the SDLP and the UUP's Mr Fred Cobain. The draft standing orders relate only to the functioning of the Assembly and the structure of its committees. A Northern Ireland Office spokeswoman said yesterday the standing orders to be put to the Assembly were detailed in comparison to the initial standing orders drafted by the Northern Secretary, Dr Mowlam. The Assembly has operated under the initial orders for the last nine months. Meanwhile, the Alliance party president, Dr Philip McGarry, yesterday urged nationalist and unionist politicians to put the well-being of the community ahead of sectional interests.
He called for the decommissioning impasse to be overcome and for an executive to be formed. "If there is sufficient political will to achieve a compromise, then an agreement can clearly be reached.
"Alongside the positive events of the last year, no one can deny that our society remains bitterly divided."
Dr McGarry added that the shadow of "Drumcree Five" and recent sectarian attacks highlighted the divide between Catholics and Protestants.
Earlier, Families Acting for Innocent Relatives called on Northern Ireland's new Human Rights Commission to investigate a catalogue of "medieval and barbaric" paramilitary murders and torture in south Armagh over the last 30 years.
The relatives' group, which campaigns for those affected by republican paramilitary violence, is set to meet the commission on Monday.