PRESS NOTICE
Wednesday, 9th February 2011
Organisations and individuals in Galway are invited to participate in one of two public information sessions on human rights in Ireland, taking place at the Galway People’s Resource Centre, St Claire’s Walk, Merchant’s Road, Galway. Both sessions take place tomorrow, Thursday, 10th February, the first from 3.30pm-5.30pm; the second from 6.30pm- 8pm.
Ireland’s human rights record is being reviewed by the United Nations for the first time ever this year, under a new process called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). In the lead-up to the UPR, 17 leading organisations have joined forces – under the ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ campaign – to help people hold the State to account for its human rights record.
The public information event tomorrow is organised by ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ and is aimed at giving individuals and organisations a chance to contribute to the UPR. At the event, organisers will explain the UPR process and encourage attendees to share their experiences and opinions on human rights in Ireland.
In March, ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ will submit a report to the United Nations, summarising the issues that people and organisations have raised at meetings throughout the country – including at these meetings in Galway. This report will feed into the UPR process. Later in the year, the United Nations will conduct its official review of Ireland’s rights record, and will then issue recommendations on what can be done to make sure all human rights in Ireland are protected and respected.
Mark Kelly, Director of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) – one of the groups involved in the ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ campaign – said Thursday’s events will give people in Galway a chance to make sure Ireland delivers on its human rights commitments.
“Right now, many people are seeing very clearly how politics and economics can impact directly on their lives and those of their families,” he said. “People care about their rights, right now.
“National and international laws promise to protect the rights of everyone in Ireland but, all too often, those pledges have been broken. The Universal Periodic Review offers a fresh chance to ask people directly about whether their rights are being respected; to bring this information to the UN; and to seek commitments from the new Government on how they will deliver on Ireland’s human rights promises.”
The public information session in Galway is open to all, free of charge. For further information, please contact: Deirdre Duffy, Tel: 086-8479354 , Email: rightsnow@iccl.ie. Further information is also available on the ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ website: www.rightsnow.ie.
ENDS
Contact: Martina Quinn, DHR Communications, Tel: 01-4806260 / 087-6522033
NOTES TO EDITOR
Under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), the human rights situation of all the countries within the United Nations (UN) are reviewed. This is a new human rights monitoring system of the UN Human Rights Council. It aims to improve the human rights situation on the ground in each of the 192 countries within the UN. ‘Your Rights. Right Now’ will report to the UN in March 2011, and the UN’s UPR review of Ireland will take place in October 2011.
‘Your Rights. Right Now’ brings together 17 leading organisations: Amnesty International, the Children’s Rights Alliance, Dóchas, Educate Together, Free Legal Advice Centres (FLAC), the Immigrant Council of Ireland, the Integration Centre, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Family Planning Association, the Irish Penal Reform Trust, the Irish Senior Citizens’ Parliament, the Irish Traveller Movement, the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Simon Communities of Ireland, Transgender Equality Network Ireland, and the Union of Students in Ireland.