Today the ICCL welcomed a report by the Irish Human Rights Commission calling for an inspection and monitoring regime to prevent Irish airports being used for ‘extraordinary rendition’ flights.
“Several high-level independent reports now confirm that Shannon Airport plays an important role in extraordinary rendition. The CIA cannot continue operating these flights without using airports like Shannon as a stopover,” says Tanya Ward, Deputy Director of the ICCL.
“The Irish Government cannot hide behind the cloak of ‘diplomatic assurances’. The Commission’s report makes crystal clear that diplomatic assurances from the US authorities are unreliable and wrong in law,” she continued.
“There is an absolute ban on torture. Shannon Airport cannot be used as a transit point to allow the US authorities to operate outside the law. The Government urgently needs to respond to the Commission’s report. In particular, the Gardaí must start carrying out regular inspections of US aircraft and the Government should establish an independent inquiry on the matter.”
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