Where: Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin 8
When: 18 July, 18:30 (following ICCL AGM)
Registration: https://gardavisionsforchange.eventbrite.ie
With two months to go until the Commission on the Future of Policing reports, ICCL is convening a discussion between social justice experts and activists who have hands-on experience of Garda interaction with children in the criminal justice and care systems, with young people in Dublin’s Inner City, and with the Traveller community.
- Gareth Noble is a partner at KOD Lyons solicitors, working primarily in the areas of children’s law, disability law and human rights.
- Fiona Whelan is the artist behind “Policing Dialogues” (2010), which aimed to change Garda culture and practice particularly regarding ‘stop and search’ of young people in Dublin’s Inner City.
- David Joyce is a solicitor and Travellers’ rights advocate, who will discuss policy (or lack thereof) on issues such as hate crime, as well as discrimination against the Traveller community by Gardaí
Responding to these experiences and speakers will be Alyson Kilpatrick BL. Alyson was the Human Rights Advisor to the Northern Ireland Policing Board from 2009 – 2017 and has a wealth of knowledge of how a human rights-based approach can change the culture, practices and outcomes of policing even after decades of confrontation and distrust. In February 2018 ICCL commissioned Alyson to undertake research on how a human rights-based approach to policing could be achieved in Ireland, with a grant from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission aimed at improving implementation of the Public Sector Human Rights and Equality Duty.
A key aspect of this rights-based approach is providing equal protection and respect for the rights of all individuals and communities with whom the police interact. A human rights-based approach also requires the police service to respond to the particular needs and experiences of individuals and groups who are particularly vulnerable to discrimination, poverty, crime, and other forms of disadvantage.
The aim of this event is to tease out, in practical terms, what difference a human rights-based approach to policing could make to members of communities that have particular experiences with An Garda Síochána. Please come along for the debate.
ICCL’s work in the area of garda reform is supported by the Community Foundation for Ireland through its donor-advised grant scheme.