The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has released its Report to the UN Committee Against Torture ahead of the Committee's first visit to Ireland in May 2011. This visit will examine the extent to which the State is meeting its obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture. Dr. Maurice Manning, President of the IHRC, has stated that Ireland is failing to meet such obligations and has called upon the State to ratify the Optional Protocol.
Key recommendations from the report include an immediate end to "slopping out" and overcrowding as an "urgent priority", outlining that current conditions are "jeopardising the health and safety of prisoners and prison staff". The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) recently welcomed the publication of the latest Inspector of Prisons Report on Mountjoy by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter which disclosed a serious lack of an effective complaints mechanism in Mountjoy. This landmark report on prison accountability corresponds with the recommendation to establish an independent statutory complaints mechanism for prisoners, such as a Prison Ombudsman, in the IHRC Report. To view the IPRT Press release, please click here.
The IHRC Report also looks to the insufficiency of legal safeguards for mentally ill persons in detention. Chief Executive of the IHRC, Eamonn MacAodha, outlined concerns that "there are 'approved centres' that are not meeting international standards or fulfilling treaty obligations". He continued "living conditions in some units in the Central Mental Hospital are inadequate and do not provide conditions that are conducive to the treatment and welfare of patients".
The report further highlights concerns on the human rights safeguards for children, finding that the instances of deaths of children in State care requires "the establishment of an independent statutory inquiry into child protection matters to get to the root of the failings in the system and put in place the necessary safeguards".
Finally, the report examines a number of other areas, including immigration appeals, extraordinary rendition and human trafficking.
To view the IHRC press release, please click here.