Statement by the IHRC to the
Seanad Public Consultation Committee on the upcoming examination of the State’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
6 May 2014
Chair, Senators, I am very pleased to have been invited to speak to you todayin the Seanad on behalf of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (designate)on strengthening cooperation between National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Parliaments in addressing human rights and equality issues particularly as this arises under Article 2 of the ICCPR. I am joined by the IHRC’s Acting CEO Dr Des Hogan and following these short introductory remarks we will be very pleased to take questions from the Committee.
This opportunity to speak to you is timely as the draft legislation to merge the Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) and the Equality Authority to form the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) is before the Houses of the Oireachtas. In our observations on the draft legislation we called for strong liaison with the Oireachtas to be a concrete feature of the legislation. I will set out below why this is so important.
The new IHREC, as the independent statutory body charged with promoting and protecting human rights and equality, is a natural partner for the Oireachtas in supporting your role aslegislators and as a check and balance on executive and judicial power. This derives fromthe range of functionswe carry out- from public engagement, development, education and training, litigation and compliance, to ourresearch, policy and practice work. One of our functions is to engage regularly with the Oireachtas by commenting on draft legislation from an equality and human rights perspective and this has been a feature of both the IHRC and EA’s work to date.
Currently the IHRC is recognised by the UN as Ireland’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) with “A” status under the UN Paris Principles - bridging the international and national human rights frame-work; recognised by the UN, Council of Europe and European Union as a key actor. It is very important that the IHREC legislation and the budget and resourcing that underpins it ensures that the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission continues to receive this recognition. This is equally so under EU law insofar as the Equality Authority is Ireland’s specialised body under EU equality directives.
As you may know, the IHRC as Ireland’s NHRI is entitled and indeed expected to provide a shadow report under the ICCPR and appear before the Human Rights Committee in Geneva in July this year. This we will do. Our Shadow Report is not finalised and thus I speak to you today about our structural role more than the content of our concerns on the State’s compliance although we can address any questions you may have on that issue.
You will see that in 2008 Ireland was criticised by the Human Rights Committee for not properly resourcing the IHRC where it recommended that the State “should strengthen the independence and the capacity of the Irish Human Rights Commission to fulfil its mandate effectively” under the UN Paris Principles. It is important that in this current review the State can unequivocally demonstrate its support for the new human rights and equality infrastructure in the State. In this regard there are some elements of the draft legislation which we hope can be improved on by you during its passage through the Oireachtas, while a strong commitment on proper funding of the body in the years to come will be very important.
When we consider how cooperation between the IHREC and the Oireachtascan improve, we need to consider what has worked and what has not worked and how the statutory body responsible for equality and human rights can assist you as parliamentarians in upholding human rights and holding the executive to account. Here we are fortunate insofar as it is increasingly recognised under the UN Paris Principles[1], the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly’s (PACE) 2011 Resolution 1823,[2] the 2012 Belgrade Principles[3] and the upcoming report of the PACE through the commendable work of Rapporteur Senator Katherine Zappone that Parliaments and NHRIs should and indeed must work together if we as a society are to properly uphold the rule of law and human rights and equality standards.
For our part in IHREC we are keen to build stronger links with the Oireachtas and have recommended that on the Parliamentary side, a dedicated committee be established to examine equality and human rights matters, with structural linkages to other committees. We have also recommended that section 23 of the IHREC Bill be strengthened to add reference to the IHRC regularly meeting with parliamentary committees under procedures to be agreed to discuss and promote law and practice relating to the protection of equality and human rights, while respecting the independence of the Commission and noting any capacity constraints. One other area we can offer to Parliamentarians is training to State bodies and parliamentarians in human rights and equality.
Chair, Senators, we are happy to take any questions you may have.
END
1
[1]National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, A/RES/48/134, 85th plenary meeting, 20 December 1993, 48/134, available at
[2]National parliaments: guarantors of human rights in Europe, Parliamentary Assemby Resolution 1823( 2011) available at
See also upcoming 2014 report of PACE on the relationship between National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Parliaments.
[3] The relationship between National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Parliaments, International Seminar organised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, the National Assembly and the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the UN Country Team in the Republic of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia 22-23 February 2012 available at