THE PAT FINUCANE CENTRE LTD (A company limited by guarantee) Report of the directors for the year ended 31 March 2024 Th¢ directors prttsent their report and the fancial statGments for the year ¢nded 31 March 2024. Th¢ directOTS OF THE PAT fiN UCANE CENTRE LTD (Th¢ PFC Ltd) for tli6 purtx)ses of compauy law and who 5¢rved during the year and up to the date of this report are set out on page l. Our Aims and Objectives Pur oses and Aims The company is established to promote human rights and th¢ promotion of eff¢¢tive remedies following any breach of the Universal Declaration of Humau Rights, for the benefit of the inliabitants of Derry City and Strabane District Council Area, the cnvirons of Northern Ircland and throughout Ireland (hereinaft¢r called "the area of ben¢fit ) without distiiiLlion of age, g¢nder, disability, s¢xual oricnlation, nationality. ethnic ideiitity, political or religious opinion by USSOLiating the statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and inhabitants in a common etyort to advance cducation with th¢ object of improvin4J the conditions of life for the said inhabitants and in particular to= a) promote education in human rights whether by. t¢aGhin& producing matcrIS or by conduction or commissioning research (and publishing th¢ results of such research): b) I'aising public awareness and cullivating S¢Dtiment in favour of hun]an rights by the use of pllbliGations. lecture human I'ight5 awards, tlie ]nedi4 public advocacy and other means of CommunitiOns. c) promoting the sound adininistration of doinestic huttmn rights law by conducting or conm]issioning research in domestic huinan rights and publisliing the same to public- d) promoting the ¢nfoic¢ment of domestic human rights law by th¢ state and its institutions. The Focus of our Work TllDL' Recove of Livin Memo Archive ROLMA The main focus of Tho PFC Ltd is th¢ ROLMA. The ROLMA provides an advocacy, advice and support servico to families, ber¢aved as a result of the conllic4 who wish to engag¢ wfitb stalutory ag¢nLies to establksli the facts sui-rounding the deathls ot. their loved oiiels. Tho service, which is free of charge, is alT¢ady availdble to famklies on a cros5 community and cross border basis. The ROLMA engages with the Office of the Police Ombudsman in Northern Ireland and other statutory bodies. If the NI Executive agrees to a new ov¢rarching body to co-ordinate all bistoric inv¢stigations thc ROLMA would wntinue its advocacy, advice and support role in the coiitext of any new Conllnission appointed by the two govetTllnents and any new unit appointed by the Conllnission. The involvement of th¢ Office of the Police Ombudsman in 'historic' investigations l1&8 lcd tr) & m&88ive incre&8e in our worldoad due to our long standing involv¢m¢nt in various projects around truth recov¢ry. The liaison b¢tween b¢r¢aved families and statutory agencies in bistoric c&8es rdrcly involves the legal profession &8 advocates for two reasoDS' many of the issues raised by families, perhaps twenty, thirty years aftcr a death. are not strictly l¢gal' and secondly. lcgal aid is not available. As a direct consequence there is a role for human rights NGOS in a process which is more akin to truth ro¢overy in transitional justice than as an integrdl part of the criminal jtick systsm. Page 2
THE PAT FINUCANE CKNTRE LTD (A company limited by guarantee) Report of the directors for the year ended 31 MAr¢h 2024 The project aims to ensuj'e that individual falnilies receive the m&ximum permissible disclosure of information regarding the deatlils of the relalivds from those statutory agencies, North and South of th¢ border, tasked with investigating historic confliGt relat fatalities. The project fiirtber aims to en8ur¢ that families are supported and accompanied throughout this process by staff who are skilled and experienoed in liaising with the relevaDt statutory agen¢ies and have developed analytical 'paralegal' skills in relation to official i'eports. linplicil to the advocacy and support roles is an understanding that the process should provide for some lev¢1 of cotnfort and soIace for thos¢ involved. Furth¥more it is intended that this process will, at the very least narrow the list of questions S¢d from generation to generation following a violent death. This in turn should lessen th¢ impact of trans-generaÈional tr&um& A positive eng&gYcment between bereaved families and statutory agencies will contribute in time to reconciliation at a societal level as individual hurts are addressed and acknowledged. The concept of acknowledgement and resp¢ct for thos¢ who have been directly affected by the confliGt is the foundation ston¢ upon which the ROLMA lias been built. The legacy of violent contlic( tlie loss of over 3,600 liv¢s, is also a l#g¢Ltsy of ungLr, bitterness aiid, ulLiinalely, Unl&Wered queslioiis from victllns and sw'vivors. These unanswered qULslions, this act of knowlLdge, precludes acknowledg¢ment. Without acknowledgement acr055 the board there Lan be no proper gLneraLional process of reconciliation. Each family that rec¢iv¢s an5w¢rs to questions that many have b¢¢n ¢ fraid to ask until now cali and should bc regarded a5 a buildin& block in a gyradual pro¢ess of healing, Ev¢ry qULStioii tli¥lt is answerLd in tliis geiicration is (I question that will no longer be passed oli Èo the noxt, perhaps never to be answ¢r¢d but which will continue to cause hurt ]d rescntnient withiii families and commuiiities, Every question that 15 answered benefits society as a whole. This project seeks to tackle the problem of families being left to engage with statutory bodies in such a s¢nsitive aa without proper advocacy, support and advice. Though excellent support networks have been set up to provide counselling and therapeutic support to victims none of thes¢ organisations intervene to carry out the 'paralegal' advo¢a¢y work GUTrently undertaken by The PFC Ltd. Financial Review Princi al Fundin Sources The principal funding sources over th¢ relevant financial year have been from VSS - Victims & Survivors Service, Gap Fundin& DFA- Department of Foreign Affairs and donations. Future fundin It is expe¢t¢d that Victims and Survivors Service, SEUPB and Department of Foreigm Affairs will provide core funding for the forseeable future. Structure, Governance and Management Goveriiiii Document The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee. incorporated on 7 July 2008 and registered as a charity on 7 July 2008. The company was established under a M¢morandum of Association which established the obj¢cts and powers of the charitable company and is governed by its Articles of ASslation. Page 3
THE PAT FINUCANE CENTRE LTD (A company limited by guarantee) Report of the directors for the year ended 31 March 2024 Recruitinent and A ointment of the Board of Diroctors The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the putposes of charity law and under the company's Articles are known as meinbers of the Board. Under the r¢quirements of the Memorandum and Articles of Association the meinbers of the Board are elected to serve for a period of three years after which they must be Te-elected at th¢ next General Meeting, All members of Board give their time voluntarily and received no benefits from the charity. Due to the nature of human rights based legacy work much of the charity's work inevitably focuses on people bereaved by the conflict, The Board seeks to ensure that the needs of this group appropriat¢ly reflected through the diversity of the Board. Meinbei's Iiiductioii ]d Traiiiiii Most Board members are already familiar with the work of The PFC Ltd. Board members arc encouraged to partiGipate in relevant activities such as conferences and short trainiDg sessions. All Board members have been required to att¢Dd governance training. Obli ations of tlie Board The main obligation of th¢ Board are to develop and oversee the impl¢mentation of policy and to ¢nsure that stru¢tures and management complies with legal requirements and good governance pra¢tice. Risk Maiia eiiient Th¢ Board h&s conducted a review of the major risks to which the charity is exposed. Where appropriate systems and procedures hav¢ been established to mitigate the risks. Internal control risks are minimi5ed by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactlODS and projects. A possible breath of confidentiality is an obvio% risk in legacy work. All Board member5, Staff and volunteers have signed the appropriats confidentiality agrcements. S¢e reference above to risks associated with Ioss of fuDding. anisational Structure The PFC Ltd h&$ a board which meets as requir¢d and is responsible for policy, stratrgic diTectiOD alld overall gov6rnancc. A Finance sub-committcc mccts as required. Th¢ committee includes the Chair. Vice Chair. Trcasurcr. the Project Manager, Ad]niStratiOn1Ftnance Officer and any other Board member that wishcs to attend. A scheme of delegation is in place and day to day responsibility for the project rcsts with the Project Manager. The Project Manager h&8 responsibility for the day to day operational management of the ROLMA, individual supervision of the stAff team and also Cnsuring that the twn have adequate support and Continue to develop thcir skills and working practices in line with good practi¢¢. The Project Manager provides a monthly report to the Board which in¢lud¢s a finanGial report and an update on project development. PAge 4
THE PAT FINUCANK CENTRE LTD (A company limited by guarantee) Report of the directors for the year ended 31 March 2024 Responsibilities of the Board of Directors In addition to the responsibilities outlined abov¢ the Board will prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a fair and tnje view of the stal¢ of affair5 of the ch'Itable company as at the balEce sheet date and of its incoming rcsour¢¢s and application of resourcos, including iiicome and ¢xpenditure for tli¢ fmancial y¢ar. In pi'epariiig those fjnancial statctnents, thc Board should follow best practice and: - to observe methods and principles of the CIMrities SORP. - state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been follow¢(L subject to any material departures disclos¢d and explained in the financial statements" - select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistcntly. - make judgements and estimates that ar¢ re&sonable and prudent; and prcpare financial statemcllts on th¢ going conc¢rn basis unless it 15 not appropriate to &ssume that the rompany will continue on that basis. - the Board, who are directors for th¢ purpose of company law and membcrs for the purpose of tharty law. who served during the year and up to the date of this r¢port are set out on page l. The dirwtor8 are responsible for keeping prop¢r accounting recor&5 wJJich disclose Ivith them reasonable acouracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure tbat the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for th¢ prevention of fraud and oth¢r iffegularities. This report is prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies. The financial staternents were approved and authorised for issue by the board on 3 Juty 2024 and signed on its behalf Director Director Page S