Amnesty International Report 2003 - Ireland

Covering events from January - December 2002

IRELAND
Head of state: Mary McAleese
Head of government: Bertie Ahern
Death penalty: abolitionist for all crimes
International Criminal Court: ratified

There was continued concern about the treatment of asylum-seekers and about allegations of misconduct by police.

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Background

The government persisted in its failure to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law. It also failed to introduce legislation to monitor transfers of military, security and police equipment from Ireland to other countries.

In May, Ireland ratified Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances.

In June the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern that discrimination against people with physical and mental disabilities persisted.

At the end of 2002, draft "anti-terrorist" legislation, introduced in response to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the USA, was pending in parliament.

By the end of the year, the Human Rights Commission had not yet become fully operational.

Racism

Concern remained about racist violence and harassment of ethnic minorities and about the inadequacy of legislation in this area. Calls increased for an independent monitoring body to investigate and monitor racism and discrimination.

Asylum-seekers and refugees

For the first time, asylum-seekers were detained during 2002 under the Refugee Act 1996. The Garda Síochána (police force) detained large numbers of rejected asylum-seekers in July and the government announced plans to increase forcible deportations.

In May the Immigration Bill 2002, which included provisions to penalize carriers who allowed asylum-seekers to enter the country, lapsed because of the general election. The Bill was reintroduced to parliament in December, with further restrictive asylum measures.

Policing

In March a Tribunal of Inquiry was established to investigate complaints concerning members of the Donegal Division of the Garda Síochána. In December AI called for full legal aid to be granted to the McBrearty family, whose allegations of police misconduct were central to the Tribunal's investigation. AI also called for the Tribunal to examine the role of all the authorities who might have played a part in relation to the alleged failures to address the complaints.

In May, Garda officers reportedly used excessive force during a "Reclaim the Streets" demonstration in Dublin. In November the Garda Complaints Board stated that members of the Garda had failed to cooperate with its investigation of the policing of the demonstration. It was announced that seven Garda officers had been confined to desk duties and would be charged with assault.

Further allegations that the Garda had prior knowledge of the 1998 Omagh bombing emerged after the publication of a report by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. The authorities established an internal inquiry in May.

In October the government announced that it would introduce legislation in 2003 to establish an inspectorate to investigate complaints against members of the Garda.

• The investigation into the death of John Carthy, who was shot dead in April 2000 by the police Emergency Response Unit, entered a new phase in July when judge Robert Barr was appointed as the sole member of a Tribunal of Inquiry.

Prisons

Concern continued to be expressed about the treatment in prison of people with mental illness. In November AI expressed disappointment at the government's refusal to allow researchers from a joint AI-Irish Penal Reform Trust project to visit several named Irish prisons to investigate the issue of racism in Irish detention establishments.

Dublin/Monaghan bombings

The Independent Commission of Inquiry into the 1974 bombings in Dublin and Monaghan reportedly continued to experience difficulty in obtaining the cooperation of the United Kingdom government. The remit of the inquiry was extended to probe the 1976 sectarian killing of Seamus Ludlow, a Catholic man killed by loyalist paramilitaries with the alleged collusion of the British Army's Ulster Defence Regiment.