24 March 2021
On the International Day for the Right to Truth, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has written to the UN expert on truth, justice, and reparations regarding the Mother and Baby Homes Commission report. We have alerted him to the real possibility that the government’s plan to deal with historic and ongoing rights violations will be insufficient to meet Ireland’s human rights commitments under international law, specifically the UN Framework on Transitional Justice.
We also highlight our concerns with the Institutional Burials Bill currently passing through the Oireachtas. In its current form, the Bill would impede an effective investigation into the deaths of those buried at mass grave sites such as Tuam and Bessborough. We are also concerned at plans to carry out further construction works on the site of a suspected mass grave at Bessborough.
ICCL’s Head of Legal and Policy, Doireann Ansbro, said:
“The survivors of these homes deserve truth and justice – full, comprehensive justice that means they can rebuild their lives. The UN has a really clear blueprint for this, the transitional justice framework. But the government’s plan, and this proposed bill on grave exhumation, will not vindicate survivors’ rights to truth, justice and redress.”
In our letter to Fabian Salvioli, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, we outline where the government plan falls short when it comes to investigations with teeth, identity rights, and exhumations.
We also flag two main problems with the Institutional Burials Bill. The first is that it disapplies the Coroners Act. This means inquests to establish cause of death may not be carried out – in violation of survivors’ right to truth about what happened to their loved ones. We recommend that inquests should be carried out into mass institutional burials as a matter of course.
The second issue is the list of restrictions for carrying out excavations – including the presence of dwellings on the site. For example, the burial site of 836 children at the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home has not been established, but the Bill would appear to exclude the possibility of excavating this site, as there are dwellings already there and planning permission in the pipeline for more. The Mother and Baby Homes Commission recognised that “it is highly likely that the burials did take place in the grounds of Bessborough. The only way that this can be established is by an excavation of the entire property, including those areas that are now built on.”
The process for identifying or locating burial sites is unclear and not provided for by this Bill. ICCL flags this key gap in our letter to the UN and recommends that government provides a clear and transparent process to identify and locate potential burial sites.
ICCL recommends that government either amends this Bill so that it is line with the UN framework for Transitional Justice, or that it scraps the Bill and amends the Coroners Act to allow for excavations of mass burial sites associated with institutions.
ENDS/
Find the full letter to the UN Special Rapporteur here: https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ICCL-letter-to-UN-Special-Rapporteur-Truth.pdf
Find ICCL’s submission to the Oireachtas Children’s Committee on the Institutional Burials Bill here: https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ICCL-submission-on-Institutional-Burials-Bill.pdf
Find ICCL’s human rights analysis of the MBHC report here: https://www.iccl.ie/press-briefing-iccl-analysis-of-mbhc-report/
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