Good afternoon,
It is a pleasure to be here today and I would like to thank Deirdre Garvey, the Directors of The Wheel and organisers of the event for their invitation to deliver this address to you at this special event.
“Citizenship” and Human Rights and Equality
As we move towards 1916 and reflect on the last 100 years, there is no time like the present to rethink how we see “citizenship”. The People’s Conversation project asks important, searching questions about what it actually means to be a citizen in Ireland today.
The 1916 Commemorations are an opportune time to widen and deepen the conversation about Ireland’s future and the role of citizens in shaping it. I am delighted to be here today to have an opportunity to talk to you about how human rights and equality are central to this conversation.
Human rights are universal and grounded in a belief in the inherent dignity of every human person. International human rights law speaks not just of citizens, but of “people”.
Under this principle, the human rights obligations of the State apply not only to the State’s own nationals or citizens, but to all those within the territory of the State, and even in some cases to persons outside the State.
We need to ask ourselves what place ‘citizenship’ has in an unequal world. Where you are born usually makes citizenship an inherited entitlement, a matter outside of your control. We have seen this displayed most starkly recently in the situation of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict in Syria and the constraints on where they can travel to, by virtue of their citizenship.
International human rights law is grounded in the notion of a universal and a common humanity while the concept of citizenship is more usually defined in relation to a political community, and political considerations of the individual and the State. Some see an inherent tension in the two concepts, but my own belief is that we now have an important opportunity to explore, expand and redefine the relevance of citizenship to all those living and hoping to live in Ireland.
We might, for example, consider how the ideal of citizenship can sometimes be used to exclude, diminish or to foster a culture of ‘otherness’ among certain groups.
The desire to belong and contribute to a society is especially valued by those whose status as citizens is non-existent or extremely precarious. We have seen this from the experience, for example, of the Irish immigrant community in the United States advocating over many years for immigration reform.
There is no less a desire among refugees, here, living for many years in Direct Provision centres, who have sought safety, security and a better life and who in many instances have been denied a right to their dignity.
Also of significance to our conversation today is the experience of thousands citizens who are poor, socially excluded, or who are considered lesser-citizens. In the wake of the unprecedented tragedy that befell the families living on the site on Glenamuck Road in Carrickmines, an examination of citizenship from the standpoint of the excluded citizen has never been more important.
A human rights approach articulates and challenges the discriminatory barriers experienced by members of the Traveller community in accessing appropriate accommodation, over and above those experienced by the rest of society.
An inclusive citizenship means embracing the struggles of minority groups to educate, extend and transform inherited ideas of the majority.
We have seen how a recent Supreme Court judgment highlighted how poor quality Traveller accommodation, may not only be a breach of a local authority’s statutory duty, but may in certain circumstances also amount to a breach of the constitutional right to autonomy, bodily integrity and privacy.
When I became Chief Commissioner I wrote to senior management of all local authorities in the State highlighting the new public sector duty provided for by section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act, 2014. This places a duty on public bodies, including local authorities, to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and protect human rights, in the performance of their functions.
We are concerned that, in relation to Traveller accommodation, the number of those living on the roadside and sharing accommodation is increasing year on year while the level of capital investment in Traveller accommodation accessed through the Department of the Environment is low or non-existent in respect of some local authorities.
Although housing legislation allows for the provision of emergency halting sites, these emergency measures are only intended to provide a very basic level of services to members of the Traveller community, pending the provision of permanent accommodation. Basic emergency sites are not intended to become de facto permanent accommodation; however, this is the reality for many Traveller families. The Commission considers that such accommodation cannot, in the long term, vindicate the right to dignity and protection of the person of the individuals concerned.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has a broad mandate to protect and promote human rights and equality in Ireland. Having in place an effective human rights and equality architecture in Ireland is a requirement of the Good Friday Agreement. The Commission now operates to a new level of independence, accounting to the Oireachtas for our functions. All fifteen commissioners, including myself, were appointed through an open competitive process, following a resolution by each House of the Oireachtas.
It is very interesting to hear of the experience and common themes emerging from “The Conversation”. We too have been engaged in an extensive public consultation process on the development of our first strategic plan. This has included eight regional meetings, a call for written submissions and an online survey. In recognition of the fact that not everyone can come to a public meeting we decided to go where people gather. In September we visited the Ploughing Championships over 3 days. We asked people to name the key human rights and equality concern they want us to focus on over the next three years. We have also held smaller meetings directly with vulnerable groups such as undocumented workers, methadone users, former prisoners and people affected by poverty.
What is striking is that many of the themes that have emerged from your conversation mirror what we have heard in relation to our consultations on human rights and equality. For example:-
- The need for people who experience inequality and human rights abuses to be included in decision making
- The importance of the independence of the Commission in the protection of human rights and equality and holding the state to account
- A focus on the education system that helps people to be active citizens who are informed about their rights
- The need to not only create opportunities for participation but also acknowledge that special efforts may be required for harder to reach groups to engage
- An opportunity for all people to be included regardless of their circumstances
- The need for accountability and transparency within the delivery of public services
“Citizenship” and an Unequal World
In the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, we have committed ourselves to a vision of an inclusive Ireland, where everyone, everywhere, enjoys human rights and equality to the fullest extent possible.
As well as being pro-active in the promotion and protection of human rights and equality in Ireland, one of our overarching goals is to make rights real, in a way that contributes to people’s daily, lived reality. An effective human rights and equality architecture must, by necessity, sometimes be critical of the State’s relationship with its citizens.
Under the Irish Constitution, there is a lack of clarity around which rights are guaranteed exclusively to citizens and which rights are protected for all people within the State. Prior to the 2004 Citizenship Referendum, any person born on the island of Ireland was entitled to Irish citizenship. Since the referendum, where a child is born in Ireland to parents who do not have Irish nationality, one of their parents must have been lawfully resident in Ireland for three out of the previous four years, other than as an asylum seeker or a student, in order for their child to acquire Irish citizenship. This created a new category of people, born in Ireland, whose protection of legal rights and services is uncertain at best.
Through our research on the issue of Direct Provision, for example, we know that there are children who are Irish citizens residing with their asylum seeking parents in Direct Provision centres. In such extremely difficult circumstances, we have concerns about the rights of these children.
Citizenship doesn’t replace Accountability
When we speak about the responsibilities that citizens have, and how we cherish values of solidarity, community and neighbourliness, we need to be mindful that the concept of “active citizenship” - despite its importance – is not substituted for state accountability. Ireland was so significantly affected by the 2008 global economic and financial crisis and the period of harsh austerity measures that followed, we have witnessed the significant undermining of human rights and equality in Ireland. The Irish State, where the people affected live, is the essential guarantor of the obligation to protect all people from human rights violations. Although Ireland emerged from its agreement with the Troika, we continue to see the effects of the recession in increased poverty rates for adults and children, high youth unemployment rates and a growth in food poverty.
It is worth reflecting that moments of crisis remind us how we are all vulnerable. Economic and social rights are an expression of our empathy towards each other, as well offering a form of empowerment for the most vulnerable. The Council of Europe is clear that human rights are not dispensable, even in times of crisis.
There is a strong correlation between economic and social inequality and political participation. A significant recent development in how parliament and government interact is what is known as ‘The pre-legislative scrutiny process’. This is a process where parliament, through its committees, scrutinises draft legislation, invites submissions and views from civil society, and reports back to central government before final versions of a bill has been drafted. In a way, it ‘tests’ the value of policy proposals on the basis of expert evidence before the committees. The process was introduced to the Houses of the Oireachtas in 2011 and formalised in parliamentary procedure in November 2013, so is still comparatively young, but it does support a growing expectation in Irish society for a more transparent and better informed Government.
Public Duty
Trust in public institutions is critical and we in the Commission are striving to “practice what we preach”. Building a culture of human rights and equality within public bodies requires investment in processes that support organisations to develop human rights and equality competence.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission legislation introduced a new positive duty on public bodies. This means a move away from the traditionally expressed equality obligations to avoid discrimination towards a positive duty to promote equality and protection of human rights, encouraging organisations to think proactively about policies and practices. This is a duty that has the potential to deliver real change in culture and one that is not about paying lip service to the idea of equality and human rights. It will be important that public bodies understand that the duty is “on” them, that the onus and responsibility for compliance rests with the public body. One of our priorities will be to communicate this ambition for the duty.
Participation
It is encouraging to see strengthening of public discourse around citizenship and participation. The recent Constitutional Convention was an important democratic opportunity to strengthen our collective capacity to human rights and equality within the State. It was an important moment of open citizen participation in debates around issues of importance to all of us.
As part of our public consultation, we developed guidelines on public consultations. These guidelines were developed in the context of the Commission’s overall role in relation to stakeholder engagement. They take into account international standards for national human rights bodies set out under the UN Paris Principles.
The guidelines recognise that strategic stakeholder engagement is a two-way process whereby the Commission can engage with people and organisations to protect and promote human rights and equality. It involves interaction, listening, dialogue, deliberation, communication, partnership, research and the development and implementation of models of good practice. The public consultation on our Strategic Plan was undertaken in full compliance with these guidelines.
We recently commissioned a national survey to measure awareness of and attitudes towards human rights and equality. The survey addressed levels of awareness and understanding of human rights and equality, attitudes towards human rights and equality, and individuals’ knowledge of their rights and the avenues available to them for the protection of their rights. A key finding of that survey was that a large majority of those polled – 79 per cent – believe Ireland still has more to do when it comes to protecting human rights and equality and 96 per cent believe that laws protecting human rights are important in order to create a fairer, more equal society, while 93 per cent care deeply about making Ireland a fairer place in which to live.
Marriage Equality Referendum
The same survey found that we perceive ourselves as more of a leader in Europe on human rights and equality since the Marriage referendum. This year’s Marriage Equality referendum has given us new hope for a politically-engaged generation of young voters, in a way never seen before. More important than any of the door-to-door campaigning, social media initiatives or rafts of events, was the fact that young people actually saw their vote as something that mattered.
What the Marriage referendum also demonstrated above all else was the power of the personal narrative. By that I mean the power of those who told their own stories and the power of those stories over us. This was no form of emotional blackmail but, rather, an exercise in two-way empowerment. It empowered the teller of the story – whether she or he was gay or not – and those who listened to their stories to inform their decisions as voters.
Hearing a compelling personal testimony about the sting of discrimination still requires you to imagine what that must be like if you have not yourself experienced it – directly or indirectly – but it makes that task of imagining easier. As the People’s Conversation has demonstrated the passion people have to get involved in shaping their futures, it also shows the need for us to tell our own stories, to share our personal experiences through respectful dialogue.
As we begin our journey as a new body established to protect and promote human rights and equality, we will continue our conversation to encourage the development of a culture of respect for human rights and equality in this State.
Thank you very much for your time!
