Human rights watchdog “draws the line” at the use of religion to discriminate
For immediate release 21st June 2016
The Irish Council of Civil Liberties (ICCL) today publishes a report that “draws the line” between the right to freedom of religion and equality rights. The report, “Drawing the Line: Tackling Tensions Between Religious Freedom and Equality,” is published in partnership with the International Network of Civil Liberties Organisation (INCLO).
It will be launched in Dublin by a panel including top US human rights advocate Louise Melling, Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Dr Eoin Daly of NUI Galway (Lecturer in Constitutional Law) and Professor Veronica O’Kane (Professor of Psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin).
Areas to discussed will include: “conscience” and same sex marriage; religious control of hospitals and the use of religion to deny the bodily autonomy of women in Ireland and the US.
Speaking ahead of the launch, the ICCL’s Senior Research and Policy Manager Stephen O’Hare said “The co-existence of the right to equality and to freedom of religion should be guided by the fundamental principle that while religious freedom must be vigorously defended, it does not give us the right to impose our views on others, including by discriminating against them or subjecting them to cruel and inhumane treatment.”
“In many of our countries, our laws are changing to afford more people – LGBT people, women and minority groups – dignity and equality,” said American Civil Liberties Union Deputy Legal Director Louise Melling. “That change is sometimes met with objections rooted in faith. The purpose of this report is to shine a spotlight on how these tensions play out in courtrooms around the world and to highlight how the law, when applied within the framework of human rights, can ensure a more balanced and equitable outcomes for those whose personal characteristics place them at odds with faith or religion.”
ENDS
Note to Editors:
The report can be accessed in here.
The report recommends:
· Government officials, such as clerks charged with issuing marriage licenses, should not be afforded an exemption from laws advancing equality. Civil servants must neutrally enforce and apply the laws. The government should not put its imprimatur on discrimination.
· Institutions offering services to the public, whether for-profit or nonprofit or religiously affiliated, should not be exempt from anti-discrimination laws, even if the service providers have religious objections.
· Where institutions serve people of all faiths, the law cannot exempt them from requirements that are meant to prevent harm, be it to health, dignity, or equality.
· That health care providers’ objections to reproductive health care cannot be accommodated where the accommodation would compromise women’s health or lives.
· Institutions that open their doors to the public to provide services – whether for lodging, catering, or health care – should not be able to claim a religious exemption to rules furthering equality or public health.
The report was produced by the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO), which comprises 11 domestic human rights organizations: the American Civil Liberties Union, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (Argentina), the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Human Rights Law Network (India), the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, the Legal Resources Centre (South Africa), and Liberty (United Kingdom).
Louise Melling – Deputy Legal Director at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
Louise is a Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU and the Director of its Centre for Liberty.
Eoin Daly – Lecturer in Law, NUI Galway
Eoin specialises in political theory, constitutional law, law and religion, and the separation of Church and State.
Prof Veronica O’Keane – Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College Dublin and Consultant Psychiatrist AMiNCH Hospital, Tallaght
Professor Veronica O’Keane is a consultant psychiatrist in Tallaght Hospital Dublin and a professor in Psychiatry in Trinity College Dublin.