Abstracts on Organisations - 'H'

Haass Panel; Haass Talks
(See: The Panel of Parties in the NI Executive on parades and protests; flags, symbols and emblems, and related matters; and the past)

Harmony Community Trust (HCT)
The Harmony Community Trust was established in 1975 by International Voluntary Service (NI) and the Rotary Club of Belfast. The aim was to obtain a venue for groups involved in cross-community contact initiatives. The HCT purchased Glebe House for this purpose. The policy of HCT is to promote and encourage mutual tolerance and understanding amongst people of all ages regardless of any perceived differences. HCT runs many courses, study camps and work camps and works with school groups, young people, and adults.

Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU)
The Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU) was a special unit established in 1978 (?) by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and was intended to be the RUC equivalent of the Special Air Service (SAS). Members of the HMSU were drawn from RUC Special Branch and were trained by the SAS to on how to confront Irish Republican Army (IRA) members with 'firepower, speed and aggression'. The unit worked in collaboration with an RUC intelligence gathering unit called E4A. The HMSU was responsible for several 'shoot-to-kill' incidents in Northern Ireland during November and December 1982.

Reading:
Taylor, Peter. (2001) Brits: The War Against the IRA.
(See also: E4A; Royal Ulster Constabulary, RUC.)
[Entry added by Martin Melaugh, January 2002]

Healing Through Remembering (HTR)
Healing Through Remembering is an extensive cross-community project made up of a range of individual members holding different political perspectives. Healing Through Remembering focuses on the issue of how to deal with the past relating to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. The project arose following a visit in 1999 to Northern Ireland by Dr Alex Boraine, then Deputy Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC) in South Africa.

Selection of Publications associated with the project:
Healing Through Remembering Storytelling sub group. (2005), What is Storytelling? A discussion paper, (Paper presented at the Storytelling as the Vehicle? Conference, Dunadry Hotel, Dunadry, (29 November 2005), [PDF; 45KB]. Belfast: Healing Through Remembering Project.
Kelly, Grainne. (2005), 'Storytelling' Audit: An audit of personal story, narrative and testimony initiatives related to the conflict in and about Northern Ireland, (September 2005), [PDF; 798KB]. Belfast: Healing Through Remembering Project.
Healing Through Remembering Project. (2002), Healing Through Remembering: The Report of the Healing Through Remembering Project, (June 2002), [PDF; 1436KB]. Belfast: Healing Through Remembering Project.
Boraine, Alex., et al. (1999), All Truth is Bitter: A Report of the Visit of Doctor Alex Boraine, Deputy Chairman of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to Northern Ireland, [PDF; 163KB]. Belfast: NIACRO and Victim Support Unit.

[Web Site]

Help and Advice with Victims Every Needs (HAVEN)
An orgainsation set up to support victims of the conflict.
(xx)
(See: Details on vicitims organisations.)

Helsinki Watch
Helsinki Watch is an international human rights body based in the United States of America. The group has written critical reports of both the security policy adopted in Northern Ireland and also the tactics of the various paramilitary groups.

Historical Enquiries Team (HET)
synonyms: Historical Inquiries Team
The Historical Enquiries Team - a unit within the Police Service of Norhern Ireland (PSNI) - was established to re-examine the unresolved deaths related to the conflict in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1998. Although the HET had been formed in September 2005 it was formally launched by Peter Hain, then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 20 January 2006. David Cox, formerly a commander in the London Metropolitan Police, was the first head of the HET which was comprised of 84 investigators and supporting staff, and had a budget of £30 million. It was anticipated that detectives would reopen the files on 3,268 cases and would attempt to achieve the "best resolution" for victims' families, including possible prosecutions. It was expected that the HET would be in existence for five years. HET reports are given to victims' families who decide what to do with them.
In 2008 Professor Patricia Lundy (University of Ulster) raised the issue of the HET's different approach to reviewing cases of killings by the British Army. Her concerns were reject by the PSNI at the time. In 2012 Professor Lundy published a briefing report on the same issue. The matter was referred to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) which published a report on 3 July 2013 that was critical of the HET's approach. On 4 July 2013 the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB) said it had no confidence in the leadership of the HET.
Following the criticism, and restructuring within the PSNI, the HET was wound up in September 2014. It was replaced by a much smaller unit, the Legacy Investigations Branch, working within the PSNI (Source: Belfast Telegraph article).

Publications about the HET:
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). (2013). Inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Historical Enquiries Team, (3 July 2013), [PDF; 829KB]. London: HMIC.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). (2013). Press Release about the report on the Inspection of the Police Service of Northern Ireland Historical Enquiries Team, (3 July 2013). London: HMIC.< Web page; accessed 5 July 2013 >.
Lundy, Patricia. (2012). Research Brief: Assessment of the Historical Enquiries Team (HET) Review Processes and Procedures in Royal Military Police (RMP) Investigation Cases, (2 April 2012), [PDF; 487]. pp.12. Jordanstown: University of Ulster. ... [17910]

[Archived Web Site]

Holiday Projects West (HPW)
An organisation (now no longer in existence) which was set up in March 1972 in Derry with the aim of giving children from the area an holiday with families in England, Holland and Ireland. Part of the objective of the group was to send mixed groups of Catholic and Protestant children to homes which would provide respite from 'the Troubles'.

Homeless Citizens' League (HCL)
A pressure group set up in Dungannon, County Tyrone, on 24 May 1963 to campaign for better housing in the area. The HCL was initially founded by Angela Mc Crystal. Conn McCluskey and Patricia McCluskey joined the HCL soon after it was established. The HCL arose out of a challenge to the Dungannon Urban District Council's housing policy. There was a perception at the time that Catholics were being discriminated against in the allocation of public sector housing. The Homeless Citizens' League was the forerunner of the Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ).
(See also: Campaign for Social Justice.)

Human Rights Commission
(See: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.)

Notes:
(xx)     Indicates that an entry is being prepared.
(?)     Information is a best estimate while awaiting an update.
(??)     Information is doubtful and is awaiting an update.
[Main Entry]     Indicates that a longer separate entry is planned in the future.

For related and background information see also:

• The list of acronyms associated with 'the Troubles'.
• The glossary of terms related to the conflict.
• The biographies of people who were prominent during 'the Troubles'.
• The chronology of the conflict.

Sources:
The information in the abstracts has been compiled from numerous primary and secondary sources. The best general sources for additional information are:

• Crozier, Maurna., and Sanders, Nicholas. (eds.) (1992) Cultural Traditions Directory for Northern Ireland. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, Queen's University.
• Dunn, Seamus., and Dawson, Helen. (2000) An Alphabetical Listing of Word, Name and Place in Northern Ireland. Lampeter: Edwin Mellen Press.
• Elliott, Sydney., and Flackes, W.D. (1999) Northern Ireland: A Political Directory, 1968-1999. Belfast: Blackstaff Press.
• Hinds, Joe. (1994), A Guide to Peace, Reconciliation and Community Relations Projects in Ireland. Belfast: Community Relations Council.