Press Release Friday 13 May 2016
Ireland’s independent human rights watchdog, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed the significant pledges to improve human rights that have been made by the new Government in response to this week’s United Nations Periodic Review (UPR).
The pledges today (13 May 2016) follow the Tánaiste’s appearance before the Council earlier this week (11 May 2016), during which 93 other United Nations Member States made recommendations designed to improve Ireland’s human rights performance.
A total of 262 recommendations were made to Ireland, of which 152 have been immediately accepted, including dozens in relation to the need for Ireland to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Person with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). Both of these instruments require Ireland to create effective national monitoring mechanisms to oversee the decency of the treatment of persons with disabilities and the conditions of detention of persons deprived of their liberty.
Ireland has committed to further study another 97 recommendations, including a dozen solid recommendations for reform of Ireland’s antediluvian abortion laws, to lead to a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment to the Constitution. Only 13 of the 262 recommendations were rejected by Ireland, none of which relate to abortion law reform.
Commenting on the response of the Irish Government, ICCL Executive Director Mr Mark Kelly said:
“Ireland’s reaction to the 2016 Universal Periodic Review will come to be seen as a watershed moment in the protection of rights and equality in this State. The ICCL particularly commends the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Frances Fitzgerald TD for accepting that it is high time that Ireland provides for independent monitoring of all places of detention and independent oversight of the treatment of people with disabilities”.
“On the issue of abortion, the ICCL notes that there has been a sea change in the Government’s attitude to criticism of our highly-restrictive abortion regime since Ireland last appeared before the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. At that time, Ireland rejected all recommendations to bring its law into line with international human rights standards. This time, none of the dozen solid recommendations on abortion law reform have been rejected and the Government has undertaken to give a full report on how they will be implemented to the United Nations by September 2016”, Mr Kelly added.
“Now is the time for the Government to publish its blueprint for the Citizen’s Assembly on Repeal of the 8th Amendment that will provide the pathway to finally repeal Article 40.3.3 of our Constitution”, Mr Kelly concluded.
Note to editors
The full list of the 262 recommendations made to Ireland will be published by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights later this afternoon, under reference A/HRC/WG.6/25/L.14.
In the meantime, images of the document may be viewed on the @RightsNowUPR Twitter feed. The full document will be uploaded to the www.rightsnow.ie website as soon as it is available.