The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Ireland, released today following the State’s examination in Geneva last week. The Committee’s list of concerns catalogues Ireland’s failure to uphold human rights guarantees under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The Human Rights Committee took up major concerns outlined by the NGO Shadow Report which was launched on 14 July 2008 by the ICCL and partner NGOs. Concerns included CIA rendition operations through Shannon Airport, summary removal of migrants without any due process, inequalities in upcoming civil partnership legislation and abortion reform.
Extraordinary Rendition
The Committee expressed concern about “allegations that Irish airports have been used as transit points for so-called rendition flights of persons to countries where they risk being subjected to torture”. It underlined to the Government that care needs to be taken in relying on official assurances from the United States and also recommended that Ireland should “establish a regime for the control of suspicious flights and ensure that all allegations of so-called renditions are publicly investigated”.
Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and Criminal Justice Reforms
The Committee expressed concern at the backlog of cases before the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and at the possibility of complaints involving potentially criminal conduct being referred to the Garda Commissioner. The Committee was also concerned that the law does not guarantee that lawyers should be present during questioning and that provisions in the Criminal Justice Act 2007 further restrict the right to silence.
It called on the Government to take “immediate measures to ensure the effective functioning of the Garda Síochana Ombudsman Commission”.
It also recommended that the State should “give full effect to the rights of criminal suspects to contact counsel before, and to have counsel present during, interrogation” and that the Government should amend the law “to ensure that inferences from the failure to answer questions by an accused person may not be drawn, at least where the accused has not had prior consultations with counsel.”
Abortion and the Right to Life
The Committee was critical of Ireland’s failure to deal with the issue of abortion and informed the Government that it must bring its laws in conformity with the ICCPR. This means that our laws should not criminalise women for having abortions because it results in women having unsafe and illegal abortions. It also means that therapeutic abortions should be available for women who have a fatal foetal abnormality and when a woman’s life is in danger.
Summary Removal
The Committee expressed concern at provisions in the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 allowing for summary removal of migrants without any form of due process or access to the courts. It pointed that the denial of recourse to legal protection is a violation of article 13 of the ICCPR. It recommended that the Government “should amend the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008 to outlaw summary removal”.
Refugee Appeals Tribunal
The Committee was particularly concerned about the “alleged lack of independence of the proposed substitute for the Refugee Appeals Tribunal (the Protection Review Tribunal) due to the appointment procedures of its part-time members.”
Civil Partnership
The Committee acknowledged the Government’s intention to adopt legislation on Civil Partnership, but expressed concern that no provisions regarding taxation and social welfare have been made. The Committee recommended that the Government “ensure that its legislation is not discriminatory of non-traditional forms of partnership, including taxation and welfare benefits”.
Reaction
Commenting on the Committee’s Concluding Observations, ICCL Deputy Director Tanya Ward, who attended the Irish examination in Geneva last week, stated:
“This time the Human Rights Committee has been particularly critical of Ireland’s poor performance under this human rights convention. It did not accept the Government’s defence of its stance on extraordinary rendition and called on Ireland to establish a proper regime to investigate these flights.
“The Committee was also very clear that proposed reforms in the Civil Partnership Bill must include taxation and welfare for same-sex couples and that the summary removal of migrants without any due process, provided for in the Immigration, Residence and Protection bill, should be outlawed” she continued.
“The Committee’s concluding observations provide a crystal clear picture of Ireland’s failure to live up to its human rights obligations, and an extensive ‘to do’ list for improvement. The ICCL calls on the Government immediately to acknowledge the Committee and the Irish NGO community by addressing their concerns in a substantive and meaningful manner”, she concluded.