Ireland and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination Submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on Ireland’s Combined 5th to 9th Report October 2019 First published in October 2019 by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission 16-22 Green St, Dublin 7, D07 CR20. Copyright © Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission 2019 The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was established under statute on 1 November 2014 to protect and promote human rights, equality and intercultural understanding, to promote understanding and awareness of the importance of human rights and equality, and to work towards the elimination of human rights abuses and discrimination. ISBN 978-0-9957296-8-1 Contents Introduction by the Chief Commissioner 1 Key Recommendations 5 National Machinery for the Promotion of Race Equality (Articles 2, 20.3) 13 Gaps in the ratification of international human rights standards 14 Domestic incorporation of and reservations to CERD 14 Monitoring mechanisms for international human rights standards 15 Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty 16 National legislative frameworks 17 National policy frameworks 19 The collection and publication of disaggregated data 22 Support for civil society organisations 23 Legal Framework on Citizenship and Nationality (Articles 2(1), 5(d)(iii)) 25 The legal framework on citizenship 26 Citizenship by naturalisation 27 Revocation of certificates of naturalisation 30 Stateless people 31 Experiences of Racial Discrimination and Attitudes to Diversity 33 (Articles 2, 5, 7) Discrimination and prejudice on the grounds of race 34 Discrimination and prejudice against the Traveller and Roma communities 36 International Decade for People of African Descent 37 Islamophobia and anti-Semitism 38 Hate Speech and Hate Crime (Articles 2, 4, 5, 7) 39 Legal framework on incitement to hatred and hate motivation 40 The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 40 Hate motivation in the criminal law 41 Current status of review and reform initiatives 43 Monitoring and recording of hate crime and hate-related incidents 44 Police recording of crime and non-crime incidents 44 Alternative reporting mechanisms 46 Policy and regulatory responses to racism online, in print, and broadcast 47 Hate speech online 47 Social media standards and takedown procedures 48 Press and broadcast 49 IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 i Participation in Public Life and Representation in Decision-Making 52 (Article 1) Political participation 53 Standards in public office and political discourse 55 Education (Articles 5(d)(vii), 5(e)(v), 7) 59 Primary and secondary education 60 Access to and participation in education 60 Diversity in education 65 Further and third-level education and training 67 Employment and Economic and Social Life (Articles 5(e)(i), 5(e)(iv)) 70 Labour market discrimination 71 Structural barriers to accessing the labour market 73 Access to the labour market for asylum seekers 74 Accessing decent work 77 Economic protection 78 Habitual residence condition 79 Protection of social and cultural life 79 Health and Social Services (Articles 5(e)(iv)) 82 Access to healthcare services and health outcomes 83 Mental health 87 Social services for children and families 90 Housing (Articles 5(d)(v), 5(e)(iii)) 93 Housing policy 94 Discrimination and inequality in housing 96 Traveller accommodation 98 Roma 100 Gender-based Violence (Articles 2(2), 4(a), 5(b)) 102 Violence against women and girls 103 Female genital mutilation 107 International Protection (Articles 2, 5) 109 The international protection application process 110 Immigration detention 112 Developments in direct provision since 2011 112 Special reception needs 115 Impact of the policy of dispersal on the rights of asylum seekers and refugees 117 The provision of accommodation by private non-State actors 119 Family reunification 121 Unaccompanied and separated children 123 ii IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 Human Trafficking (Articles 2, 5(b)) 126 Investigations and prosecutions 127 Victim identification and assistance 128 Access to compensation 131 Data collection and monitoring 132 Accommodation of victims of trafficking in direct provision centres 133 Access to Justice (Articles 2, 5(a), 7) 134 Policing reform 135 The experiences of minority ethnic groups within the criminal justice system 135 Cultural competency 138 Diversity within the criminal justice system 139 Criminalisation of prostitution 140 Access to legal aid, advice, and assistance 141 Interpreting services 142 Multiparty litigation 142 Practice Direction 81 143 Human Rights Leadership (Article 7) 145 Promotion of women’s rights 146 Rescue and humanitarian missions 146 Business and human rights 147 The fishing industry and Atypical Working Scheme 148 State purchasing of Colombian coal 149 Appendix: List of Recommendations 151 IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 iii Glossary BAI Broadcasting Authority of Ireland Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination CEDAW against Women United Nations Convention on the Elimination of CERD All Forms of Racial Discrimination Commission Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Committee Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CSO Central Statistics Office ECRI European Commission against Racism and Intolerance EEA European Economic Area EROC Emergency Reception and Orientation Centre ESB Electricity Supply Board ESRI Economic and Social Research Institute EU European Union FGM Female Genital Mutilation GP General practitioner Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action GRETA against Trafficking in Human Beings iv IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 HAP Housing Assistance Payment HRC Habitual Residence Condition HSE Health Service Executive IFPA Irish Family Planning Association INIS Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service IPAT International Protection Appeals Tribunal IPO International Protection Office MRCI Migrant Rights Centre Ireland NHRI National Human Rights Institution OCO Ombudsman for Children’s Office PD81 Practice Direction 81 PPS Personal Public Service number PULSE ‘Police Using Leading Systems Effectively’ system UN United Nations UNHCR UN High Commissioner for Refugees WRC Workplace Relations Commission IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 v Section 1 Introduction by the Chief Commissioner I am pleased, on behalf of parents and grandparents of different nationalities. Although there is no official the Irish Human Rights and data available, it is also estimated that Equality Commission (the there are between 20,000 and 26,000 Commission), to provide undocumented people in Ireland. our independent report of There have been several significant developments since 2011. These include the Ireland’s compliance with completion of the 2016 Census of Ireland, the UN Convention on the a measure of economic recovery following the recession, as well as the emergence Elimination of All Forms of new human rights challenges, such as of Racial Discrimination an unprecedented housing shortage and homelessness crisis. Several areas identified (CERD), in advance of by the Committee in its 2011 Concluding Ireland’s examination Observations have not seen sufficient progress in the intervening period. In in December 2019. particular, the Commission is concerned with the lack of progress on review and reform of Ireland’s legal framework on The Commission exercises a dual capacity hate crime, the continuing and widespread as the ‘A’ status National Human Rights institutional discrimination faced by Institution (NHRI) and the national equality Travellers, and the incompatibility of Ireland’s body for Ireland, provided for in primary international protection framework with its legislation by the Irish Human Rights and international human rights obligations. Equality Commission Act 2014. In addition to the mandate consistent with any national human rights institution, the Commission has specific statutory functions to ‘encourage Muchʽ has changed since the development of a culture of respect for human rights and equality, and intercultural its last examination under understanding in the State’, including by CERD in 2011, with Ireland encouraging ‘good practice in intercultural continuing its transformation relations’ and to ‘promote tolerance and acceptance of diversity’ in the State. into a diverse multiethnic and multinational society. Much has changed since its last examination under CERD in 2011, with Ireland continuing its transformation into a diverse multiethnic In addition to these ongoing challenges, and multinational society. In 2016, there Ireland’s 2019 examination under CERD were 535,475 people whose nationality was takes place in a period of our global history other than Irish (11.6% of the population) where our society and democracies originating from 200 different countries, are increasingly threatened by the and a significant number of migrants ‘snarl of belligerence and the smirk of have become Irish citizens. A growing dehumanisation.’ We have witnessed in the population of young Irish people have past few years a worrying trend that has IHREC CERD Submission | October 2019 2 seen many countries in Europe and further of activities. Alongside this, we have also afield succumb to populism, unilateralism, placed particular priority on promoting racism, and an increasingly narrow and access to justice; socio-economic rights inward-looking vision of statehood, and the social protection of all families and sovereignty, and national belonging. individuals,