15 March 2012

Statement of International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH)

United Nations Human Rights Council

Nineteenth session, 27 February - 23 March 2012

Item 6:

Consideration of UPR reports

Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: IRELAND

Madame President,

Your Rights Right Now is a coalition of Irish civil society organisations working on a broad range of human rights issues. You will have received our written statement submitted on our behalf by the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues.[1]

We welcome Ireland's positive engagement with the UPR process and clear acceptance of 91 recommendations of the UPR Working Group.[2]

However, we remain concerned about the declaration of 'partial acceptance' of 17 recommendations where it is not clear in what precise manner each recommendation has been accepted.[3]

Some important commitments were made during Ireland's UPR examination [4] but it is now time for those words to be translated into deeds.

We again urge the timely ratification of all core UN human rights instruments, especially those with strong monitoring mechanisms such as the CRPD[5] and OPCAT.[6] If Ireland is serious about ratifying these instruments, it should set out a clear timetable within which this will happen.

We remain concerned about Ireland's outright rejection of a number of recommendations, including those of our EU peers regarding the implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on access to abortion,[7] putting an end to ongoing religious discrimination in access to schools[8] and recognising Irish Travellers as an official ethnic minority group.[9]

Implementation of UPR recommendations is a true test of the depth of a country's commitment to its global human rights obligations. This is all the more important when a country aspires to human rights leadership abroad.

In her address to the High Level Segment of 19^th Session of the Council, Ireland's Minister for European Affairs Ms Lucinda Creighton TD stated that Ireland is seeking election to this Council later this year because "we profoundly believe that the [Human Rights] Council has an indispensable role to play in strengthening a culture of full respect for human rights".[10]

The time is now ripe for Ireland to demonstrate - through its domestic implementation of UPR recommendations - that it is fit to assume a global human rights leadership role.