27 July 2022
The UN Human Rights Committee’s concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Ireland have been published today. The Committee’s strong recommendations mirror much of ICCL’s longstanding positions on a wide range of rights, and call on government to do more to promote and protect human rights in the State. ICCL welcomes these recommendations and will continue to work to ensure Ireland lives up its human rights obligations.
On the Committee’s recommendations, Executive Director Liam Herrick said:
“These recommendations for action from the UN Human Rights Committee are well-informed and specific. The recommendations address live issues in the legislative and policy process which the Government can take action on now. In particular, the Committee is making clear directions to the Government to take steps to ensure justice for survivors of Magdelene Laundries and Symphsysiotomy, which must inform ongoing discussions about redress. The Committee is also calling for the State to strengthen oversight and accountability around its use of emergency powers during Covid and in the area of policing.”
ICCL Equality and Hate Crime Policy Officer Luna Lara Liboni said:
“The UN Human Rights Committee voiced many concerns raised by civil society organisations during the review, including ours and those of the 37 organisations that endorsed our report. As legislation advances, we keep calling for a National Action Plan Against Hate Crime and Hate Speech that includes measures beyond criminal law to tackle the very roots of hatred and intolerance towards minoritised communities in Ireland. We echo the Committee concerns on ongoing conversion practices and non-consensual unnecessary surgical intervention on intersex children, calling for their full ban.”
Some of the most important recommendations from the UN Human Rights Committee are:
- On accountability for human rights violations, the Committee has made very strong recommendations concerning the need for the State to take further steps to ensure justice for victims of human rights violations in Magdelene Laundries and for the victims of Symphiostomy. In particular, the Committee has called on the State to establish a transitional justice mechanism to get to the truth of what happened in Magdelene Laundries, and to ensure effective remedies including compensation for both Magdelene survivors and survivors of symphysiotomy.
- The Committee has highlighted the problem of racial profiling and called for special measures with regard to discrimination by An Garda Síochana. They call in particular for an adequate mechanism for equality monitoring and training for Gardaí.
- The Committee makes strong recommendations regarding the Government’s plans for hate crime and incitement to hatred legislation, calling on the State to redouble its efforts. It emphasises the importance of proper data collection in measuring and understanding the problem of hate crime. They also recommend that measures to combat hate crime include awareness raising, strengthened reporting mechanisms and adequate training in the criminal justice system and for the media. ICCL welcomes the Government’s recent commitment to progress hate crime and incitement to hatred legislation in autumn, but we reiterate our call for a National Action Plan to implement and complement these legislative measures.
- For the first time, the Committee has addressed the rights of intersex people in its recommendations. It makes clear recommendations to the Government to strictly regulate non-consensual and unnecessary surgical interventions on intersex children, and also calls on the Government to ban conversion practices against LGBTQ+ people.
- The Committee makes detailed recommendations to the State on the issue of abortion, calling on the Government to end the criminalisation of abortion, to remove remaining barriers to access to abortion, and to legislation for safe access zones. These recommendations will be crucial to the ongoing review of the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act.
- The Committee calls on the Government to carry out a full human rights review of its response to Covid – a longstanding ICCL position. The Committee also makes important recommendations about how processes should be put in places to ensure human rights impacts are properly considered in any future emergencies.
- The Committee recommends that Ireland should amend articles 12, 31 and 34 of the Constitution which require public office holders to take a religious oath. This is an issue which ICCL has called for action on, and where the State recently defended the status quo before the European Court of Human Rights.
- On protest rights, the Committee acknowledges ICCL’s concerns about excessive use of force by police during Covid protests, and the use of private security agents to suppress protest around evictions. The Commission calls for an effective investigation into these incidents.
ICCL welcomes all of these recommendations and looks forward with interest to the State’s reaction. The Committee has specifically requested the government to them on the status of the implementation of the recommendations on accountability for human rights violations, non-discrimination hate speech and hate crime and freedom of religion by July 2025.
ENDS/
Find ICCL’s submission to the ICCPR review, a press briefing, a comprehensive list of endorsing organisations, and a link to watch the session online here: https://www.iccl.ie/report/new-report-on-civil-and-political-rights-in-ireland/
Find the Committee’s concluding observations here:
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CCPR/Shared%20Documents/IRL/CCPR_C_IRL_CO_5_49292_E.pdf
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For comment: Luna Lara Liboni, Equality and Hate Crime Policy Officer; Liam Herrick, Executive Director
For media queries: grace.tierney@iccl.ie