The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has forwarded its observations on the Scheme of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.
"While we welcome the fact that the Government is introducing a comprehensive immigration policy, we do have concerns that there is a lack of compliance with international human rights standards in sections of the Heads of Bill and we make specific recommendations to remedy this which we hope the Minister will consider positively" stated the President of the IHRC, Dr. Maurice Manning.
In its observations the Commission expresses its concern that there is a large element of Ministerial discretion maintained over immigration related decisions allowing for exceptions or exclusions on grounds such as the security of the State, public security, public policy, public health or the public good. Likewise, organs of the state including immigration officers, members of the Garda Síochána, staff of the Health Services Executive are charged with making decisions on important issues of human rights. Of particular relevance to the obligations of the State is the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which has been given legal effect in Ireland. The European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 requires every organ of the State to perform its functions in a manner compatible with the State’s obligations under the ECHR.
The IHRC recommends that training and guidelines around this statutory duty should be developed for the various "organs of State" identified and should be applied in their day to day work.
A key feature of the Scheme of the Bill is that it proposes to mix asylum and protection issues with general provisions on the immigration of foreign nationals. In the view of the Commission, there is an inherent tension in putting these two systems in one piece of legislation. The IHRC is concerned that doing so creates potential legal uncertainty for the status of protection applicants and may impede access to the protection determination process. Furthermore, immigration officers dealing with asylum seekers should be given adequate training and have sufficient knowledge of Ireland’s international protection obligations.
In relation to a particularly vulnerable group of protection applicants, unaccompanied minors, the IHRC is of the opinion that this legislative proposal represents an important opportunity for the authorities to comply with the recent recommendation of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to bring the policy, procedures and practice relating to unaccompanied minors into line with the State’s international obligations and international best practice guidelines.
The IHRC reiterates its view that prison is not a suitable place of detention for asylum-seekers and other immigration related detainees who are attempting to enter the State or who are subject to removal orders. The IHRC notes that the Scheme of the Bill contains a number of provisions that allow for the arrest and detention of protection applicants and for their detention in a "prescribed place". The IHRC is particularly concerned about the negative impact on children whose parents are detained in prisons on immigration related grounds and who are then placed in the care of the HSE.
The requirement on foreign nationals to carry a passport and residence permit at all times and to be subjected to being stopped and having their ID checked or having to provide biometric data is, in the view of the IHRC, an excessive requirement. It has the potential to impact on a broad range of persons from racial, ethnic and religious minorities who are both Irish citizens and foreign nationals. If such persons are Irish citizens they may not be able to demonstrate that they are Irish without identification. Where this is not accepted as a reasonable explanation by the immigration officer, they may then be subjected to the further interference of having to provide biometric information. The provision of this power to the Garda Síochána and immigration officers in respect of foreign nationals has the inherent potential to lead to discriminatory treatment against persons on grounds such as colour, race or other distinguishing characteristics such as religious dress.
The Observations are available on the Commission website www.ihrc.ie
A spokesperson is available for interview.
For further information, please contact:
Gavin McSpadden,
General Administrator,
Irish Human Rights Commission.
Jervis House,
Jervis Street,
Dublin 1.
Tel. : 01 8589 601
Mobile: 087 2400695
E-mail: info@ihrc.ie
Website : http://www.ihrc.ie