19 February 2021
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has said the decision-making process around covid is now deeply dysfunctional. It follows media reports of nine more weeks of hard lockdown, with no official address from the Taoiseach.
Ahead of the anticipated announcement of a new “Living With Covid” strategy next week, ICCL is calling on government to use the human rights blueprint provided by international law to inform its policy and regulations. We firmly believe that a failure to do so has been the major weakness in government response, and has led to various political gaffes, as well as at times endangering lives.
ICCL is currently reviewing the government response to the pandemic using a human rights lens, which we will publish in the coming weeks. In that report we will address the impact on rights such as protest, education, privacy, and religion.
ICCL’s Head of Legal and Policy, Doireann Ansbro, said:
“Human rights law says that in emergencies some rights can be restricted to protect other rights. In the case of a public health emergency, the rights to life and health are paramount. Some restrictions on rights like freedom of movement, protest, and religion can be permitted to protect life and health but there are conditions and it’s really important government takes these seriously.
And it has to ensure key human rights principles like non-discrimination and prioritising the vulnerable are taken into account. This is important not just to demonstrate compliance with the law but to also to ensure confidence in government decision making.”
All restrictions on rights must meet a three-part human rights test of legality, necessity and proportionality. Our research for our forthcoming report indicates that some interferences with our rights have not met this test.
First, restrictions must be provided for in law. The government introduced emergency legislation in March, which was renewed with little scrutiny in November. This sets a dangerous precedent. Laws which permit wide-ranging rights restrictions must be subject to regular and rigorous review. One hour in the Dáil does not cut it. This must change. New laws must be subject to scrutiny, including by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, and must include a human rights impact assessment.
Second, the restrictions must be proportionate to the aim of protecting public health and life. The severity of a measure must directly correspond to the risk posed to life and health. And interferences must be as minimal as possible. Government needs to include an assessment of the impact and effect on rights, including for example the impact restrictions have on children’s rights and family rights, when it imposes restrictions.
Third, the restrictions must be demonstrably necessary. There have been several examples of unnecessary draconian legislation proposed throughout the pandemic. The so-called pub grub legislation shambles could have been averted had proper tests and consultation been undertaken in advance.
Overall, the government must move away from the punitive stance it has been taking of late, and do better in supporting people to stay at home. We are concerned about the long-term impact and possible ‘normalisation’ of extremely invasive police powers. There are huge social risks associated with over-policing and the potential misuse of powers, as well as the introduction of “emergency” kit such as spit hoods. The government must instead focus on encouraging compliance and prioritising support for marginalised communities. It needs to improve access to IT and home-schooling supports and provide adequate sick pay and better protection, including PPE, for essential workers. There must also be a clearer focus on protecting vulnerable and at-risk populations, such as people in nursing homes, Direct Provision centres and halting sites.
ENDS/
For more on the need for a more positive and coherent covid strategy, see opinion piece from ICCL Executive Director, Liam Herrick: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-40227743.html
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: Doireann Ansbro doireann.ansbro@iccl.ie
For media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162