Government faces fierce criticism over US-led renditions

THE Government is expected to face fierce criticism from the United Nations next month over its suspected complicity with US rendition of prisoners through Shannon.

Two powerful human rights organisations have exposed Ireland’s see-no-evil attitude to the movement of illegally-held prisoners through the airport.

Ireland was yesterday accused by Amnesty International of inaction over US-led rendition and secret detention and the matter has been raised in a report to the UN by the Irish Human Rights Commission.

Concern has also been expressed by the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Government representatives are due to defend Ireland’s record on human rights when they address an oral hearing of the UN human rights committee in Geneva on July 14-15. The UN last examined the State’s human rights record in 2000, more than a year before 911 and America’s war on terror.

The IHRC report has bluntly told the UN committee that Ireland is not complying with its human rights obligations under article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

“The reliance being placed by the Government on diplomatic assurances, which it has sought and obtained from the US government, are not sufficient to comply with the State’s obligation to prevent torture or prohibit ill-treatment taking place in its territory or airspace,” says the report to be considered by the UN.

Amnesty’s report, state of denial: Europe’s role in rendition and secret detention, exposes the continuing failure of European states, including Ireland, to investigate violations carried out by their nationals or on their territory.

The report highlights six cases — involving 13 individuals — and details the involvement of European states. This ranges from governments permitting CIA flights headed for rendition circuits to use European airports and airspace, as with Shannon Airport, to hosting secret detention centres, or black sites.

Amnesty warned that not a single measure has been taken to prevent further European involvement in rendition and secret detention, and called for independent investigations to be initiated urgently.

“European governments are in a state of denial and have been sidestepping the truth for too long,” said Amnesty International.

Six of those rendered from Europe remain in detention in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Another is being held in Egypt after a trial before a military court. All of the victims of rendition and secret detention interviewed by Amnesty International say they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

“The Irish Government has not taken meaningful steps to discover whether or not Irish territory and airspace has been used for renditions,” said Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland programme director, Patrick Corrigan. “Instead, it has said, in effect, that individuals must themselves identify and present ‘evidence’ to their local gardaí. It has ignored international calls for an independent inquiry to be held into Ireland’s role in renditions, relying instead on worthless US assurances.”

The report calls for concerted, Europe-wide, action to ensure an end to these violations.

* The report is available at www.amnestyusa.org.