24 August 2010
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) today published its 2009 Annual Report, which was
officially launched by Minister of State Mary White TD. The report highlights the range of activities
undertaken by the IHRC to address current human rights concerns in Ireland in 2009.
At the launch today, the IHRC invited the Irish public to have their say on Ireland’s human rights
record as the Government prepares to be scrutinised by the Member States of the United Nations
(UN).
The Member States of the UN will review Ireland’s record across all areas of human rights (civil,
political, economic, social and cultural) for the first time in October 2011. Under a new and groundbreaking
process known as the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the human rights record of all 192
UN Member States will be examined once every four years.
Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC said "Next year, Ireland will be held accountable for its
action or inaction on human rights. This review is a key opportunity for the Government to reconfirm
its commitment to human rights both nationally and internationally. The IHRC will seek to work
closely with Government in the lead-up to the review. In particular, we will propose a number of
voluntary commitments which the Government could undertake before it is examined by its peers.
These commitments should include pledges to improve the situation in Irish prisons, to ratify key
international human rights conventions, to introduce an overall national action plan on human rights
as recommended by the United Nations and to fully avail of the IHRC’s new human rights training
programme for civil and public servants. "
Dr Manning continued, "The IHRC also has an important independent role to play in the Universal
Periodic Review process. We hope that the Government will use this unique opportunity to strengthen
its commitment to human rights before the Commission submits our own report on Ireland’s
performance to the UN in March of next year, in advance of Ireland’s examination in October 2011."
Awareness about the Universal Periodic Review and how people can have their say is vital. Éamonn
Mac Aodha, IHRC Chief Executive said, "this review of Ireland’s human rights record must be open
and inclusive: so that people here know about and can influence it. We will do all we can to highlight
the process and are inviting individuals and organisations to put their human rights concerns on the
record in a consultation process which will begin in October – one year before Ireland is examined."
The work carried out by the IHRC in 2009 is an important source of input to the UPR Review process.
Mr Mac Aodha said "2009 was the year in which we felt the hard impact of budget cuts, but also a
year in which we achieved a great amount. We continued to create awareness and understanding of
human rights and highlight the importance of human rights before the Courts and in legislation, policy
and practice."
2009 Annual Report Highlights:
Mainstreaming Human Rights in Public Service Policy and Practice
In 2009, the IHRC recommended to An Garda Síochána measures to further mainstream human
rights in Garda policy, practice, accountability, and learning and development. Viewing learning and
development as key to fostering skills and knowledge to ensure that human rights are at the heart of
legislation, policy and practice, the IHRC has developed its own human rights learning and
development programme targeting the wider civil and public sector.
With philanthropic support secured in late 2009, Mr Mac Aodha said "We are very pleased to
announce that next month we will launch a human rights guide for the civil and public service. We aim
to support the civil and public service to enhance their human rights skills and know-how and so
achieve an important part of the State’s commitment to human rights. We look forward to working
closely with a range of Government Departments in implementing this work."
Raising Human Rights Concerns in the Courts
In 2009, the IHRC sought leave to appear and appeared in a number of cases as amicus curiae or
‘friend of the court’ in both the Supreme Court and High Court. Cases before the courts addressed a
number of human rights issues including criminal legal aid and imprisonment for civil debt.
Mr Mac Aodha said "the IHRC welcomed the opportunity to raise important human rights concerns in
the cases it appeared in. We are pleased to say that our concerns were given deep consideration by
the Judiciary. In the case on civil debt, we argued that legislation imprisoning a person on the
grounds of inability to pay raised a number of human rights issues. The Court took on board these
arguments in its judgement striking down the legislation, which resulted in emergency legislation
being enacted and commitments made for deeper structural change."
The IHRC also published its second significant enquiry report concerning the rights of foreign
nationals refused leave to land in the State. The publication of this report is timely as many of the
concerns raised in the report are of direct relevance to the proposed Immigration, Residence and
Protection legislation and it is hoped that the conclusions and recommendations in the report will be
fully taken into account in the legislative process.
Scrutinising Legislation
The IHRC provided recommendations on four Bills including the Spent Convictions Bill 2007, the
Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009, the Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009,
and on the Bill itself.
Dr Maurice Manning said, "while the IHRC welcomes receiving Bills at an early stage, we continue to
be concerned at the inadequate time provided for debate in the Houses of Oireachtas. While the
IHRC led the public debate on its concerns on the far reaching Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill
2009, the debate was stifled in Dáil Éireann. Insufficient time for such debate and analysis can lead to
the enactment of legislation that is not fully human rights compliant, leading to challenges in the
Courts down the line."
The IHRC 2009 Annual Report is available online at www.ihrc.ie
ENDS/
Spokespersons are available for comment
For further information, please contact
Fidelma Joyce,
IHRC
Tel: 01 8589601
Notes to Editor
Universal Periodic Review
What is the UPR?
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human
rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven
process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each
State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their
countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the
UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are
assessed.
Why it is important?
The UPR Process is unique in that it is a peer-review of the human rights record of a State, by other
States. The Government has to provide a report to the Human Rights Council, which, along with the
reports of independent stakeholders, will be used to examine Ireland on its human rights record. A
series of recommendations will then be made to Ireland, which the Government will have to indicate
its agreement with or rejection of before its peers.
What difference will it make?
The Review aims to improve the situation of human rights in Member States, and to ensure fulfilment
of the State’s human rights obligations and commitments.
What is the IHRC Consultation Process?
The IHRC, as Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, will submit its own report for this process in
March 2011. To inform our report, the IHRC is seeking contributions from the Irish Public and its other
stakeholders. The Consultation Process will take place from 1 October to 17 December 2010. Details
will be published on the IHRC’s website (www.ihrc.ie) in due course.
What is the significance of the IHRC’s role as a National Human Rights Institution
National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) are independent statutory bodies established on the basis
of the UN ‘Paris Principles’ to monitor States’ compliance with their international human rights
commitments. One of the key roles of NHRIs is to engage with the UN when their State’s human
rights record is under scrutiny. Their role is to provide independent, considered and balanced reports
on the human rights challenges and developments in their country. The engagement of NHRIs in the
UPR process is considered as key to its success as a rigorous process. There is considerable weight
given to the report of the NHRI which will be compiled as part of a ‘stakeholders’ report and provided
to all Member States during their consideration of the State’s record. The NHRI also has the
opportunity to hold side events and meetings during the hearing of the State Report and to meet with
the actors involved.
For more information see
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/BasicFacts.aspx
UN prioritises human rights education and training for civil and public servants
At the UN in 2009, UN Member States identified civil and public servants for human rights education
and training. Member States committed themselves to roll out national human rights education and
training programmes.