Report likely to criticise State stance

A REPORT by the Human Rights Commission is expected to criticise the Government for allowing United States troops at war outside the United Nations framework to use Shannon Airport.

The report, to be presented to the Government this week, will also comment on the legality of the Iraqi war and the weakening of the role of the United Nations.

Commission president Dr Maurice Manning said while some commission members had yet to be consulted on the report he did expect it to be critical of what was a major human rights issue.

"We will be using strong words to describe the Iraqi situation," said Dr Manning at the launch of the commission's three-year strategic plan yesterday.

Michael Farrell, a member of the Human Rights Commission, said the commission was especially concerned about the devaluation of the United Nations.

"One of the human rights standards we will be appealing to are the standards formulated by the UN," he pointed out.

The commission also intends to issue a report on proposed amendments to the Freedom of Information Act later today.

Dr Manning said the commission would not be afraid to ask the tough questions.

"When we speak we must expect to be heard and heard at times with hostility and scepticism," he said.

The commission's founding legislation the Human Rights Commission Act 2000 gave them wide powers that enabled them to make a difference.

Those powers included the power of enquiry and to act as a friend of the court in cases, such as the Sinnott case or the recent Supreme Court case involving the non-national parents of Irish children.

"We intend to use these powers to the full," Dr Manning declared. "This is not an academic exercise."

"It means, for example, that we will rigorously monitor the many international covenants which we have signed and, in many cases, done little more than that."

The commission established in July 2001 as a result of the Good

Friday Agreement also plans to contribute actively to the Government's proposed review of the Offences Against the States Acts 1939-98, and to work to ensure a speedy end to emergency law and the normalisation of security arrangements.

Commission member Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin pointed out that the commission would be happy with nothing less than an independent Garda Ombudsman as an outcome to the Garda Complaints Mechanism now under review.