The DUP has hit out at nationalists for criticising the Human Rights Commission but added that its comments should "in no way be viewed as an endorsement" of the body.
DUP North Down representative Alex Easton yesterday attacked the SDLP and Sinn Féin after they had claimed that chief commissioner Brice Dickson had failed to answer satisfactorily the questions over his leadership.
Mr Easton said the parties were only interested in "satisfying the concerns of nationalism".
But he began by saying: "May I take this opportunity to place on the record that my denunciation of the actions of Sinn Féin/IRA and the SDLP in relation to this issue should in no way be view-ed as an endorsement of the work of the Human Rights Commission.
"The message that has come out from the collective leadership of nationalism is that the human rights agenda is only acceptable when it is used as a big stick to beat the unionist community."
Meanwhile, senior Ulster Unionist Dermot Nesbit last night entered the controversy, saying that Prof Dickson's problems were of his own making.
"He has not delivered what he was supposed to do," he said.
"Creating a bill of rights was a reasonably simple exercise but after three years we are no further forward.
"He made a mountain out of a molehill by going on an expensive and expansive rampage of consultation."
Last night the commission refused to comment on the controversy.
The rights body is being criticised over its handling of a case relating to the Holy Cross school protest, as well as its plans for a bill of rights for Northern Ireland.
Three commission members have resigned, claiming that the bill of rights proposals could undermine existing fair employment laws.
Prof Dickson has also confirmed that after the commission agreed to fund a Holy Cross parent's legal challenge of the policing of the protest, he wrote to the then chief constable, Sir Ronnie Flanagan, to say he did not believe that the case had merit.
It has been claimed that Prof Dickson later proposed dropping the case but he denies having been influenced by Sir Ronnie. This has been described as a breach of trust which undermines the commission's independence.
The SDLP and Sinn Féin held separate meetings with Mr Dickson on Wednes-day which ended with SDLP leader Mark Durkan saying that "basic questions remain about the tenability" of the chief commissioner's position.
Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness also said Prof Dickson had "failed to provide satisfactory answers", adding that "the human rights commission is broken and needs to be fixed".
Yesterday Jane Morrice of the Wo-men's Coalition said: "It is clear there are different approaches and priorities within the commission and these must be resolved urgently so that its work can be taken forward."
She declined to comment on Prof Dickson's handling of the Holy Cross case but said: "Human rights have been controversial in Northern Ireland, so it is not surprising if the commission finds itself having to make difficult de-cisions or at the centre of controversy."
Mr Durkan rejected Mr Easton's comments, saying the SDLP wanted a commission which would "protect the rights of everybody".
