The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has expressed deep disappointment at the Government’s stoic response to the questions put to it by the United Nations Human Rights Committee today.
A number of the key concerns laid out in the NGO Shadow Report launched yesterday were put directly to the Government today by the UN’s top human rights experts. These included CIA rendition operations through Shannon Airport, prison overcrowding, summary deportation of asylum seekers, and imprisonment for debt.
Extraordinary Rendition
Committee member Judge Rajsoomer Lallah (Mauritius) criticised the “ambivalence” of the Government’s response to complaints about the proven use of Shannon airport to refuel specific rendition flights, and asked why aircraft searches are not being carried out by the Irish authorities. In response, the Government merely reverted to its reliance on flimsy diplomatic assurances from the U.S. Government.
Prison Conditions
As regards prison conditions, when asked about measures to end the unhygienic and humiliating practice of ‘slopping out’, the Government accepted that more than a quarter of inmates are still being kept in such unsanitary conditions. It acknowledged that it was no longer possible to provide humane conditions in Mountjoy Prison and cited “significant expansion and replacement programmes”, designed to address overcrowding and poor conditions. However, the UN Human Rights Committee reminded the Government that “one cannot build oneself out of a prison overpopulation problem” and suggested that alternatives to imprisonment be explored.
Summary Deportation
Committee member Professor Ivan Shearer (Australia) pointed out to the Government that upcoming legislation (the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill) allowing for summary deportation of migrants is in breach of Article 13 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since it denies the right to appeal or review. In response, the Government claimed that migrants are entitled to seek judicial review of their case. The Government failed to mention, however, that such arrangements do not apply to all migrants present in the country and that consequently some individuals will remain at risk of deportation without access to a fair hearing, in breach of international human rights law.
Reaction
Commenting on the Irish Government’s performance, ICCL Director Mr Mark Kelly said this afternoon:
“The Government has responded to the UN Human Rights Committee’s searching questions with a stoic reliance on diplomatic assurances, and by re-hashing policy statements which fail to engage with the substance of the Committee’s questions. This has been a missed opportunity for genuine engagement between the UN’s top human rights experts and the State.”
He added that:
“We welcome the Government’s praise of the NGO Shadow Report and the contribution of civil society to the Human Rights Committee’s monitoring process. Such praise, however, will remain hollow unless it is accompanied by moves to address in a substantive manner the concerns laid out in that Shadow Report, and in our submissions to the UN this week.”