I
Introduction
In recent years, the Irish Government has
taken a number of practical steps to implement its human rights
policy both within Ireland and in the context of its foreign policy.
In the absence of any detailed public review of the Government’s
human rights policy, Amnesty International Irish Section has produced
this audit of the efficacy of the Government’s policy. The audit
seeks answers to one principal question: does the State’s
domestic and foreign policy comply with international human rights
standards?
The State is under an obligation to fully comply with legally binding treaties to which it is a party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In addition the State should follow non-binding standards which carry political force and complement human rights treaties.
II
Assessment of compliance with international
obligations
The audit’s examination of domestic
policy focuses on the degree to which the State protects the right to
freedom from ill-treatment, the right to seek asylum and the right to
a fair trial, against the benchmark of applicable international human
rights law and standards. In its assessment of foreign policy, the
audit evaluates the State’s recent participation in an
intergovernmental organisation. These aspects of domestic and foreign
policy were selected having regard to both Amnesty
International’s mandate and the time and resource limitations of
this auditing exercise. It is hoped that this “sampling
approach” will highlight issues of acute and immediate concern
and demonstrate the merit of such auditing exercises.
A Domestic
policy
The right to freedom from ill-treatment
Amnesty International identifies a number of
positive steps taken by the State to enhance the protection of the
right to freedom from ill-treatment including the initiation of the
Garda (police) human rights initiative 1999-2000 and the phased
nationwide introduction of audio/video recording of police
interviews. However, the organisation also identifies a number of
areas where the State falls short of compliance with international
human rights standards. These areas include the lack of a fully
independent police complaints procedure and the absence of effective
safeguards to prevent the ill-treatment of prisoners. Amnesty
International proposes a number of recommendations aimed at
rectifying non-compliant legislation and
practice.
The right to seek asylum
Amnesty International has welcomed the
establishment of the asylum determination procedure on a statutory
footing under the Refugee Act, as amended. However, the organisation
is concerned that certain aspects of the Act fail to comply with
international human rights standards. In particular, Amnesty
International considers that the provisions relating to the grounds
for the detention of asylum-seekers and the prescribed places of
detention under the Act do not comply with the ECHR and standards set
by the Council of Europe. In addition,
the organisation
considers that limitations on access to the Courts for asylum-seekers
and certain aspects of the asylum determination procedure fail to
comply with international human rights standards. Amnesty
International addresses recommendations to the Government, Judiciary,
relevant Statutory authorities and the Irish Human Rights Commission
aimed at rendering domestic law and practice compliant with
international human rights standards.
The audit focuses solely on the operation of
the Offences Against the State Acts 1939-1998 (the OAS Acts). Amnesty
International considers that certain powers which the OAS Acts vest
in the State including the establishment of a Special Criminal Court
and the power to intern persons without trial are not in accordance
with international human rights standards. In addition, the
organisation considers that certain provisions of the OAS Acts
violate the right to be presumed innocent and the right not to be
compelled to testify against oneself. While welcoming the initiation
by the Government of a review of the OAS Acts, the organisation has
expressed concern at the delay in the publication of the outcome of
the review and the continuing operation of the OAS Acts. Amnesty
International proposes a number of recommendations to the Review
Committee and to the Government regarding its specific concerns.
In its examination of foreign policy, the audit identifies the sources of the obligation to promote and protect human rights in foreign policy and examines the reasons why the State should respect international human rights standards in the conduct of its external relations. As a small State, Ireland’s capacity to exercise influence in bilateral relations may be limited; however, Ireland has sought to exercise influence in its foreign policy through leadership in intergovernmental organisations such as the United Nations (UN). The audit concentrates on this dimension of State’s foreign policy, which is of great current relevance given Ireland’s membership of the UN Security Council from 2001 to 2003.
Leadership in international organisations
The audit evaluates Ireland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the decision-making body of the Council of Europe, from November 1999 to May 2000. The Presidency gave the State an opportunity to advance its human rights policy within the Council of Europe. Amnesty International is concerned that, under the Irish Presidency, the Committee of Ministers failed to take any effective action against the Russian Federation, a Member State of the Council of Europe, as the crisis in Chechnya unfolded. Opportunities for action which the Committee of Ministers could have taken are identified, and possible reasons for its inaction are examined. In the light of these considerations, the audit reflects on why the State failed to capitalise on its influential position as president of the Committee of Ministers.
This analysis aims to provide a “useful lessons learned” exercise for Ireland’s membership of the UN Security Council. In addition, Amnesty International recommends that systematic monitoring of the conduct of foreign policy should be carried out including the possible publication of an annual report on human rights. Such monitoring is essential if past mistakes are to be avoided and policy makers held accountable for their decisions.
A
The Human Rights Unit of the Department of Foreign
Affairs
Amnesty International supports the work of the
Human Rights Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
participates on the Unit’s NGO consultative committee. However,
the organisation has long considered that, due to a lack of human
resources and a mandate clearly defining its role and powers the
Human Rights Unit is not in a position to perform its functions
effectively. Amnesty International recommends that the Government
carry out a review of the role of the Human Rights Unit and its two
committees. Such a review should clearly define the Unit’s
central role in mainstreaming human rights policy into the
formulation of foreign policy and, in the interests of transparency,
propose that the work of the Unit’s two committees be published.
B
Dáil Éireann
The monitoring role of Dáil
Éireann (the Irish Parliament) could also be enhanced. Amnesty
International considers that the Parliamentary Committees on Foreign
Affairs and on Justice, Equality and Law Reform could exploit their
mandates to a far greater extent and could play a more significant
role in monitoring the effectiveness of the Government’s human
rights policy. In particular, the organisation invites both
Committees to consider publishing annual or thematic human rights
reports.
C
Ratification of additional Human Rights
Treaties
Amnesty International recommends that the
Government immediately proceed with the ratification of the UN
Convention against Torture (CAT).
IV
The Irish Human Rights Commission
Amnesty International welcomes the recent
establishment of the Irish Human Rights Commission and looks forward
to assisting the Commission in whatever way it can. The organisation
has addressed a number of “start up” recommendations to the
Commission concerning funding, the need for consultation with civil
society and the recruitment of a qualified secretariat. With regard
to the development of a programme of work for the Commission, Amnesty
International has identified a number of areas of concern which the
organisation considers merit the Commission’s immediate or
longer-term attention. These areas of concern involve the protection
of the right to freedom from ill-treatment, the right to seek asylum
and the right to a fair trial. Amnesty International recommends
specific action that the Commission might consider taking in order to
tackle non-compliance with international human rights standards in
respect of these three rights.