<< Previous section of the Audit

Back to the table of contents of the Audit

Back to the HRC Homepage

V. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

A. The right to freedom from ill-treatment

B. The right to seek asylum

C. The right to a fair trial

D. Monitoring the conduct of foreign policy

E. Strengthening the mechanisms charged with implementing human rights policy

F. Recommendations to the Human Rights Commission

A         The right to freedom from ill-treatment

1          Recommendations addressed to the Government

a) Garda Síochána

• The Garda Human Rights Working Group should be provided with the necessary mandate and resources to continue to make an effective contribution to the new Council of Europe programme, Police and Human Rights, Beyond 2000.

·        The necessary means should be made available to ensure the effective implementation of key elements of the action plan drawn up by the Garda Human Rights Working Group, including human rights training and the carrying out of a human rights audit of policing policies, processes and procedures.

• Statutory provision should be made for a fully independent police complaints procedure. The procedure to be introduced – which might usefully be modelled on the Office of Police Ombudsman[1] which has recently been introduced in Northern Ireland – should include the following elements:

§         investigation of all complaints by external investigators who are wholly independent of the Gardaí;

§         the power to initiate an investigation even in the absence of a specific complaint;

§         an independent investigation to be automatically triggered whenever a person in police custody dies, or there is reason to believe that a person’s death may have occurred as the result of the behaviour of a police officer.[2]

• The Government should introduce a right for persons in police custody to have a lawyer present during police interrogations.

b) Prisons

• Expedited steps should be taken to introduce a modern framework for the management of prisons in Ireland, including:

•  
• the introduction, at the earliest possible opportunity, of a Prison Service Act, making provision, inter alia, for an independent Inspectorate of Prisons and restructured Visiting Committees;

•  
• the introduction, without any further delay, of new Prison Rules;[3]

•  
• An independent inquiry should be carried out into whether the manner in which complaints against prison officers have been investigated has, in the past, led to certain officers enjoying impunity in respect of the acts of ill-treatment against prisoners in which they may have engaged.  In the context of that inquiry, particular attention should be paid to the lessons which can be learnt from the manner in which the above-mentioned investigation into allegations of ill-treatment at Limerick Prison was conducted. Amnesty International wishes to stress that, should such an inquiry find that certain prison officers have enjoyed impunity in respect of their actions, it remains incumbent upon the State to find a means to open disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings against the officers concerned. The inquiry should also examine the complaints procedures and make recommendations for ensuring that complaints can be impartially, independently and thoroughly investigated; the inquiry could also examine the need to establish a Prison Ombudsperson.

c) Ratification of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT)

• The Government should ratify the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) without delay.

2          Recommendations addressed to the Human Rights Commission

• Further to its functions described in Article 8 (a) and (d) of the Human Rights Commission Act,[4] the Commission should carefully scrutinise the CPT’s 1993 and 1998 reports and the responses of the Government, with a view to identifying areas where further action is required to prevent ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty. In this connection, Amnesty International recommends that the Commission call for the establishment of a fully independent police complaints procedure on a statutory basis.

B         The right to seek asylum

1          Recommendations addressed to the Government and the Refugee Applications Commissioner 

a) Asylum determination procedure

·        Amnesty International believes that interpretation facilities should be available throughout all stages of the asylum determination procedure in line with the international standards elaborated by the UNHCR and the EU. Amnesty International urges the Government and the Refugee Applications Commissioner to ensure that access to competent, qualified and impartial interpreters is guaranteed in line with international standards.[5]

·        In the absence of any reference to the provision of gender-specific interpretation during interviews in the Refugee Act, as amended, Amnesty International recommends that guidelines be elaborated to supplement the relevant domestic legislation in line with UNHCR guidelines[6] which call for the provision of access to female interviewers and interpreters.[7]

• Amnesty International recommends that human rights training should be established as a requirement for all those involved in the asylum determination procedure.

• Amnesty International urges the Refugee Applications Commissioner to ensure that access to objective, independent country information is made available to all officials involved in the determination procedure, in line with international standards elaborated in this field.[8]

·        The State should strictly apply Section 5 of the Refugee Act, as amended, which prohibits the return of an asylum-seeker to a country where he or she may face serious assault (including of a sexual nature), and ensure that officials take the risk of persecution by non-state actors fully into account during the asylum determination procedure.

·        Amnesty International recommends that the Refugee Applications Commissioner develop guidelines for officials so as to ensure that circumstances pertaining in the receiving State in respect of each and every individual returned to another EU state under the Dublin Convention are investigated. Such guidelines would constitute an essential safeguard against refoulement.

b) Detention

·        Amnesty International recommends that the State refrain from detaining asylum-seekers on grounds which the organisation considers fail to comply with the ECHR. Any asylum-seekers detained should be informed of the reasons for their detention and of their rights in a language they understand. Asylum seekers should never be detained alongside ordinary prisoners or criminal suspects.

2          Recommendations addressed to the judiciary

·        Amnesty International recommends that the judiciary refrain from applying the fourteen day time limit in respect of asylum-seekers applying for  judicial review of decisions concerning them further to the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000.

3          Recommendations addressed to the Human Rights Commission

• the Commission should keep under review the adequacy of refugee legislation and procedures and make appropriate recommendations to the Government as regards compliance with Ireland’s human rights obligations as defined in Section 2 of the Human Rights Commission Act.[9]

• the Commission should, in accordance with its function set out in Article 8(a) of the Human Rights Commission Act, keep the asylum determination procedure under review.[10]

• The Commission should closely monitor any application of the fourteen day time limit for judicial review provided for under the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000.

• Further to Article 8(a) of the Human Rights Commission Act, the Commission should keep under review any instances of detention of asylum-seekers or refugees.

• Amnesty International recommends that the Commission fully exercise its mandate in respect of the vindication of the rights of asylum-seekers and refugees. To this end, the organisation suggests that the Commission seek representation on the Refugee Advisory Board in order to contribute to the direction of policy and illustrate its operational commitment in this area.

C         The right to a fair trial

1                      Recommendations addressed to the Committee to Review the Offences Against the State Acts 1939 - 1998 and Related Matters  [11]

·        The Review Committee should publish its findings without delay.

• The Review Committee should urge the Government to make a proclamation to disestablish the Special Criminal Court. If Part V of the OAS Act 1939 is not repealed and should future circumstances as set out in Article 38 of the Constitution justify the establishment of a special court, then:

•  
• legislation should be amended to ensure that, both in law and practice, the court conforms strictly with international standards which require, among other things, that all courts be independent and impartial;
• the necessity for the court should be subject to review by the courts and to regular periodic review by an independent body;
• its jurisdiction should be restricted to offences directly connected with the extraordinary circumstances which justified the establishment of the court.

• The following provisions of the OAS Acts 1939-1998 should be repealed:

•  
• those permitting internment (OAS (Amendment) Act 1940);
• those permitting the arrest and detention of a person without reasonable suspicion of them having committed a recognisable criminal offence and for purposes other than bringing them before a court (Section 30 of the OAS Act 1939 and Section 10 of the OAS (Amendment) Act 1998);
• those which criminalise the failure of a person to provide information about their movements (Section 52 of the OAS Act 1939);
• those that permit adverse inferences to be drawn from a person's silence (Section 2 of the OAS (Amendment) Act 1998);
• those which permit adverse inferences to be drawn from a person's failure to deny reports related to alleged membership of an unlawful organisation (Section 4 of the OAS (Amendment) Act 1998) and those relating to permitting in evidence the opinion of police officers as to membership without affording the right to question the source on which the opinion is based (sections 3(1) and (2) of the OAS (Amendment) Act 1972);
• those which permit the authorities to detain people for extended periods without charge and without access to counsel during questioning (including Section 30, OAS Act 1939, Section 10 of the OAS (Amendment) Act 1998).

2          Recommendations addressed to the Government

• Pending the publication of the review of the OAS Acts and any subsequent legislative changes, the Government should ensure that, in line with the relevant international standards, the human rights of each person arrested or detained under the OAS Acts are fully respected.

• Further to the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Cases of Heaney and McGuinness v Ireland and Quinn v Ireland, in which Section 52 of the OAS Act 1939 was held to be in violation of Article 6(1) and 6(2) of the ECHR, immediate steps should be taken to repeal Section 52 of the OAS Act 1939.

3          Recommendations addressed to the Human Rights Commission

• Amnesty International recommends that the Commission undertake immediate action under Section 8(a)&(d) of the Human Rights Commission Act[12] and call on the Committee to Review the OAS Acts to publish its review without delay.

D         Monitoring the conduct of foreign policy

·        Amnesty International recommends that the Political Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs should monitor the implementation of human rights policy. Such monitoring activities should include the following: 

§         monitoring by regional desks of the effectiveness of country specific policy. In order to ensure consistency, such monitoring activities should be subject to the oversight of the Human Rights Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs;

§         monitoring Ireland’s participation in intergovernmental organisations, including assessments of any leading roles played by Ireland; for instance, the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe and membership of the UN Security Council;

§         studying reports by third parties, for example UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies, UN Rapporteurs, NGOs and third countries;

§         the possible publication of an annual report on human rights.

E          Strengthening the mechanisms charged with implementing human rights policy

1          The Human Rights Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs

a) Human resources and staff training

·         Amnesty International recommends that the Human Rights Unit at the Department of Foreign Affairs be allocated additional human resources to enable it to carry out its work.

·         Amnesty International recommends that all officials at the Department of Foreign Affairs should receive training in international human rights law.

b) Review of mechanisms

(i) The Human Rights Unit

• updated terms of reference for the Human Rights Unit should be drawn up and published, clearly defining the role of the Unit. This role should include:

•  
• primary responsibility for mainstreaming human rights into the formulation of foreign policy;
• primary responsibility for the formulation of multilateral human rights policy and the co-ordination of bilateral human rights policy across regional desks. In this connection, the Unit would be responsible for ensuring that regional desks take full account of human rights policy; 
• ensuring that Ireland’s human rights commitments are implemented in domestic law and practice by way of co-ordinating human rights policy across Government Departments;
• drawing up of principles and criteria for human rights policy aimed at ensuring consistency of approach in the formulation and implementation of policy;
• acting in conjunction with experts, academics, NGOs and other Government Departments in particular through the framework of the two committees which it chairs;
• the possible preparation of an annual report on human rights (see section II B 4 above).

ii) the Joint Department of Foreign Affairs/NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights

• the Committee should cease to operate under “Chatham House Rules” and should publish its terms of reference and rules of procedure.

• NGOs should make a substantive contribution to the Committee including the submission of reports and recommendations for the Committee’s consideration and contributing to the drafting of the agenda for Committee meetings.

• the Committee should give consideration to preparing advisory reports on themes or country situations for submission to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

• a framework should be established for the submission of recommendations from the Committee to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. This framework should include a requirement that the Minister formally respond to recommendations and subsequently report on measures taken to implement such recommendations.

iii) The Standing Interdepartmental Committee on Human Rights

• the Committee should publish its terms of reference and rules of procedure.

• the role of the Committee should be reviewed in light of recent trends towards the decentralisation of human rights policy formulation, away from the Department of Foreign Affairs towards operational Government Departments.

• all Government Departments which participate in the Interdepartmental Committee should clarify which aspects of the Government's human rights policy fall within their specific responsibility.

·        in its deliberations, the Committee should consider the human rights aspects of the entire spectrum of Government policy, including the State’s bilateral and multilateral trade policies and international co-operation on justice issues.

• the Committee should carry out an annual evaluation of its work and publish its findings.

c) Setting human rights policy objectives

The objectives of the Government’s human rights policy should be clearly defined and published.

i) Policy criteria

·         Amnesty International recommends that the Government should publish criteria which clearly set out core human rights aspects which must be integrated in the formulation of Government policy.

ii) Strategy papers

·         Country strategy papers - identifying country specific human rights policy - and international organisation strategy papers - clarifying policy towards organisations such as the UN and Council of Europe - should be drawn up and continually updated.

·         Amnesty International recommends that the Government publish a strategy paper relating to its membership of the UN Security Council from 2001 to 2003.

iii) Bilateral relations

• Where long-term engagement and dialogue with third countries regarding human rights concerns fail, the Government should be prepared to consider other methods, including public criticism of a state’s human rights record.

2          Recommendations addressed to Dáil Éireann[13]

·        Amnesty International invites the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Equality Defence and Women’s Rights to consider publishing - either separately or jointly - a report on their assessment of the effectiveness of the Government's human rights policy.

3          The ratification of additional human rights treaties

•  
• The Government should proceed with the ratification of the UN Convention against Torture without delay.

F          Recommendations to the Human Rights Commission

In addition to the recommendations addressed to the Human Rights Commission concerning the right to freedom from ill-treatment, the right to seek asylum and the right to a fair trial (see above), Amnesty International submits the following recommendations to the Commission.

1          First steps

• The Commission should insist on the allocation of sufficient funds in order to enable it to discharge its mandate to the fullest extent possible.

• The Commission should publish a draft strategic plan at the earliest possible occasion and request submissions on its content from all interested parties. Consultations with NGOs, Intergovernmental organisations and the Government should be opened at the earliest possible opportunity.

• Applications for positions in the Secretariat of the Commission should be sought by public advertisement. Knowledge and professional experience in the field of human rights law and practice should be a prerequisite for all job descriptions (with the exception of secretarial posts). The selection process itself should be independent, impartial and transparent.

• Amnesty International recommends that the Commission fully explore how its mandate will “fit” in relation to Statutory bodies and social partners such as: the Equality Authority, the Refugee Applications Commissioner, the Refugee Advisory Board, the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism, the National Women’s Council of Ireland and Development Education for Youth.

2          Human rights education

• Amnesty International recommends that the Commission play a central role in ensuring that human rights values are mainstreamed across all areas of life in Ireland. In drawing up its “awareness raising” programme, the Commission should consult widely with other entities active in the field including: the Department of Education, the Garda Human Rights Group, the UNHCR and NGOs.

3          Ratification and incorporation of international instruments

• In accordance with its function under Article 8(d) of the Human Rights Commission Act, the Commission should make recommendations to the Government concerning the ratification and incorporation of international instruments aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights in the State. In particular, the Commission should advise the Government to proceed immediately with the long-awaited ratification of the United Nations Convention against Torture.

• The Commission should closely monitor steps taken toward the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights and should advocate the selection of a strong mode of incorporation which recognises the primacy of international human rights instruments.

Top of this page

<< Previous section of the Audit

Back to the table of contents of the Audit

Back to the HRC Homepage

[1] The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the Government should give consideration to the establishment of a Police Ombudsman, see Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Ireland. 19/7/2000. CCPR/CO/69/IRL.(concluding observations/comments, Advance Unedited Edition).

[2] This measure would be in line with the recommendation of the UN Human Rights Committee that “In cases of death resulting from action by members of the Garda Síochána, the State party should ensure that all allegations are investigated by an independent and public process”; Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Ireland. 19/7/2000. CCPR/CO/69/IRL.(concluding observations/comments, Advance Unedited Edition).

[3] Any new Prisons Rules should, at a minimum, accord with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment.

[4] Human Rights Commission Act, 2000 Section 8: “The functions of the Commission shall be…

(a)           to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights

(d)           either of its own volition or on being requested to do so by the Government, to make such recommendations to the Government as it deems appropriate in relation to the measures which the Commission considers should be taken to strengthen, protect and uphold human rights in the State”.

[5] See further: Ursula Fraser: Asylum Law and Policy in Ireland – A Critical Guide, published by Amnesty International Irish Section, December 2000.

[6] See further: UNHCR Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women, 1991.

[7] See further: Amnesty International’s 15 steps to protect Women’s Human Rights, available at http://www.amnesty .org

[8] See further: the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), “Substantive Sections” of the CPT’s General Reports, Strasbourg, 18 August 2000, Chapter V, Foreign Nationals detained under Aliens Legislation, paragraph 34, CPT/Inf/E (99) 1 (REV. 1).

[9] This definition includes rights guaranteed in the Constitution and agreements, treaties or conventions to which the State is a Party.

[10] Human Rights Commission Act, 2000 Section 8: “The functions of the Commission shall be…

(a)     to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights.

[11] See: Amnesty International, “Republic of Ireland, Submission to the Committee to Review the Offences Against the State Acts and Other Matters”, EUR 29/001/1999, October 1999.

[12] Human Rights Commission Act, 2000 Section 8: “The functions of the Commission shall be…

(a)           to keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights

(d)           either of its own volition or on being requested to do so by the Government, to make such recommendations to the Government as it deems appropriate in relation to the measures which the Commission considers should be taken to strengthen, protect and uphold human rights in the State”.

[13] The National Parliament.

Top of this page

<< Previous section of the Audit

Back to the table of contents of the Audit

Back to the HRC Homepage