Submission to the United Nations Committee Against Torture for the list of issues prior to reporting in respect of Ireland for the 69th Session (April May 2020)

Abstract

The Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR) at the School of Law, National University of Ireland, Galway is Ireland’s principal academic human rights institute. The ICHR undertakes human rights teaching, research, publications and training, and contributes to human rights policy development nationally and internationally. The ICHR has prepared this submission for the purpose of informing the United Nations Committee Against Torture’s List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) for Ireland’s third periodic review. This submission provides selected research and analysis from the ICHR’s staff and researcher community, including LLM Candidates participating in the ICHR’s International Human Rights Law Clinic. This submission is not a comprehensive account of all relevant issues in Ireland arising under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). It should be read alongside the reports of other civil society organisations and groups for the LOIPR, including the submission by the Centre for Disability Law and Policy at NUI Galway, focusing on violence against disabled persons. This Report focuses on the following areas of concern: 1. Ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) 2. Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 3. Human Trafficking 4. Protection from Torture or Ill-treatment in Care Contexts 5. Direct Provision 6. Denial of Leave to Enter 7. Systematic Institutional and Adoption-related Abuses Recommended questions are highlighted in bold at the end of each section.