Press release, for immediate release
Geneva / Dublin, 30 October 2013
The ongoing refusal of the Irish Government to commission an independent investigation into the treatment of women held in the Magdalene Laundries topped a list of issues brought to the attention of members of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in Geneva today (Wednesday 30 October 2013).
Ireland’s independent human rights watchdog, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) provided Human Rights Committee members with a detailed briefing on a list of topical issues, including: redress for the survivors of the Magdalene Laundries, the progress of investigations into the death of Savita Halappanavar, discrimination against Roma and Travellers in Ireland, the operation of the Special Criminal Court, the ongoing merger of Irish Human Rights Commission and the Equality Authority, moves toward gender recognition legislation, same-sex marriage and the recently enacted Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act 2013.
The briefing by the ICCL’s in-house equality expert, Mr Stephen O’Hare will be used by the Human Rights Committee to prepare for its formal examination of Ireland’s human rights record under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The full text of the ICCL’s 70- page briefing to the Committee is available here.
Speaking after meeting the Committee members Mr Stephen O’Hare said:
“The UN’s top human rights experts displayed a keen interest in recent developments in Ireland and they are plainly aware that other UN treaty bodies, including the Committee Against Torture, have called for an independent investigation into the treatment of women held in the Magdalene laundries. This is an issue that is simply not going to go away.”
“The ICCL anticipates that the Government will face some searching questions on this, and a range of other hot topics identified in our briefing paper, when it appears before the Human Rights Committee next year”
Maeve O’Rourke of Justice for Magdalenes added:
“The Government is wrong to have accepted the McAleese report as “a comprehensive and objective report of the factual position” regarding the Magdalene Laundries. It was not an independent investigation: there was no public call for evidence, the McAleese Committee had no powers to compel evidence from the religious orders, and there was no transparency.”
“It is deeply troubling that the Government does not understand forced labour of thousands of girls and women to amount to systematic abuse, warranting independent investigation” Ms O’Rourke added.
ENDS.
For further information, please contact:
Walter Jayawardene
Communications Manager
Irish Council for Civil Liberties
Tel. + 353 1 799 4503
Mob: +353 87 9981574
Fax. + 353 1 799 4512
E-mail walter.jayawardene@iccl.ie
Notes:
• The three members of the UN Human Rights Committee present at the briefing were Keshoe Parsad Matadeen (Mauritius), Yuval Shany (Israel) and Konstantine Vardzelashvili (Georgia).
• The briefing by the ICCL will be used by the Human Rights Committee to prepare for its formal examination of Ireland’s human rights record under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The full text of the ICCL’s 70- page briefing to the Committee is available here.