5 March 2024
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ (CESCR) concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of Ireland are now out. Nine years after the end of the last review, the Committee’s recommendations and concerns mirror much of what shared by ICCL in our parallel report to the Committee and our engagement in Geneva on a wide range of rights.
The Committee calls on government to do more to ensure the progressive realisation of economic, social and cultural rights in the State. ICCL welcomes these recommendations and will continue to work to ensure Ireland lives up its human rights obligations.
On the Committee’s review and recommendations, ICCL Equality and Hate Crime Senior Policy Officer Luna Lara Liboni said:
“The UN Commitee voiced many concerns raised by civil society organisations during the review, including those of ICCL. The State is obliged under ICESCR to take steps towards the progressive realisation of economic, social and cultural rights. The word “progressive” does not excuse an extreme lag in realising socio-economic rights in Ireland and as it clearly transpires from the Committee recommendations, the realisation of these rights in Ireland remains grossly inadequate – especially for members of marginalised and disadvantaged groups in Ireland.
On key issues which are currently before government and the Oireachtas – such as the ongoing review of equality law and revised charity legislation – the UN Committee has given clear directions to the government to act with urgency. “
Some of the most important recommendations from the UN CESCR are:
- On domestic application of the Covenant, the Committee echoed ICCL’s concerns on the lack of full transposition of the Covenant into domestic law and the lack of plans to do so. They call the State to take all appropriate measures to give the Covenant full effect in our domestic legal order, redouble the efforts to acquaint judges and legal practitioners with the provisions of the Covenant and conduct an independent and comprehensive study of the domestic framework aimed at identifying areas in which existing measures do not align with the Covenant. The Committee also encourages the state to expedite the ongoing analysis of economic, social and cultural rights with a view to ratify the Optional Protocol which would introduce an individual complaints mechanism.
- On civic space, CESCR recommends the State to take all necessary measures – including in the framework of the Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023 – to enable civil society to participate in political and advocacy work, as well as develop meaningful and effective engagement mechanisms and strategies beyond information and consultation models to ensure participation by civil society in the implementation and monitoring of policies and legislation in the area of economic, social and cultural rights.
- The Committee called for the adoption of the second National Plan on Business and Human Rights to be adopted, as well as for the setting up of effective complaint and redress mechanisms filed by victims of abuses committed by business operating or domiciled in Ireland and entities they control.
- Recognising the existing gap, the Committee called for the improvement of Ireland’s data collection system, with a specific focus on the collection of disaggregated data to formulate evidence-based policies and measures for disadvantaged groups and people.
- The Committee expressed concerns over the continued absence of comprehensive anti-discrimination in Ireland, making strong recommendations in the context of the ongoing review of equality legislation. Echoing ICCL’s parallel report, CESCR recommended the state to adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, include explicit references to all prohibited grounds of discrimination (including socioeconomic status), include definitions of intersectional and multiple discrimination and ensure access to justice. On discrimination, the Committee also recommends the State to take all measures – including targeted special measures – to prevent and combat the persistent discrimination, racism and inequality faced by marginalised and disadvantaged groups in Ireland, especially around decent work, social security, heath care and services, adequate housing and education. The Committee also recommends that all strategies and policies are developed with people with lived experience, are properly resourced and monitored.
- The Commitee makes important recommendations around gender equality, calling the State to redouble its efforts to close the gender pay gap and take all measures to promote the full access of women from marginalised groups – in particular Afro-descendent, migrant, Traveller and Roma women, women with disabilities, and bisexual, lesbian, intersex and transgender women – to employment opportunities, social security, adequate housing, health care and services and education.
- On housing, the Committee shared concerns on the persistence of homelessness in the State party, particularly among marginalised and disadvantaged groups, and measures to prevent forced evictions.
- Additional concerns were shared on the large disparities between different socioeconomic groups in access to healthcare services, with a focus on most marginalised groups. ICCL briefed the Committee on specific challenges faced by members of the LGBTI+ community in accessing care and echoed Traveller organisations in calling for the full implementation of the National Traveller Health Action Plan.
- The Committee makes a clear recommendation to expedite the adoption of the Safe Access Zones Bill 2023, echoing our recommendations to ensure access of abortion services in privacy and with dignity.
- On drug policy, CESCR echoed our recommendation to adopt a human rights-based approach in the review of Ireland’s existing legal framework.
In addition to the issues raised in the Concluding Observations, ICCL’s parallel report to the Committee and our engagement in Geneva heavily informed a vast number of questions made by Committee members during the review on many areas including hate crime and extreme hate speech, healthcare practices specific to LGBTI+ people, assessment of the pandemic and State responses to Covid-19, sexual health and reproductive rights and access to housing for asylum seekers.
ENDS/
Read ICCL’s submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and press briefing here: https://www.iccl.ie/equality-inclusion/iccl-alternative-report-to-un-committee-on-economic-social-and-cultural-rights/
Find the Committee’s concluding observations here: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2FC.12%2FIRL%2FCO%2F4&Lang=en.
Read a summary of the Committee’s dialogue with the State here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2024/02/experts-committee-economic-social-and-cultural-rights-praise-ireland-increasing.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is Ireland’s oldest independent human rights campaigning organisation. We monitor, educate and campaign to secure human rights for everyone in Ireland.
For comment: Luna Lara Liboni, Equality and Hate Crime Senior Policy Officer