Anti-migration policies are threatening to dismantle human rights

We should always be wary of attempts to alter foundational rights because of temporary political pressures.

6/4/2026. Dublin, Leinster, Ireland, Irish. Independent Dublin Republicans 3rd Annual 1916 Easter Commemoration Reenactment Dublin. Members of Independent Republicans take part in a reenactment of the events of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin today. Photo shows the Proclamation being read outside the GPO. Photo: © RollingNews.ie/Sasko Lazarov.

Easter week in Ireland is a powerful reminder of the language of human rights. Following a revolutionary tradition of rights which can be traced at least as far back as 1798, the appeal to civil liberties, equal rights and equal opportunities in the text proclaimed at the GPO on Easter Monday 1916 continues to resonate today.

That deep cultural connection between the tradition of human rights and our emergence as an independent sovereign nation has also led Ireland to play a leading role in building and defending the system of international human rights that emerged after the second world war.