Jon McCourt: Victims campaigner to be made freeman of Derry

Jon McCourt was nominated for the honour by People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin

One of Northern Ireland's most high-profile campaigners for abuse victims is to be awarded the freedom of Derry City and Strabane.

Jon McCourt, who formed the campaign group Survivors North West, has worked with victims of historical institutional abuse over the years.

A motion to confer the council's highest honour was passed on Wednesday.

Mr McCourt said it was an honour to be considered, but the award was not about him.

"This is recognition for the many people who suffered in those institutions over the decades and who bravely spoke out and held those responsible to account," he said.

People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin nominated Mr McCourt for the award.

"It is an acknowledgment for Jon and it is also an acknowledgment for his tireless campaigning," Mr Harkin told BBC Radio Foyle.

Unionist councillors present at the meeting on Wednesday abstained from the vote.

Mr McCourt, who is a former IRA member turned community peace activist, has worked with victims of Troubles-related violence and has been a key figure in the Peace and Reconciliation group in Derry.

He spent more than two decades campaigning for an investigation into allegations of abuse in church and state-run institutions.

In 2017, the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry examined the abuse of hundreds of children over seven decades.

It examined the period from 1922 to 1995 and found there had been widespread and systemic abuse at these institutions.

The chair of the inquiry, Sir Anthony Hart, recommended compensation, a memorial and a public apology to abuse survivors.

Jon McCourt formed the group Survivors North West after he spoke publicly about his own experience as a child at St Joseph's Boys' Home in Termonbacca in Derry.

Mr McCourt will be formally offered the freedom of the city later this year.