6 October 2021
Irish human rights organisations are to petition states to make recommendations to Ireland on its human rights record. It comes as Ireland will face a review by the UN Human Rights Council in November. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) will ask States to consider so-called “historical” abuse, gender and LGBTI+ inequalities, and the covid-19 emergency response.
ICCL’s Head of Legal and Policy, Doireann Ansbro, said:
“On gender rights for example, we’ll be asking Ireland’s peers on the UN Human Rights Council to recommend that Ireland would carry out a full, systemic investigation into the system of family separation, forced adoption and systematic abuse that operated in Ireland in the twentieth century. This system traumatised many living survivors and it is imperative that they have justice as soon as possible.”
The UN’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is an important human rights mechanism which allows activists to put pressure on governments from the outside. During its review, each country receives recommendations for improvement from other countries. Irish organisations including ICCL have previously used it to highlight pressing human rights issues such as abortion rights and marriage equality.
ICCL will also ask other states to recommend that Ireland would introduce safe access zones for private and safe access to reproductive health services. We will recommend the immediate abolition of the Special Criminal Court, as well as reform of the Data Protection Commission.
ENDS/
You can watch the UPR pre-session at this link: https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Edited-ICCL-Presentation-UPR-Info-PreSessions-Ireland-2021.mp4
Find ICCL’s full UPR submission here: https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICCL-coalition-submission-to-UPR.pdf
Contact sinead.nolan@iccl.ie for our video submission to the pre-session.
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
For media queries: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie