freedom of expression Archives - Irish Council for Civil Liberties

Senator Lynn Ruane launches bill for reform of Electoral Act with backing of campaign groups

Dublin, 16 May 2019

Senator Lynn Ruane today launched her bill for reform of the Electoral Act with support from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Education Equality and Amnesty International.

Senator Ruane said:

“I’m delighted to introduce this reform to support the voices of community and advocacy groups. Ordinary citizens organising together to agitate for progressive change have transformed Ireland in recent years. However, a change to the Electoral Acts made in 2001 has led to a chilling effect on the valid advocacy work of these same groups.”

The bill has been co-sponsored by Independent Senators Lynn Ruane, Alice-Mary Higgins, Colette Kelleher, John Dolan, Frances Black, David Norris, Victor Boyhan, Labour Party Senator Ivana Bacik, Green Party Senator Grace O’Sullivan and Sinn Féin Senator Fintan Warfield.

April Duff, chairperson of Education Equality, said:

“Education Equality was accused of breaching the Electoral Act over €10,000 seed funding from an Irish donor. We never imagined the Act, designed to regulate election spending, would apply to a group like ours which campaigned for an end to the baptism barrier. SIPOC threatened us with prosecution and eventually we returned most the funding, dissolved the association and transferred to a company limited by guarantee. Now we can’t accept donations of over €100.”

Liam Herrick, executive director of ICCL, said:

“Activism is one of the cornerstones of a democracy. When people can make their voices heard, they can bring about real change in our society. However, this law is undermining that fundamental right – something that has been recognised by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency. We urgently need this reform in order to keep our civil society vibrant and effective.”

Colm O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said:

“The Electoral Act is completely at odds with Ireland’s foreign policy. Ireland leads on UN initiatives to defend the space for civil society globally and been a vocal critic of repression in countries like Russia, Hungary and Egypt. Even though the Act was not intended to undermine civil society, its broad wording has clearly been used to silence NGOs working on a range of equality and rights issues. This undermines Ireland’s standing when holding other repressive governments to account.”

ICCL and Amnesty International Ireland have been leading the Coalition for Civil Society Freedom’s call for reform of the Electoral Act for over two years. The Coalition, which also includes The Wheel, Front Line Defenders, Transparency International Ireland and Uplift, has the support of over 60 civil society organisations. Over 1200 people have signed an open letter to the Taoiseach calling for this reform.

ENDS/

Notes for editors:

Coalition for Civil Society Freedom statement on Electoral Act: https://www.iccl.ie/coalition-csf-statement-electoral-act/

List of CSOs in support of reform: https://www.iccl.ie/csos-for-electoral-act-reform/

Open letter to Taoiseach: https://action.uplift.ie/campaigns/284

For media queries:

Sinéad Nolan: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162

Repeal the Censorship Act!

Last year’s removal of Maser’s repeal the 8th mural brought censorship of the arts to the forefront of our minds once again. The register of prohibited books is practically obsolete, but until the Censorship of Publications Act is also obsolete, the threat of censorship hangs over artists in Ireland.

Sign our petition calling on the Minister to repeal the act and liberate the arts from the threat of censorship once and for all!

https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/repeal-the-censorship-act

ICCL calls for immediate legislation for safe zones around abortion clinics

Dublin, 8 January 2019

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) today welcomed the announcement by Minister for Health Simon Harris that he intends to legislate for safe zones around abortion provision centres and called for him to move to enact such legislation immediately.

Speaking today, ICCL Executive Director Liam Herrick said:

“ICCL attaches great importance to the right to peaceful protest. However, the right to protest is not absolute and does not include a right to intimidate, harass or prevent women from accessing health care, including abortion services. Recent protests at health clinics appear to have been targetting women with the intention of deterring them from accessing health services.

The Irish government is obliged by international treaties to which we are party, as well as by our own Constitution, to protect the right to privacy. It is also obliged to protect access to healthcare and to ensure that healthcare professionals working in these settings have the right to work in a safe environment.”

Under human rights law, the right to protest may only be interfered with in specific circumstances, including in order to protect the rights and freedoms of others. Protecting the right to access healthcare and the right to privacy can be considered legitimate grounds for interfering with the right to protest, as long as the measures taken are necessary, proportionate and provided for by law.

Existing provisions in Irish law for responding to protestors using intimidation and harassment do not provide adequate protection for individuals seeking to access abortion services because they rely on the discretionary use of powers by Gardaí.

Mr. Herrick continued:

“Where there is evidence of a pattern of orchestrated and organised interference with individual rights, such as the right to access healthcare, general measures to protect individual patients and healthcare workers may be necessary. The creation of exclusion zones that prohibit such behaviour within a specified area around healthcare premises would help to fulfil individuals’ right to privacy and right to access healthcare. ICCL looks forward to the publication of legislation in this area, and we will examine it carefully to ensure that any proposal provides a proportionate balancing of rights.”

The use of such exclusion zones has been found in other jurisdictions to constitute a proportionate and necessary interference with the right to protest. Máiréad Enright of Lawyers for Choice has provided a detailed analysis of the legality of exclusion zones and how they might be provided for in Irish law here: https://lawyers4choice.ie/2019/01/05/a-note-on-exclusion-zones-rogue-crisis-pregnancy-agencies-possibilities-for-reform/

ENDS/

Notes for editors:

The right to protest plays a crucial role in democracy and can be a significant driver of positive social change. The right derives chiefly from the right to freedom of assembly and the right to freedom of expression. It involves the exercise of a range of other rights including the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion and the right to participation in cultural life. As such, the right to protest attracts significant legal protection under the Irish Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (ICCPR), to which Ireland is a State Party.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) requires States Parties (which includes Ireland) to fully realize the right to health. Access to health services forms one of the pillars of the right to health. The UN Treaty Body charged with interpreting the ICESCR has held that “health facilities, goods and services must be within safe physical reach for all sections of the population, especially vulnerable or marginalized groups”. The government is therefore required to prevent third parties from hindering access to healthcare.

The right to privacy and confidentiality is one of the personal rights protected by the Irish Constitution, and is explicitly protected under the ECHR and the ICCPR. The government must ensure that third parties do not interfere with the right to privacy of individuals when accessing health care services.

Under existing Irish law, protestors who are considered to be breaching the public peace without lawful authority or reasonable excuse or to be causing harassment, alarm or distress may be restricted. The Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 gives the Gardai a broad power to ‘move on’ individuals when there is reasonable concern for the maintenance of the public peace. A person commits an offence if he or she, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, willfully prevents or interrupts the free passage of any person in any public place. The Gardai can also potentially use powers under The Criminal Justice Act 2006 to issue a behaviour warning in response to behaviour which causes or is likely to cause harassment, significant or persistent alarm, distress, fear or intimidation. The fact that the Act applies to behaviour “likely to” cause alarm etc. means that there need not be an actual victim.

For media queries:

Sinéad Nolan: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162

Open letter to An Taoiseach calling for Electoral Act reform

20 December 2018

An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Dept of An Taoiseach

Government Buildings

Merrion St Upper

Dublin 2

20 December 2018

Taoiseach,

Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) are essential for our democracy to function. However in Ireland we are facing increasing restrictions that limit our ability to engage in democratic activities and to raise funds.

The Electoral Act limits the size of Irish donations for ‘political’ purposes and bans donations from international donors. The initial purpose of the law was to prevent foreign interference in elections and referendums – something we all agree with.

However, by defining ‘political’ so broadly as to cover any comment on any issue of public policy, the law is now being used to effectively silence the work of civil society organisations and urgently needs to be amended.

The gagging effect of the Electoral Act means many important voices are not being heard by decision makers and politicians. There’s a risk that increasingly only the wealthy and those who do not need to seek donations to make their views known will get to have their voices heard.

Ireland has been a proud advocate for the role civil society plays defending and promoting democracy and human rights on the international stage. We respectfully call on you to address the problems with the Electoral Act so that civil society in Ireland is free to carry out its own work in defending human rights, deepening democracy and advocating for social justice and equality.

Please find here: a) a link to a petition signed by 1226 individual signatories to this letter and b) link to a list of 60 organisations which support Electoral Act reform. Please also find a statement from the Coalition for Civil Society Freedom on why reform is necessary.

Liam Herrick

Executive Director, Irish Council for Civil Liberties

Open letter Varadkar PDF

Protecting civil society while regulating political advertising

Our democracy depends on voters being able to present and receive correct information about politics. The State should protect that. The State should also protect people when they work together for the common good. Government should facilitate the participation of community and voluntary organisations in political life, including when they fundraise and including when they lobby politicians.

While ICCL welcomes the government initiative to regulate online political advertising, we caution against defining the political so broadly that it impinges on the ability of people who are organised together to advocate for social change. Our democracy depends on voters being able to speak to politicians openly even (in fact especially) when they are organised and working in association.

Read our submission to the government’s Public Consultation on the Regulation of Online Political Advertising here:

ICCL Submission – Public Consultation on Regulation of Online Political Advertising in Ireland

Sign up to the People’s Voice campaign for Electoral Act reform

The Coalition for Civil Society Freedom has been actively and loudly campaigning for Electoral Act reform. We will be bringing the People’s Voice campaign to government next. There is an open letter to the Taoiseach which you, as an individual or organisation can sign here. We hope to present this letter to government officials at an expert seminar on 28 November.

We are also inviting organisations to join the People’s Voice campaign platform. The more of us who call for Electoral Act reform, the more likely we are to be heard. You can sign up to the platform here. Please do so before Friday 23 November.

Sign up to the campaign for Electoral Act reform here

Here are just some of the reasons why we are campaigning:

Education Equality were forced to return €5,500 seed funding they received from the Humanist Association. SIPOC threatened them with legal action under the Act, simply for engaging in their normal advocacy work.
EQUATE were put under so much pressure following a campaign of complaints against them to SIPOC (who also informed their funder) that it contributed to their decision to wind down.

At “The People’s Voice” event we held recently, we heard from other civil society organisations who had similar frightening stories to tell. We heard from Amnesty International on the real and long story behind the case that hit the headlines during the abortion referendum. We ourselves spoke of difficulties we faced when individuals contacted our funders, spuriously claiming we were operating illegally under the Electoral Act. Many more organisations spoke, under condition of anonymity, about their experiences of being threatened with legal action or of reconsidering donations and advocacy work because of the law.

The bottom line is: the Electoral Act prohibits civil society from fundraising for our everyday advocacy work. The way in which it is applied is haphazard, but it can be abused by individuals who take issue with some of the more radical work we are engaged in. Organisations working on rights have been particularly targetted up to now, but who knows who it might be in the future?

ICCL welcomes blasphemy vote, calls for hate crime legislation

Dublin, 27 October 2018

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) has welcomed the Yes vote in the referendum on blasphemy as an important step for free speech and the modernisation of our democracy. ICCL campaigned for a Yes vote in this referendum and we have consistently advocated this change over many years. This positive result brings Ireland into line with international best practice in human rights, as called for by the UN Human Rights Committee.

Echoing the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention, we are now calling on the government to repeal sections 36 and 37 of the Defamation Act 2009 which define the criminal offence of blasphemy.

We are also calling on the Government to take immediate action to coordinate state bodies’ responses to hate- and hostility-based crime and to bring forward legislation to protect from hate- and hostility-based crime.

Executive Director of the ICCL, Liam Herrick, said:

“During our campaign for a Yes vote, our guiding principle was respect for freedom of expression. However, we have also argued that the right to free speech is not absolute and should be limited to the degree necessary to protect people from hate- and hostility-motivated crime. Hate crime is something which is entirely different to blasphemy as it is directed towards individuals or groups, rather than ideas or institutions. There is no legislation in place to deal with hate crime in Ireland at the moment.”

Ireland is obliged by European and international human rights law to have in place a robust framework to respond to and prevent hate- and hostility-based crime. In April ICCL released a report which showed that Ireland is seriously deficient in addressing hate crime when compared to other EU member States. The Lifecycle of a Hate Crime: Country Report for Ireland shows that from the point at which a victim reports a crime to An Garda Síochána to the point at which a judge sentences an offender, the hate element of a crime is filtered out of the criminal justice process.

ENDS

For comment or queries:

Sinéad Nolan: sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162

The Life Cycle of a Hate Crime report is here: https://www.iccl.ie/hatecrime/

Emergency Laws, Counter Terrorism and Human Rights

On 21 November ICCL and INCLO will host the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, for a public event on counter-terrorism measures and their impact on human rights.

Prof Ní Aoláin is a leading global authority on emergency law and human rights, and is the only Irish UN mandate holder. She will give an overview of her work at the UN – which has included work on transparency and accountability in the global counter-terrorism architecture and ensuring counter-terrorism regulation is human right rights compliant. The latter has specifically included a focus on the rights to freedom of expression and association, intelligence agency oversight and integrating gender perspectives in countering terrorism. Prof Ní Aoláin will also touch on issues closer to home, including the ongoing use of emergency powers in ordinary law and special courts in Ireland.

To introduce the lecture, Prof Ní Aoláin will host a drinks reception and the Irish launch of two separate reports by INCLO and Privacy International detailing the need for regulation of global intelligence sharing. Both reports show that many countries, including Ireland, have little or no domestic legislation, oversight, or public disclosure regarding intelligence sharing agreements between states. As a result, key human rights are threatened, including the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of association.

Registration is free but essential: https://counterterrorismandhumanrights.eventbrite.ie

ICCL statement on Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan’s statement regarding the recording of Gardai on duty

17^th September 2018

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is seriously concerned by the Minister for Justice’s suggestion on the radio this morning that he supports legislation to outlaw the photographing of Gardai acting in the course of their duties.

While the criminal harassment or intimidation of Gardai is unacceptable, the general outlawing of photographing Gardai while on duty would be a grossly disproportionate response to the incidents that arise where technology is misused. A blanket restriction on freedom of expression, which would criminalise ordinary members of the public for sharing information about public events, is not the answer to the challenges that Gardai are called to deal with on a daily basis.

Only a week ago, we witnessed the importance of public access to images of Gardai on duty. The circulation of photographs of masked Gardai at the scene of a housing rights protest prompted widespread public debate about how An Garda Siochana goes about the policing of protest. The photographs led to a statement by the new Garda Commissioner that the Gardai had not acted in accordance with their own policies, and to the Garda Commissioner requesting a report on the incident. The events of last week demonstrate exactly why the Minister is wrong to suggest that this crucial mechanism of transparency should be outlawed.

As the ICCL has stated before, the rights to peaceful protest are fundamental to our democracy. These are the rights to freedom of belief, expression, association and assembly, and they are protected not only by the Irish Constitution but also by European and international human rights instruments to which Ireland is party.

An Garda Siochana is obliged to protect and facilitate individuals’ use of their rights to peacefully protest. Gardai are also obliged to police protest in a manner that only uses force to the degree that is absolutely necessary and proportionate.

The ability to record police operations during public protest is an essential safeguard to ensure that the Gardai comply with their human rights obligations. Transparency also protects police, in that it provides them with an avenue to demonstrate how they acted to uphold the law in difficult situations.

Time and time again, both in Ireland and abroad, we have witnessed how recordings of police behaviour during protests has helped to shine a light on violations of human rights obligations by police actors, and indeed violations of the law by private individuals where they occur. In many countries, police representatives are now required to wear body cameras themselves in order to ensure that they are accountable, and indeed protected, in their actions.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has published Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly which explain States’ obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights as established in ECHR case law.

The OSCE Guidelines state that:

The photographing or video recording of the policing operation by participants and other third parties should not be prevented, and any requirement to surrender film or digitally recorded images or footage to the law-enforcement agencies should be subject to prior judicial scrutiny.

During public assemblies the photographing or video recording of participants by law-enforcement personnel is permissible. However, while monitoring individuals in a public place for identification purposes does not necessarily give rise to interference with their right to private life, the recording of such data and the systematic processing or permanent nature of the record created and retained might give rise to violations of privacy. Moreover, photographing or making video recordings of assemblies for the purpose of gathering intelligence can discourage individuals from enjoying the freedom to assemble and should, therefore, not be done routinely.

Law-enforcement agencies should develop and publish a policy related to their use of overt filming/photography at public assemblies.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression has issued several reports calling attention to the increasing problem of arrests, censorship and violence towards ‘citizen journalists’ around the world. Reminding States of their obligation to respect the right to freedom of expression, the Special Rapporteur has stated:

Imprisoning individuals for seeking, receiving and imparting information and ideas can rarely be justified as a proportionate measure to achieve one of the legitimate aims under article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

… protection of national security or countering terrorism cannot be used to justify restricting the right to expression unless the Government can demonstrate that: (a) the expression is intended to incite imminent violence; (b) it is likely to incite such violence; and (c) there is a direct and immediate connection between the expression and the likelihood or occurrence of such violence.

Additionally, the Special Rapporteur reiterates that the right to freedom of expression includes expression of views and opinions that offend, shock or disturb. Moreover, as the Human Rights Council has also stated in its resolution 12/16, restrictions should never be applied, inter alia, to discussion of Government policies and political debate; reporting on human rights, Government activities and corruption in Government; engaging in election campaigns, peaceful demonstrations or political activities, including for peace or democracy; and expression of opinion and dissent, religion or belief, including by persons belonging to minorities or vulnerable groups.

The Special Rapporteur has further stated about citizen journalists that:

The importance of this new form of journalism cannot be underestimated… citizen journalists contribute to the creation of a richer diversity of views and opinions, including information about their communities and groups in need of particular attention.

INCLO welcomes historic win against UK mass surveillance regime

Strasbourg, 14 September 2018

In a landmark win for seven INCLO members, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the United Kingdom’s mass surveillance practices violate privacy and freedom of expression.

Led by Liberty, seven INCLO members joined a coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Strasbourg, France to challenge the legality of British and US intelligence agencies intercepting private communications en masse.

We initiated this case after Edward Snowden’s courageous 2013 revelations of the full extent our governments are willing to spy on us without reasonable suspicion.

Today, we celebrate the court’s historic findings that the UK’s system of communications interception was an unlawful breach of privacy. The UK’s regime for authorising mass interception was incapable of keeping their privacy “interference” to what is “necessary in a democratic society.”

INCLO parties in the case

The INCLO members joining a coalition of NGOs included:

Liberty, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU), Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), Legal Resources Centre South Africa (LRC).

Megan Goulding, Lawyer for Liberty, said:

“This is a major victory for the rights and freedom of people in the UK. It shows that there is – and should be – a limit to the extent that states can spy on their citizens. Our Government has built a surveillance regime more extreme than that of any other democratic nation, abandoning the very rights and freedoms terrorists want to attack. It can and must give us an effective, targeted system that protects our safety, data security and fundamental rights.”

Patrick Toomey, staff attorney, ACLU National Security Project, said:

“In a significant victory for privacy and free expression, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the UK government’s mass surveillance activities violate fundamental human rights standards. The decision sends a clear message that similar surveillance programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are also incompatible with human rights. Governments in Europe and the United States alike must take steps to reign in mass spying and adopt long overdue reforms that truly safeguard our privacy.”

Michael Bryant, Executive Director for the CCLA, said:

“CCLA is proud to share this victory for privacy and free expression rights with our colleagues around the world. Today’s decision at the ECtHR confirms that mass surveillance is incompatible with fundamental rights that are at the heart of strong democracies. Although the case addressed activities in the UK, this is a global issue that affects every nation and every person who communicates online. Canada now needs to look carefully at our own new national security legislation to ensure that our laws uphold the vital privacy and free expression principles at the center of this decision.”

Stefania Kapronczay, Executive Director for the HCLU, said:

“As a member of an international human rights network, the HCLU is thrilled to celebrate this milestone in privacy rights. Ever since Edward Snowden made visible the secretive nature of communications interception by government intelligence agencies, INCLO has been steadfastly advocating against this opaque practice. The court decision today is a vindication of all INCLO members’ efforts – and for privacy activists around the globe.”

Elizabeth Farries, Information Rights Project Manager for the ICCL, said:

“Why should we have to hide from snooping governments? Recognised under numerous instruments, treaties and international norms, privacy is our foundational right upon which many of our associated freedoms operate. The decision in Strasbourg recognises in part what INCLO’s Unanswered Questions – International Intelligence Sharing report also observes: Across INCLO member countries there are inadequate rules guiding the operation of state intelligence agencies.”

Tsanga Mukumba, Openness & Accountability Researcher for the LRC, said:

“Communications from an LRC email address were intercepted by the GCHQ in breach of our privacy rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The LRC represents some of the most vulnerable clients in South Africa; their right to confidentiality was violated. We applaud the Strasbourg ruling that UK laws enabling mass surveillance are a violation of Article 8 and look forward to using this important precedent to advance the right to privacy across Africa.”

ENDS

For media queries: Sinead Nolan sinead.nolan@iccl.ie 087 4157162

Senator Lynn Ruane launches bill for reform of Electoral Act with backing of campaign groups

Repeal the Censorship Act!

ICCL calls for immediate legislation for safe zones around abortion clinics

Open letter to An Taoiseach calling for Electoral Act reform

Protecting civil society while regulating political advertising

Sign up to the People’s Voice campaign for Electoral Act reform

Sign up to the campaign for Electoral Act reform here

Here are just some of the reasons why we are campaigning:

ICCL welcomes blasphemy vote, calls for hate crime legislation

ICCL statement on Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan’s statement regarding the recording of Gardai on duty

INCLO welcomes historic win against UK mass surveillance regime

Contact ICCL

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