HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE CONSIDERS REPORT OF IRELAND

The Human Rights Committee has considered the second periodic report of Ireland on how that State party is fulfilling its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Paul Gallagher, Attorney General of Ireland, introducing the report, said that, since the last report, Ireland has made significant advances. The present legal system in Ireland was extremely protective of human rights, through legislative, policy and other human rights sources. Ireland’s Constitution was one of the oldest in the world. It had been developed through judicial interpretation and had been interpreted to meet the more modern conception of human rights, giving it life and impact in real terms. Internationally, human rights were an essential element in the foreign affairs policy of Ireland. At the Government level, there was a concerted effort to implement the law, introduce new policies, ensure mechanisms for implementation were available and that the agencies set up to combat issues of human rights worked in conjunction with non-governmental organizations in the formulation of recommendations.

In preliminary concluding observations, Rafael Rivas Posada, Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, said that Committee Experts had raised a number of questions and concerns on what articles and rights in the Covenant were covered by domestic legislation in Ireland. Ireland considered that a state of emergency existed in the country and as such validated the existence and continued emergence of special courts. That had left doubts within the Committee as to what extent the State party could clearly uphold the established standards in the articles of the Covenant. On the subject of abortion and education a number of doubts and concerns remained. Also, whereas Ireland had made efforts to expand freedom of religion and expression, nonetheless concerns remained in regard to freedom of children and women which had influenced policies leading to equality and freedom of religion. Lastly, on the issue of imprisonment for civil debt, the delegation had repeatedly explained that the phenomenon did not exist. However, the delegation’s explanations had not been convincing, and the Covenant expressly prohibited imprisonment for debt.

Questions were raised by Committee Experts on a number of issues, including the reservations Ireland maintained to the Covenant; a lack of concrete statistical data; immigration detention periods; the situation and rights of illegal foreigners; the rights of rape victims; derogations on detention periods; cases of extraordinary rendition; laws on trafficking in persons; conditions of detention and in prison institutions; rights granted to individuals facing immigration charges; the rights of asylum-seekers; deportation regulations; and time-limits for pre-trial detention.

The Committee reviewed the report of Ireland over two meetings and will issue its concluding observations and recommendations at the end of the session on 25 July.

Ireland is one of the 161 States parties’ and 70 signatories to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is obligated to submit periodic reports on implementation of the provisions of the Covenant. It is also one of the 111 States parties’ of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, which provides for confidential consideration of communications from individuals who claim to be victims of violations of any rights proclaimed by the Covenant and it is one of the 66 State parties’ of the Second Optional Protocol, which is aimed at the abolition of the death penalty.

Ireland’s delegation, which presented the report, also included representatives from the Attorney General’s Office; the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform; the Irish Prison Service; the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit; the Secretary General’s Office; Corporate Services; the National Police; the Immigration Service; the Department of Justice; the Department of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The Committee will reconvene in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 July, when it is scheduled to consider a draft of General Comment on States parties’ obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Covenant.

Report of Ireland

The Employment Equality Act, 1998, and the Equal Status Act, 2000, are two examples detailed in the third periodic report of Ireland (CCPR/C/IRL/3) of the steps Ireland is taking to protect and promote the principles of equality and freedom from discrimination in the State. This legislation prohibits both direct and indirect discrimination in the areas of employment and access to goods and services on the grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community. However, chief among the measures the Government is taking is the establishment of a Human Rights Commission and the giving of further effect in Irish law to the European Convention on Human Rights.

In the context of the Agreement reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations on Northern Ireland in 1998, the report notes the comparable and complementary steps undertaken by the Irish and British Governments to further strengthen the protection of human rights in their respective jurisdictions. The most important outcomes in this regard are the establishment of Human Rights Commissions in the North and South of the island and the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law in both jurisdictions, which gives effect to the Convention in Irish law. The Act provides for rights under the Convention to be pleaded directly before Irish Courts and tribunals rather than cases having to be taken before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Presentation of Report

PAUL GALLAGHER, Attorney General of Ireland, introducing the report, said that, since the last report, Ireland has made significant advances. The present legal system in Ireland was extremely protective of human rights, through legislative, policy and other human rights sources. Ireland’s Constitution was one of the oldest in the world. It had been developed through judicial interpretation and had been interpreted to meet the more modern conception of human rights, giving it life and impact in real terms. In addition to the Constitution, since 2003, the Government of Ireland had incorporated, at a sub constitutional level, the European Convention on Human Rights and organs of the State have acted in compatibility with that international agreement. Every court that applied the law of the land had to do so in the context of the Constitution, and had to give effect to the Constitution in declaring laws compatible with it. Effect had been given to Constitutional rights in private litigation as well.

Further, internationally, human rights were an essential element in the foreign affairs policy of Ireland, Mr. Gallagher continued. The Government regarded the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights as integral to the working and success of the United Nations itself. At the Government level, there was a concerted effort to implement the law, introduce new policies, ensure mechanisms for implementation were available and that the agencies set up to combat issues of human rights worked in conjunction with non-governmental organizations in the formulation of recommendations.

Mr. Gallagher said that the Government was currently reviewing its reservations to the Covenant. With regard to the Committee’s concerns regarding the Garda Síochána (the national police), the Government was committed to improving. Ireland would continue to attach vitality, invoke and give effect to the spirit of the law.


Replies of the Government of Ireland

Constitutional and Legal Framework within which the Covenant and the Optional Protocol are Implemented

The delegation said that Ireland had a dualist legal system and as such any international agreements it was party to would not be automatically incorporated into domestic law. To implement an international agreement would require a change to the Constitution which in turn required a referendum to be put to the electorate. Where national law did not cover the requirements of the international agreement the necessary means to secure compliance were considered. Many of the fundamental human rights contained within the Covenant were part of the domestic law of Ireland by virtue of provisions in the Constitution of Ireland. An example of where the Covenant had been referred to in the courts was in the context of immigration law.

Turning to Ireland’s reservations to the Covenant, the delegation observed that Ireland had continued to make progress towards full implementation of the principles in Article 10, paragraph 2 (providing for separation of detainees based on their status) with a high percentage of the daily average of unconvicted prisoners accommodated at a designated remand facility. Ireland had also begun to withdraw all children aged 18 and younger out of the prison system and placed them at appropriate remand detention facilities as required by the provisions of the Covenant. Further, a new prison rule has been enforced allowing prisoners to request legal representation at any time.

Concerning the reservation to Article 14 (equal treatment before the courts), the Defence Act 2007 had introduced a number of improvements in military discipline, the delegation said. Most important had been the establishment of an independent judicial military office in charge of sentencing. The Act was designed to ensure that the conduct of military trials were fully compatible with Article 14 of the Covenant.

With regard to Article 19 (freedom of expression and opinion) reservations and the Irish broadcasting service, a number of changes had been made. The Broadcasting Bill has been put before the Irish Parliament (Oireachtas) and it was hoped to withdraw the reservation at least in part when the Bill was enacted. Further, diversity in media ownership was ensured and taken account of with the new Bill.

The delegation noted that in respect to Article 20 (prohibition against war propaganda and incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence), the Government remained reserved, because the State already met all the requirements outlined in the article prohibiting any propaganda for war and any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

Non-discrimination and Equal Rights of Women and Men

The delegation said that the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence had been established in June 2007 as an executive office of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform with a cross-government mandate. The National Office’s key responsibility was to ensure the delivery of a well coordinated Government response to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and it carried out that responsibility by facilitating action for the protection of victims as well as the prevention of those crimes and the provision of services for those affected. The early priorities for the National Office had included the implementation of a Priority Research Programme which had laid a foundation for effective strategies to address domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. The Health Service Executive had also funded 16 Rape Crisis Centres, 20 shelters and 25 support services, all providing services to victims of domestic or sexual violence. In 2007, €4.5 million had been allocated from the Department of Health and Children to the Health Service Executive for Violence against Women services.

Fundamental progress had been made with the new National Women’s Strategy, which had recently been established and built on its predecessor, the National Plan for Women 2002, the delegation continued. The National Women’s Strategy had been established to address the issues that remained to be addressed on the road to full equality between men and women in Ireland, over the period 2007 to 2016. It aimed to equalize socio-economic opportunities for women; ensure their well-being and engage women as equal and active citizens. A funding package of €58.64 million has been set aside in the National Development Plan 2007–2013 to implement the Strategy. This funding was in addition to the €68 million set aside for positive actions under the Equality for Women Measure, which was also in the National Development Plan. Implementation of the Strategy was overseen by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in collaboration with an Inter-Departmental Committee which met twice yearly. The Committee would also report to a cross-sectoral monitoring committee, which also included key State agencies and the social partners, under the chairmanship of the Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, Disability and Mental Health.

Furthermore, the Government had committed, in the Agreed Programme for Government, to legislating for civil partnerships as early as possible. The Heads of a Civil Partnership Bill, which had provided a registration mechanism for same-sex couples who choose to register their relationship and for the consequences of registration, had been drafted and was expected to go to Government on 24 June 2008 for approval to draft the Bill, the delegation added.

Counter-Terrorism Measures and Respect of Covenant Guarantees

The delegation said that the primary purpose of the introduction of the Criminal Justice Act 2005 had been to give effect in Irish law to the various international instruments aimed at counteracting terrorism, particularly in the changed circumstances that had characterised the international environment since September 2001. Ireland's legislation had not adopted the approach of defining terrorism. In keeping with the approach adopted over the years in Irish law, the criminalization of terrorism had focused on the various offences involved and Irish legislation attributed a special character to those offences where they were carried out in the context of terrorist or terrorist-linked activity. The definitions of "terrorist activity" and "terrorist-linked activity" and the offences for the purposes of those definitions were clearly set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2005. The offences which were set out in the Act were offences under Irish law. The Offences Against the State Acts 1939-1998 derogated from the general law in providing for the possibility of detention in custody for a period of up to 72 hours prior to being charged in connection with the commission of certain offences.

The delegation noted that the Government was completely opposed to the practice of extraordinary renditions. The Government had made clear that any person with credible information that Irish airports had been used for any alleged unlawful purpose should immediately report their concerns to the national police (Garda Síochána) which would have responsibility for investigating such matters.

With regard to the matter of the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry into extraordinary renditions, it had been extensively debated in the Houses of the Oireachtas, with both Houses had passed motions supporting the Government’s policy in the area. Further, the Hederman Committee had been established to examine all aspects of the Offences against the State Acts, 1939-98, taking into account the view of the participants to the multi-party negotiations that the development of a peaceful environment on the basis of the Agreement reached on 10 April 1998 could and should mean a normalization of security arrangements and practices, as well as the threat posed by international terrorism and organized crime and Ireland’s obligations under international law.

Right to Life

With regard to issues surrounding the right to life, the delegation said that the referendum on abortion in 1992 and the subsequent referendum in 2002 had proposed amendments to the Constitution, which had failed. Following the referendum the Government of Ireland had established the Crisis Pregnancy Agency as part of a strategy to combat crisis pregnancies. The mandate of the Agency was to achieve a reduction in the number of crisis pregnancies by the provision of education, advice and contraceptive services; to achieve a reduction in the number of women with crisis pregnancies who opted for abortion by offering services and supports which made other options more attractive; and the provision of counselling and medical services and other health services after crisis pregnancy. The Agency’s first Strategy was published in November 2003 and covered the period 2004-2006. The strategy highlighted the actions necessary to prevent crisis pregnancies, to support those with crisis pregnancies and to provide counselling and medical services to women after a crisis pregnancy. On 19 November 2007 the Agency published a second strategy, setting out its objectives for the period 2007-2011.


Prohibition of Torture, Prohibition of Slavery, Security of the Person and the Right Not to be Subjected to Arbitrary Detention, and Treatment of Detainees

The delegation noted that the newly established National Police (Garda Síochána) Ombudsman Commission was statutorily independent in the exercise of its functions. Furthermore, neither a member nor a former member of the Garda Síochána could be a member of the Commission. The Commission had been well resourced with almost 100 staff. That was five times the staffing complement of its predecessor, the Garda Síochána Complaints Board. In addition to the staffing component, the Commission had an independent investigative capacity which included considerable professional expertise.

The Ombudsman Commission was empowered directly to investigate all complaints, and had to directly investigate complaints concerning the death of, or serious harm to, a person in Garda Síochána custody. Designated officers of the Ombudsman Commission have been given Garda powers of investigation for those purposes. The Ombudsman Commission could also refer complaints to the Garda Commissioner for investigation, with or without supervision, the delegation added.

The delegation noted that, in the Commission’s first year of operation, from 9 May 2007, a total of 2,905 complaints had been made by members of the public. Of those, 746 had been deemed inadmissible. There had been 294 referrals made by the Garda Commissioner relating to incidents where the Commissioner was of the view that the conduct of a police officer might have resulted in the death of or serious harm to a person. Of these referrals, six related to deaths in or following Garda custody or following Garda contact, and 11 related to deaths arising from road traffic incidents.

The delegation said that prison reforms have been implemented throughout the island since the adoption of the Prisons Bill 2006 on 31 March 2007. The Prisons Act 2007 provided a legislative basis for the drafting of new prison rules and in that context the Prison Rules 2007 came into effect on 1 October 2007. The Prison Rules provide a modern regulatory framework for the governance of Irish prisons and reflected the provisions of the European Prison Rules and modern best practice in the area. The Government had also addressed overcrowding in prisons by increasing the spaces available and plans to erect new holdings.

In response to the Committee’s request to identify measures and programmes to address victims of human trafficking, the Government had responded with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit which had been established in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Unit worked to ensure that the State response to trafficking in human beings was coordinated, comprehensive and holistic. A key element of the strategy was the development of a National Action Plan to Prevent and Tackle Trafficking in Human Beings, to be approved by the High Level Group for submission to the Minister. The Plan was being developed under four main headings: protection of victims; child trafficking; prevention and awareness-raising; and prosecution of traffickers. The objective was to have the plan drafted and ready for submission to the Minister by the end of 2008 with a view to publication when approved by the Minister and Government as soon as possible thereafter.

Imprisonment for Failure to Fulfil a Contractual Obligation

The delegation said that the Government of Ireland did not have legislation providing for criminal sanctions or imprisonment for failure to fulfil a contractual obligation. Imprisonment for non-payment of debt was abolished in Ireland by the Debtors Act 1872. However, refusal to fulfil a contractual obligation or pay a contractual debt might amount to civil contempt of court, for which imprisonment could be imposed. A total of 8 people were in custody in Ireland for non-payment of debt out of a population of 3,574 of the prison population.

Expulsion of Aliens and Right to a Fair Trial

The delegation noted that following the General election in May 2007, the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2007 had not been restored to the business of the Irish Parliament. In January 2008 a revised Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2008, incorporating much of the substance of the 2007 Bill, had been elaborated. That Bill was currently before the Irish Parliament.

In response to Committee concerns reagarding the Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004, in particular with regard to a January 2003 Supreme Court ruling that the foreign national parent of an Irish-born child did not have an automatic entitlement to remain in Ireland with the child, the delegation said that the Parliament had subsequently proposed an amendment to the Constitution which had been approved by the people by way of referendum. The amendment introduced stipluated that any person born in Ireland, which included its islands and seas, who did not have at least one parent at the time of brith who was an Irish citizen or entitled to be an Irish citizen was not entitled to Irish citizenship or nationality, unless provided for by law. Further, addressing the situation of the parents of a child born in Ireland on or before 31 December 2004, an administrative arrangement was put in place in early 2005 that processed those applications for residency on a case-by-case basis. Of a total of 17,917 applications, 16,984 had been granted permission to reside in Ireland.

Rights of Minorities

The delegation noted that Ireland attached great importance to immigration and immigrants rights. Ireland welcomed the diversity brought by the immigrant groups, and 180 countries were represented in Ireland. Over 300,000 immigrants had entered Ireland since 1995. The Immigration Bill 2008, which was being reviewed, was one example of what steps the Government had taken in the protection and promotion of immigrants’ rights. As part of efforts to address concerns in the immigration area was the introduction on 8 June 2008 of a new Anti-Human Trafficking Act, which gave effect to the Government of Ireland’s responsibility in the European Union. It also provided for the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, which had been established to implement a national strategy.

Ireland prioritized the production of a national strategy on sexual and gender-based violence with all relevant stakeholders. Ireland had also continued its progress in introducing measures for the rights of travellers, who were specifically protected in a number of pieces of legislation. Moreover discrimination against them was wholly prohibited by the Constitution. Moreover, the national partnership agreement “Towards 2016 Agreement” aimed to give concentrated attention to achieving greater progress for Travellers.

Oral Questions by Experts

Committee Experts then raised a number of subjects of concern and requests for further information on a variety of issues, including a lack of practical statistics; the fact that the Covenant had not been integrated in Irish law, and difficulties in effecting the direct application of the provisions of the Covenant in Ireland; non-governmental organization involvement in the National Office for the Prevention of Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence, and monitoring mechanisms for that body; and lacunae in the Civil Partnership Bill, which did not cover taxation, social welfare and parenting issues.

While praising the creation of the Ombudsman Commission as a great achievement, Experts asked for more details with regard to the investigative powers of the Commission, and what happened after an investigation had been made. Specifically, what kinds of complaints had been made in relation to police abuse, particularly in cases that had involved interrogation? Noting that a total of 2 to 3 per cent of the cases where interrogation was used were not video recorded, the delegation was requested to provide more information about complaints made in those cases versus complaints made in cases where video recordings were used. On the issue of over crowding in prisons, an Expert suggested that it would be useful to have a sense on an institution-by-institution basis how serious the situation of over crowding was.

With regard to immigration, to what extent were border guards and/or immigration officers alerted to the issues that people entering the country might not only be ordinary tourists, that they might be actually seeking work in Ireland? In that connection, concern was expressed about the provisions of the Immigration, Residence and Protection Bill 2007, specifically pertaining to the rights of foreigners who were unlawfully in Ireland. It appeared to be the case under the bill that there were two classes of illegal foreigners before the law in Ireland: those who had entered Ireland and had made a claim to the Immigration Office and were declined; and those who had clandestinely entered the country and who had avoided the Immigration Office. In the latter case, the individual was granted 15 days to seek representation, whereas in the former no such time period was granted, which did not seem satisfactory.

As Ireland did not yet have a concrete definition of terrorism, how did one understand an activity to be terrorist, an Expert asked? Further, could the delegation give concrete examples of how terrorism was tackled in reference to detention, access to lawyers, length of detention and frequency in which these offences have been dealt with. In regard to the delegations written responses on derogations on detention periods in which the period was extended from 48 to 72 hours, the delegation asked how those derogations were compatible with the requirements set out in article 4 of the Covenant, which expressly provided that derogations could only be made if a state of emergency had been declared.

There were concrete cases of rendition which had taken place at Shannon Airport in which the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been involved. Moreover, in several instances in the past the Council of Europe had expressed concerns on the use of that airport for renditions, for example, in the case of Khaled al-Maqtari who had been taken from the airport in Ireland to Afghanistan. Why was it not possible for Irish officials to search aircraft which were operated by the CIA? Why did one have to rely on reports and inquire after an event had taken place, the Expert asked? Further, if as it was mentioned in the written replies of the delegation, that Ireland was neutral, it must bear in mind that diplomatic assurances even at the highest level could not be relied on, and it was asked, why even now was it not possible to inquire about cases of a serious nature that had already taken place?

While noting the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, which was established as part of a strategy to combat crisis pregnancies, an Expert wondered why there was no mention of the right to abortion in this context. Was it possible for victims of rape to have an abortion or did they to leave the country to do so? Did the Government contemplate any legislation in order to give some form of guarantee to Irish and immigrant women to enable them to have an abortion to remove risk to their life? Serious concern was noted on the lack of work in this area and the compatibility of Irish law with the Covenant in this respect.

With regard to the detention of asylum-seekers, the adoption of the Immigration Act 2003 had provided for the period of detention increased from 10 days to 21 days, but an Expert noted that the 21-day period was not an absolute limit. What was in fact the actual limit of the detention period of an asylum-seeker? Moreover, it was noted that many immigrants were detained in prisons, and the Committee would like to have details on how many such detainees there were and for how long they had been detained. In the cases of persons who had died in prison who had been detained on immigration charges, what were the conditions to which those individuals had been exposed and what rights were granted to them?

Concerning debt imprisonment legislation, the delegation had said that only eight people had been imprisoned for debt, but other sources had revealed to the Committee that in fact 1,000 people were in jail for debt and thousands more were facing trials for such charges. What was the real situation? With regard to legal aid, the delegation was requested to provide more information, including the number of requests over a three-year period and the number of requests rejected.

It was noted that Ireland had made great strides with regards to freedom of religion and conviction. However, the Committee would be interested to hear an estimate of the religious make-up of the population in Ireland, focusing on religions and sensitivities other than the Catholic religion. With the influx of foreigners had Ireland seen many conversions? Had there been new places of worship built for non-Catholic communities that had sprouted up in Ireland in the past few decades?

An Expert was concerned that article 41 of the Irish Constitution, which provided that the State “recognizes that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home”, was contrary to the Covenant.

An Expert asked if Ireland allowed non-governmental organizations and other members of civil society to bring human rights cases on behalf the poorer members of society who might not be aware of their rights?


Response by the Delegation of Ireland to Oral Questions from Committee Experts

Responding to the questions just put, the delegation said that, social welfare benefits for civil partnership would be dealt with in specific legislation which would follow from the primary legislation mentioned in the written replies. That represented a very dramatic and positive step for Ireland.

Regarding the Committee’s concern about the operation of the Special Criminal Court in a situation of emergency, which posed a threat to public order, the delegation noted that Ireland continued to report activity on the part of dissident groups and gangs who sought to undermine the judicial system and if that continued, the Government would continue to enforce such courts.

On questions pertaining to the prisons’ building plan, the delegation pointed out that prisons had been designed with the primary purpose of replacing existing institutions that could not provide the safe and humane conditions required and was not in fact for the purpose of expansion. Further, an independent prison inspector had been appointed to follow-up and assess those institutions.

The Government of Ireland had signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on Torture in September 2007 and had its implementation was under active consideration. As a response so far, 15 new bodies had been established with general oversight responsibilities in one form or another in the prison system. In terms of these various bodies, there was a delicate balance in exercising stewardship. The Government had discussed whether the bodies would be consolidated into one oversight body or if there would be a decrease in the current number and if the structure itself was appropriate; there was no indication as of yet however as to the steps the Government would take in that regard.

Regarding extraordinary renditions, the delegation said that. in the case involving the United States, the Government of Ireland had been given the highest level of assurances from the Secretary of State and the President of the United States of America in that case. For a foreign State to retain an individual on the territory of Ireland assurances could be made. The assurances received were specific, categorical and consultative, and the Government of Ireland remained assured in the cases involving the United States Government. Further, there had to be reasonable suspicion before an aircraft could be searched. Ireland had not been a centre in which people had been brought. Ireland was the first country to review the Chicago Convention where it established rules of airspace, aircraft, aircraft registration and safety, and details the rights of the signatories in relation to air travel. Further, the Department of Transport in Ireland had hosted a meeting to deal with the issue of military aircraft. Investigations have been made and in those cases, and no unlawful activity had been found. The police service had investigated any issue that may be assumed to be unlawful in accordance with national and international law.

The delegation said, in response to concerns regarding the ethnic and religious demographic of Ireland, a number of nationalities have been identified and the Government had funded classes for individuals to learn their mother tongue if they so chose, and the right to appeal for such funding if it did not already exist.

The delegation said that, among individuals committed to prison for debt, a large number of the cases included individuals charged who had paid at the moment when imprisonment became a real possibility. A great many of the people who refused to pay debts had done so based on family disputes. Further, the figure of the number of persons imprisoned for debt was and always had been less than 0.002 percent of the prison population. It was an extremely low number.

Ireland had continued to raise awareness on the issue of domestic violence and to prosecute perpetrators. Some 10,000 complaints had been made annually with more than 60 per cent of complaints accepted. The figures for refused complaints had decreased.

In terms of incorporation of the Covenant in Irish law and the particular difficulties posed with regard to Ireland’s Constitution to implement the Covenant at a constitutional level, the delegation noted that the European Convention on Human Rights only had a sub-constitutional level of implementation in Ireland. The Constitution contained a number of protections which were covered in the Covenant. In future they would provide a table to clearly identify the provisions of the Constitution and its relation to the Covenant.

In relation to Article 26 of the Covenant (equality before the law; equal protection), the Government had in fact addressed the protection of those rights in the Constitution and some specific legislation of recent date were the Employment Quality Act and the Equality Act of 2004. With regard to the concerns about all citizens having the right to vote, it was noted that all citizens had the right to vote, and as such the right to vote was based on residency requirements. Further, formerly the Constitution granted citizenship to all born on the island including Northern Ireland. In addition, for centuries there had been substantial immigration into Ireland, and anyone who wished to stand for elections and participate in political life in Ireland were granted that right.

The delegation said that the Government continued to hold the position that Article 41 of the Constitution did not stigmatize or impose obligations on women, and it equally viewed the role of women and men in the home. With regard to immigration officers’ level of awareness to recognize the indicators of trafficking in persons, the delegation noted a number of training programmes and resources aimed at identifying those indicators and ensuring that officers are prepared to deal with such issues.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

RAFAEL RIVAS POSADA, Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee, in preliminary concluding observations, highlighted that a number of points and concerns raised by the committee were still pending responses and, as promised by the head of the delegation, would be supplemented and provided in writing at a later date. The Committee would continue to follow step-by-step the human rights situation in Ireland.

Committee Experts had raised a number of questions and concerns on what articles and rights in the Covenant were covered by domestic legislation in Ireland, Mr. Rivas Posada noted. There was an indirect system of referring to the Covenant and the articles covered in the Covenant. Reference had been made to the language used in the famous Article 41 of the Constitution, which was in direct opposition to the Covenant. It seemed that there was still remnants of the traditional culture in Ireland, which played down the role of women in society and such Constitutional articles might be a symptom of that.

Mr. Rivas Posada observed that Ireland considered that a state of emergency existed in Ireland and as such validated the existence and continued emergence of special courts. That had left doubts within the Committee as to what extent the State party could clearly uphold the established standards in the articles of the Covenant.

On the subject of abortion and education a number of doubts and concerns remained, Mr. Rivas Posada continued. Also, whereas Ireland had made efforts to expand freedom of religion and expression, nonetheless, concerns remained in regard to freedom of children and women which had influenced policies leading to equality and freedom of religion. Lastly, on the issue of imprisonment for civil debt, the delegation had repeatedly explained that the phenomenon did not exist. Nonetheless, it was an obligation imposed by the judge and if not upheld under civil contempt charges an individual might go to prison. That explanation was not convincing to the Committee and that provision was in direct violation of Article 14 of the Covenant which prohibited imprisonment for debt.


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