Press Release Thursday 25 February 2016
On the eve of Ireland’s 2016 General Election, the country’s independent human rights watchdog has issued a “last call” to politicians of all parties (and none) to “nail their colours to the mast” on abortion law reform.
ICCL Executive Director Mr Mark Kelly said:
“Repeal of the 8th amendment is both a human rights issue and an electoral issue that has been raised on doorsteps across the length and breadth of the country. This election offers an opportunity to vote for candidates who have clearly expressed their support for abortion law reform so that, in future, Ireland’s laws will respect the bodily autonomy of women in line with our international human rights obligations”.
As regards the abortion law reform process, the Council has indicated that it is “broadly supportive” of the idea that a Convention on the Constitution consider the issue within a tight timeframe.
“A participative, inclusive and meaningful Convention on the Constitution, operating on a tight timeline, could provide an appropriate pathway to an early referendum on repeal of the 8th amendment” Mr Kelly added.
Candidates for election who have yet to clearly indicate their preference to repeal the 8th amendment can do so by following this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MKQ6L5T
Note to editor
The Convention on the Constitution that met in 2012-2013 produced recommendations that led to the 2015 referendum on marriage equality.
The ICCL considers that any future Convention should be participative, meaningful and inclusive:
Participative
The new Government should foster national ownership of the Constitutional Convention from the outset by setting it up through a process that is open, participative, inclusive and transparent.
Sufficient resources should be made available to facilitate widespread and meaningful consultation with, education of, and participation by members of the public, civil society and other interested stakeholders, in particular women.
An open and transparent appointments process should ensure that membership of the Convention is balanced, representative and facilitates meaningful input by civil society organisations and people in vulnerable groups.
Inclusive
A range of civic education measures should be undertaken to inform members of the public about the role, scope and potential outcome of the new Constitutional Convention.
National and local media, civil society organisations, community networks and information technology should be utilised to ensure the widest possible access and participation by the public is achieved.
Widespread and comprehensive consultation should be undertaken with members of the public, the Diaspora and civil society organisations to facilitate meaningful engagement with the process and the issues for discussion.
Facilitating meaningful input by civil society organisations, particularly on issues of direct concern to their members, must be a priority for the Constitutional Convention throughout the process.
Meaningful
Knowledge and experience, which would benefit the Convention in its deliberations, should be drawn from as wide a pool of experts as possible including from the legal, academic, political and community sectors.
Members of the public should be provided with an opportunity to consider the recommendations of the Convention and to provide feedback.