The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is seriously concerned about reports that US aircraft landing at Shannon airport may be involved in the transport of persons to secret locations where they may be at risk of being subjected to torture, cruel or inhuman treatment.
In view of Ireland’s international legal obligation to ensure that no one is sent to a jurisdiction where they may run this risk, the Commission calls on the Government to seek agreement from the US authorities to inspect the aircraft in question on landing at Shannon or any other Irish airport.
The President of the IHRC, Dr. Maurice Manning, stated "The Irish Government has a clear obligation both under the Convention against Torture, the ECHR and under domestic law to prevent any actions on our soil which could in any way facilitate torture or ill-treatment even in another country. Thus far, the Government has said that it has received assurances from the US authorities that they are not using planes which are landing at Shannon in connection with the transport of detainees to locations where they may be tortured or ill-treated. In the Commission’s view, and in light of Ireland’s international legal obligations in this field, reliance on diplomatic assurances is not sufficient to protect against the risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment."
In conclusion, Dr. Manning added "given the fact that the obligation on the state to protect against all forms of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment is an absolute one, and given the gravity of the allegations that have been made to date and which are under active investigation by the Council of Europe, it is not sufficient for the Government to rely on such assurances. Accordingly, the Commission calls on the Government, as a matter of urgency, to seek the agreement of the US authorities to the inspection of aircraft suspected of involvement in this traffic".
Spokespersons are available for comment.
A copy of the Commission’s Resolution is attached for your information.
For further information contact:
Mary Ruddy,
Senior Human Rights Awareness Officer,
Irish Human Rights Commission
Irish Human Rights Commission
4th Floor
Jervis House
Jervis Street
Dublin 1
01 8589601
info@ihrc.ie