The Irish Human Rights Commission has submitted its report to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as part of Ireland's Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
The IHRC has highlighted gaps in protection of international human rights law with regard to: human rights and equality infrastructure, prison conditions, migration and immigration, Travellers, criminal justice, legal aid, health, poverty, social welfare and education.
The report recommends that Ireland incorporate the International Covenant on Economic Social and the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Irish law.Among the issues of concern to the IHRC is the Direct Provision system. The IHRC recommend that it be reformed to ensure that no person spends more than 12 months in the process, and that the level of payments to asylum seekers be increased.
Please click here to view the submission.
The stakeholder report prepared by seventeen leading human rights groups, under the umbrella of the "Your Rights. Right Now" campaign, has also been submitted to the OHCHR. The report covers a wide range of area and makes a number of recommendations for reform. Please click here to view.
The report recognises the negative effect of the Habitual Residence Condition on victims of domestic violence, Travellers and returning Irish emigrants and recommend that the legislation be amended to take into account time spent by asylum seekers in the state while awaiting a decision.The report recommends that the right to housing be recognised in Irish law and that Travellers be recognised as an ethnic group.
As part of the UPR process NGOs were also encouraged to submit individual reports to the OHCHR. FLAC made a submission which made recommendations on civil legal aid; debt; Direct Provision; deaf persons on juries; and transgendered persons. Please click here to view.