Citizenship vote may row back on human rights

THE forthcoming referendum on Irish citizenship could lead to a rowing back of human rights provisions, the head of the Human Rights Commission claimed yesterday.

Dr Maurice Manning said he would be meeting his counterparts in the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission in the next few weeks to consider the impact of the issue on the Good Friday Agreement.

The Government has announced a referendum on whether to restrict the right to Irish citizenship for children born to foreign nationals to be held on June 11 the same day as European and local elections.

The ratification of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 meant anyone born on the island of Ireland was entitled to Irish citizenship.

However, the Government moved to restrict that entitlement amid concerns that some non-nationals are having babies in the country to bypass asylum regulations.

The Government has published the proposed legislation restricting the right to citizenship of children born in Ireland to non-national parents unless at least one of them has lived in the country for at least three of the previous four years.

A number of Northern Ireland parties have expressed concerns that the referendum is capable of overruling the Good Friday Agreement.

Dr Manning said he believed Justice Minister Michael McDowell should have consulted with the human rights body before publishing the legislation.

"One of the concerns we expressed to the minister was that we would have preferred to have seen this whole process in slower motion, that there was time for greater consultation," he said.

Dr Manning said the commission had not yet reached a decision on whether the proposed legislation breached the Good Friday Agreement.

But we are concerned in a general way that this could mean a rowing back of human rights," he said.

"If there are rights there, which are going to be taken away from certain categories of people, that could be a rowing back of human rights."

Dr Manning said there were concerns the referendum could spark racism.

"It's an area where we talked to the various groups who are involved in issues around racism," he told RTE radio.

"They are all very concerned and we are reflecting their particular view, our own view as well, that the context may be wrong."

The Dáil will be recalled on April 21 to debate the referendum.