‘Investigate crimes and try those responsible’

Proper independent investigations of crimes against women and their babies together with full compensation and the trial of perpetrators is now urgent, the State has been told.

The issue of overcrowding in the country’s jails also needs to be addressed urgently according to a UN report on human rights that took the unusual step of giving the State a year to make progress.

The 18 international human rights legal experts that examined the case put forward by the State and by the 30-strong delegation from non-governmental organisations came down firmly on the side of the victims.

The human rights committee pointed out that a quarter of a century after Ireland acceded to the Convention, the State has not taken the first steps of examining its laws to ensure people’s human rights are recognised and protected.

They had to pull up short the Irish State’s delegation to the hearing in Geneva on the issue of abortion to remind them that a person’s human rights could not be struck down by a law or a referendum.

“A lot of violations of human rights around the world originate from a misconception of the very nature of international legal obligations”, said Yuval Shany, who led the team drawing up the report, adding he was surprised when this came from Ireland.

They were concerned too that there is no legal definition of human rights in the Human Rights and Equality Commission act just released and they urged a stable, independent and sufficient budget for the new Commission.

Most of the report dealt with women, starting with the Constitution and its reference to women’s role being in the home and continuing with the huge underrepresentation of women in the public and private sectors and especially decision-making positions.

It points out that the State does not know how many women are victims of violence and urged them to collect such data and ensure that women are no longer afraid to come forward because their immigration status is dependent on their spouse/partner.

On abortion it says the State should revise the legislation on abortion, including in the Constitution to allow for abortion in cases of rape, incest, serious risks to the health of the mother or fatal foetal abnormality. It is especially critical of the criminalisation and 14-year jail sentences of mothers having abortions in such circumstances.

The Committee criticised the lack of clarity about what constitutes real and substantive risk to the life, as opposed to the health, of a pregnant woman who under the current legislation is in principle allowed an abortion.

They describe as excessive the need for three doctors to verify if a pregnant woman is suicidal, pointing out it increases the mental stress. And they say health care providers who give information on safe abortion services abroad are not subject to criminal sanctions.

During the hearing committee members appeared most shocked by information about Magdalene Laundries, children’s institutions, and mother-and-baby homes.

The report said they were concerned at “the lack of prompt, independent, thorough and effective investigations into all allegations of abuse, mistreatment or neglect of women and children.

“It regrets the failure to identify all perpetrators of the violations that occurred, the low number of prosecutions, and the failure to provide full and effective remedies to victims.”

The revelations about the fate of 1,500 women subjected to symphysiotomy were described as horrific by Mr Shany.

They were concerned too by the State’s narrow and partial response to this “dubious practice”.

Dr Ruth Fletcher, one of the legal experts who helped draw up a submission to the Committee, said: “If the Irish State wants to think of itself as a rights-respecting democracy it has a lot of work to do on legitimacy and accountability.

“It needs to get rid of laws which fail to recognise women as rights-bearing individuals.”