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More action needed to harmonise equality and human rights protections on island of Ireland

People all across the island of Ireland should have the same human rights and equality protections, according to a massive 81% of respondents to a new public awareness survey. The poll was carried out in Ireland on behalf of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, (‘the Commission’). Investigating awareness in Ireland of equality and human rights protections after Brexit, the IHREC survey found that nearly half of respondents (47%) were aware, or somewhat aware, that the impact of Brexit includes a risk of a divergence in the level of equality and human rights protections between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Significantly, over three quarters of respondents (76%) agree, or agree strongly, that more needs to be done to harmonise equality and human rights protections on the island of Ireland post-Brexit and to ensure that there is an equivalence of rights from now on. People in Northern Ireland already have fewer equality and human rights protections in some areas than their counterparts in Ireland and Great Britain. Before Brexit, many EU laws were automatically applicable in Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and Ireland. This helped ensure alignment of equality and human rights laws across all of the UK and Ireland. While the UK Government has made a commitment, in Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, that certain rights protections in place in Northern Ireland will not be reduced now that the UK has left the EU, there is concern that not all of Northern Ireland’s equality rights laws will keep pace with future EU equality law changes. The Poll demonstrated a low awareness in Ireland of the Article 2 commitment, with 60% of respondents not aware that equality and human rights protections are part of the UK Government’s commitments under the Windsor Framework. The survey results were released as IHREC, NIHRC and ECNI met for their third annual meeting, launching their second activity report. This report outlines the joint work carried out by the three Commissions to ensure the implementation of Article 2 from an island of Ireland perspective. Sinéad Gibney, Chief Commissioner, IHREC, said
“Equality and human rights protections are the basic building blocks for a peaceful and prosperous society on our shared island. They are central to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement. “The Commission’s poll shows that people in Ireland believe that we need to do more to ensure that those of us living both North and South enjoy an equivalence of equality and human rights standards. This is particularly important as we face the uncertainty and challenges of a post-Brexit world. We look forward to continuing to work together with the NIHRC and the ECNI, in discharging our mandates to promote and protect human rights and equality for everyone on the island of Ireland.”
  ENDS/ For further information, please contact: Sarah Clarkin, IHREC Communications Manager, 01 852 9641 / 087 468 7760 sarah.clarkin@ihrec.ie Follow us on twitter @_IHREC

Notes for Editors:

Overview of the Commission

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is an independent public body, appointed by the President of Ireland and directly accountable to the Oireachtas. The Commission has a statutory remit set out under the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act (2014) to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland, and build a culture of respect for human rights, equality and intercultural understanding in the State. It is Ireland’s national human rights institution and is also the national equality body for the purpose of a range of EU anti-discrimination measures. It is accredited as an ‘A-Status’ National Human Rights Institution by the United Nations.

Joint work in relation to Article 2 of the Windsor Framework, and in protecting and promoting human rights and equality on the island of Ireland.

Schedule 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 confers new functions on both the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to enable them to act as part of the ‘dedicated mechanism’ (DM), to monitor, advise, report on and enforce the UK’s adherence to its Protocol Article 2 commitment that there will be no diminution of rights, safeguards or equality of opportunity in Northern Ireland as a result of the UK’s exit from the EU. NIHRC ECNI and IHREC work together to provide oversight of, and reporting on, rights and equalities issues falling within the scope of the commitment that have an island of Ireland dimension. To find out more about the UK Government’s commitment under Article 2 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol or about making a complaint in the event of an alleged breach of this commitment, please contact the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland or the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission