June 2012 4/5 Eustace Street Dublin 2, Ireland Tel: +353 1 679 65 77 Fax: +353 1 679 65 78 Email: [email protected] Web: www.itmtrav.ie Campaign News Inside: Members’ Matters • Ethnicity Message from the Director • Education Dear Members and Friends of the Irish Traveller Movement (ITM), welcome to our first information update of 2012. So much has • Legal been happening over the past 6 months on important issues such as the ethnicity campaign, Traveller accommodation programmes, • Media the impact of cuts in education, the law centre casework and policy submissions to various government departments. As members • Local Action of ITM many of you have been involved in different aspects of this work or may have been informed through our ezine. This to renew the drive for ethnic recognition. You will see that so newsletter however brings all that information together, to update much has been happening, we launched a petition, two of our and inform you of the work in a concise and accessible format as conferences were on the theme of ethnicity and again this year part of on going commitment to keep you, the members, fully at our annual conference we will look at the link between racism, briefed on progress. discrimination and ethnic denial. Progress has been made as the burden of proof shifted to the State to prove why Travellers do not The economic situation has impacted greatly on the workload of meet the internationally recognised criteria for ethnic minorities. Traveller organisations, who have fewer resources but are dealing with more issues as the impact of the cuts is being felt at local However, we need to continue and push the State to recognise level. The need for us to be working more collectively is greater Traveller ethnicity. In particular the network of ITM member than at any time in the past 22 years of the ITM’s existence as we organisations is vital to activate local interest with politicians bring the local issues to a national space and develop clear and on the issue. At the back of this newsletter we have provided a meaningful strategies to address the issues affecting Travellers directory of TDs and Senators, a “how to engage” document and across the country. With reduced resources many groups are not a “snap shot” of the key messages needed to inform discussions in a position to be as involved in some campaigns and working with local politicians to make them aware of the campaign and groups as they might like, so we need to find new ways for members seek their support. I urge your group to get involved as the more to take an active role in the policy development, the actions and who do so the greater the impact. campaigns at a National level. This information update is one way to get informed and there are some very practical ways you can Finally, I hope to see you at the AGM and annual conference participate without travelling outside of the local area. which is scheduled for June 25th and 26th in Wexford. I want to highlight the Traveller ethnicity campaign in particular. Thank you for your ongoing support and solidarity, together we As you know the ITM has been campaigning for recognition of are stronger. Traveller ethnicity since 1990 but have intensified the campaign since the members passed the motion at our AGM in 2008 Damien Peelo 1 ITM Newsletter - June 2012 - Campaign News Ethnicity Travellers deserve more protection than political whim and recognition as an ethnic minority offers that grounding The Irish Traveller Movement (ITM), along with almost all National Traveller organisations, has campaigned for Traveller Travellers deserve more ethnicity since the 1980’s; stimulating encouraging debate and giving us a mandate from our members to make that a reality. protection than political whim Our vision for Traveller’s full equality is rooted in their ethnic recognition and we continue to make clear advances through and recognition as an ethnic political and campaigning work in national and international structures. minority offers that grounding The Traveller community has identified itself as an ethnic minority for the purposes of international law for (e.g. the CERD Committee itself stated that Irish Travellers satisfy the criteria for recognition and in fact they met the test for recognition laid down by the House of Lords). Importantly though, there is no requirement of consensus within the Traveller community for identification as an ethnic minority, rather it requires that Travellers self identify. Likewise Travellers did not require full community consensus to be included in Equality Legislation. While the mandate from you – our members – is unequivocal we respect that some Travellers may not choose, and are equally entitled under international Political actions on Members behalf human rights law to opt out1 of identifying themselves as an In 2010, supported by ITM’s campaigning work, the Green Party ethnic minority. became the first party to officially support Traveller ethnicity, in turn giving impetus to Minister Mary White under her Equality The ITM as a member of the Irish Civil Society Coalition ‘Your and Integration brief who stimulated the issue during her term in Rights, Rights Now’ Campaign, lobbied for Traveller ethnicity office. Later, the Irish Traveller Movement used the lead up to the recognition at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR Oct 6t 2011) last general election as an opportunity across all political parties to and welcomed Minister for Justice Alan Shatter’ statement “that include Traveller ethnicity within our “priority asks” for Traveller serious consideration is being given to the question”– the strongest specific actions within the next Programme for Government. commitment by any Irish government and yet in March 2012, when formalising Ireland’s commitments, the Irish government Our strengthened political engagement, both with parties in rejected the recommendation from peer UN states to recognise Government and in opposition has allowed us to leverage political Travellers as a separate ethnic group stating “there are a number cooperation by the use of PQ’s (Parliamentary Questions) and of issues around the proposal of recognition of Travellers as a Dáil time ro drive the issue forward. separate ethnic minority which need to be further considered and addressed and it is an area which is currently being given “serious We monitor Oireachtas / Dáil activity on the issue and continue consideration.” to contest concerns raised by Government Ministers for Equality in response to Parliamentary Questions who state that a lack of This further demonstrated the a la carte approach taken by the “unanimity among Travellers” as the reason for lack of progress. Irish government offering no adequate protection now or into the future; meanwhile the Irish Traveller Movement and others Once in Government, the ITM initiated a submission to Minister commit time and resources arguing for the inclusion of Travellers for Justice and Equality Alan Shatter on the issue and pursued in every bill and policy introduced by successive Irish governments specific approaches via official structures to keep the issue to the which recognition would allow for. fore of the Department’s agenda, while simultaneously Ministers 2 ITM Newsletter - June 2012 - Campaign News in other jurisdictions continued to be lobbied for support. Travellers have a unique opportunity for inclusion of ethnicity under the planned Review of the Constitution. However, as a start point the ITM has voiced concern that the composition of the Review Body is not representative and has sought for Traveller inclusion. Either way the tabling of the ethnicity recognition at a constitutional level is an opportunity we will pursue. The Irish Traveller Movement believes the ethnicity campaign is at a crucial junction in the state mindset. Alan Shatter recently commented (February 2012 in the Dáil) “that consideration is still ongoing and that I intend that the question will be before the Government for decision as soon as possible. The position is unchanged.” We know currently the issue is being considered by Please sign the ITM ethnicity campaign petition the head of all relevant Government Departments. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/itmethnicity/ “Traveller’s voices need to be at the forefront to that message in every county in Ireland” Travellers are the key players in the ethnicity campaign and representative organisations are important partners in providing the platform and support which can facilitate the best outcome for to ensure ethnic recognition becomes a reality. The Network of ITM member organisations are vital to activate local engagement with politicians and through focusing the issue in other settings like Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committees, Interagency Groups and all other relevant forums. The Irish political system allows considerable access to politicians in their constituency settings and while the ITM will maintain a National political strategy, this will be most effective if it runs simultaneous to local direct action. This would involve meeting with politicians in constituency clinics and by encouraging them to put down Dáil PQs which will drive the message back to the National platform of the Oireachtas and put Traveller ethnicity on their agenda. At the back of this newsletter we have compiled a directory of political representatives in your area, and how you can most effectively seek their support to keep our membership vision in focus. 1 General Comment 8 on ‘Identification with a Particular Racial or Ethnic Group’ 38th session UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 1990 3 ITM Newsletter - June 2012 - Legal Campaigns Legal Campaigns in Focus The Irish Traveller Movement Independent Law Centre has The Law Centre contended that as the eldest child in his family, been critical in advancing important strategic objectives in line John could not have a sibling in the school and as the first male in with the Irish Traveller Movement’s core work through pursuing his family to progress to secondary school he could not have had cases related to: Accommodation, Equality and Human Rights, a parent who attended the school.