Shatter to be quizzed on human rights obligations

JUSTICE Minister Alan Shatter will today be cross-examined on Ireland’s human rights obligations — civil, political, economic, social and cultural — at a hearing which is the first of its kind for this country.

The hearing in Geneva is the first time Ireland’s human rights record is being reviewed by peers, a panel drawn from UN states rather than expert groups.

The process is part of the UN’s universal periodic review mechanism, an initiative set up in 2006 whereby the domestic human rights records of all 192 member states are reviewed every four years.