IHRC says Ireland is not prioritising the elimination of racial discrimination

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) today briefed the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Ireland’s record on combating racial discrimination in advance of the Committee’s examination of Ireland’s 3rd and 4th combined periodic reports to the UN on its efforts to meet its human rights obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Ireland is being examined on its record on 22 and 23 February 2011 in Geneva.

Dr Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC said "Ireland is not prioritising the elimination of racial discrimination. Since Ireland last reported the human rights and equality infrastructure that worked to combat racism and eliminate discrimination has been either destroyed or disabled. At the same time people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Ireland have reported their perceptions of a high level of racial discrimination and abuse. Travellers continue to face widespread discrimination and recent reports have detailed the shocking disparities in health, education and life expectancy that exist between Travellers and the general population. Effective human rights and equality bodies are required to monitor and combat racial discrimination and restoring the resources to carry out this work is essential."

The IHRC highlighted the following issues in its briefing:

Human rights infrastructure, awareness of rights and human rights education
Traveller education, health and accommodation
Asylum Seekers in direct provision
Detention of asylum seekers
Migrant workers
Religion & education

Mr Michael Farrell, IHRC Commissioner said

"Travellers have experienced racial discrimination for generations. They are criminalised for trespassing on public land in circumstances where public authorities have systematically failed in their statutory obligations to appropriately house Traveller families. Travellers continue to have much shorter life expectancy, poorer educational and health outcomes compared to the general population. Severe cuts in funding to essential services are compounding these problems."

The IHRC highlighted concerns about the need to safeguard the rights of asylum seekers while having their application processed.

Mr Éamonn Mac Aodha, IHRC Chief Executive said "People who apply for asylum in this country are placed in accommodation centres such as disused hotels or holiday camps. They may remain there for years while waiting for their application to be processed in a situation originally designed for six months. People in these centres are not allowed to work. Ireland must make a commitment to ensuring that people are not kept in this system for anything longer than a year at the most, and that there are proper supports available for those who come out of this system having been granted permission to remain in Ireland."

The IHRC also raised the issue of the requirement for foreign nationals to carry identification documents. This is not a requirement for Irish people and the IHRC considers that requiring foreign nationals to carry identification and produce it when requested by a Garda has the potential to lead to discriminatory treatment against people on grounds such as colour, race or other distinguishing characteristics such as religious dress. This measure may also have an impact on Irish citizens from racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

The IHRC drew attention to the insufficient human rights safeguards in legislation and policy to protect migrant workers and their families.

Mr Farrell said "vulnerable migrant workers need greater legislative and policy protections, especially those working in the hospitality industry, rural workers, (including those working in agriculture), and women migrant workers, particularly those working in domestic households. Family reunification should also be legislated for in a positive, humane and expeditious manner, and the ‘best interests of child assessment’ should form an integral part of the family reunification determination. The Government should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families and put the necessary domestic legal protections in place."

The IHRC also reported to the Committee on the impact of an increasingly diverse society and the desire for greater choice in relation to schools.

Dr Manning said "Parents and older children should have adequate choice in the range of primary and post-primary schools available in keeping with increased diversity and the changing nature of Irish society. It is also clear that legislative and policy changes are required to ensure that people of non-faith and from religious minorities are not deterred from training as teachers or taking up employment as teachers in Ireland."

Key Findings and Recommendations:

Human Rights & Equality Infrastructure

Severe cuts to the human rights & equality infrastructure is having a negative impact on monitoring and combating racial discrimination in Ireland.

Non-denominational & Multi-denominational Schools

98% of Irish primary schools are under religious patronage. There should be an adequate choice in the range of primary and post-primary schools available in keeping with the increased diversity and changing nature of Irish society. The statutory option of withdrawing children from religious instruction in classes is difficult to exercise in practice, particularly in rural areas and where the curriculum is integrated as is the case in the primary schools.
Legislative and policy changes are required to ensure that people of non-faith and from religious minorities are not deterred from training as teachers or taking up employment as teachers.

Traveller Community

The Traveller Community experience high levels of racial discrimination, yet they are not recognised as an ethnic minority. Refusal to recognise Travellers as an ethnic minority suggests a lack of understanding by the Government of the importance Travellers place on the recognition of their culture and identity. The lack of recognition may also place obstacles in the way Travellers access protections under international human rights conventions.
Educational attainment among Travellers is extremely low compared to the general population. Adequate resources are needed to implement the National Traveller Education Strategy. Traveller organisations are not sufficiently represented in the monitoring and implementation of the strategy.
Travellers experience much poorer health than the general population. Greater investment is needed in Traveller Health Strategies to reverse this trend. The life expectancy of Traveller men is less than 62 years, 15 years below the national average. Traveller infants were found to be 3.6 times more likely to die than infants in the general population. Suicide rates are 6.6 times higher than in the general population.
Not enough good quality halting sites are being provided to the Traveller Community by local authorities. In such circumstances criminal trespass may be being applied disproportionately. This law criminalises trespass on public land in circumstances where public authorities have systematically failed in their statutory obligations to house Traveller families.
Traveller organisations need to be more involved and represented in policy and decision-making forums at national and local level.

Asylum Seekers in Direct Provision

Direct provision payments are not adequate to meet the basic needs of people seeking asylum.
People remain too long in the asylum process, recent figures showed that more than one third spend 3 years in direct provision.
High incidences of poor mental health are of concern as are the negative impacts of the prohibition on work, limited access to education and the resulting social isolation.
Asylum seekers who become homeless have no safety-net. Homeless asylum seekers are not entitled to emergency social welfare supports available to other homeless people.

Detention of Asylum Seekers and Immigrants

Prisons and police stations are not suitable places for the detention for asylum applicants who have not been convicted of a criminal offence. People should only be detained in suitable centres pending deportation where there is a real risk they will abscond and such detention should be as short as possible.
Ireland approves refugee status for the lowest number of applications in the EU (14 out of 1,014 up to July 2010). In addition, proposals in the 2010 Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill aim to limit applicants time to appeal such decisions to 14 days.

Security Procedures and Practices on Entry to the State

Clearer criteria must be put in place for decisions made by Immigration Officers in relation to immigrants’ entry into the State. The vague criteria applied in cases of refusal of leave to land should be removed from the Statute book.
The requirement for foreign nationals to carry identification documents has the potential to lead to discriminatory treatment against people on grounds such as colour, race or other distinguishing characteristics such as religious dress. This measure may also have an impact on Irish citizens from racial, ethnic and religious minorities.

Migrant Workers

The Government should ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
Vulnerable migrant workers need greater legislative and policy protections, especially those working in the hospitality industry, rural workers, especially those working in agriculture, and women migrant workers, particularly those working in domestic households.
Principles governing family reunification for different categories of migrant workers should be elaborated in primary legislation taking into account the requirements of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights on the protection of private and family life.
Family reunification should be dealt with in a positive, humane and expeditious manner, and the "best interests of child assessment" should form an integral part of the family reunification determination where applicable.

Ends/

For further information please contact
Fidelma Joyce, IHRC
Tel: 01 8589601

Notes to the Editor:

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its State parties. Ireland signed the CERD Convention in 1968 and ratified the Convention in December 2000. All States parties to the Convention are obliged to submit regular reports to the Committee on how the rights contained in the Convention are being implemented. States must initially report one year after acceding to the Convention and then every two years.

The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations". Ireland’s combined 3rd and 4th Reports to the CERD Committee will be considered in February 2011 in Geneva. As Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution, the IHRC is entitled to submit a report to the CERD Committee and has a role to play in relation to the examination of the State Report.