16 May 2013, 16:43
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on EU Affairs this afternoon heard from representatives of Amnesty International Ireland on their work in advancing human rights EU-wide, including a number of specific recommendations to the Irish EU Presidency.
16 May 2013
Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty Ireland and Iverna McGowan of Amnesty’s EU Institutions office, addressed the meeting.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD says: “We thank Amnesty representatives for a wide-ranging briefing which outlined where more work was required by the EU and its Member States in vindicating human rights both internally and in the wider world. We were reminded that fundamental human rights are not aspirational or optional and that states themselves have agreed and signed up to protect these rights in international law. Committee Members were fulsome in their support for Amnesty’s tenacious work in highlighting where governments have failed in their responsibilities to their citizens.
“The widespread incidents of discrimination against Roma by EU Member States were raised. We take on board Mr O’Gorman’s point that the state discrimination against one of Europe’s oldest minorities is spread across both newer and older states of the European Union. Consequently, the EU institutions required an enhanced framework of enforcement to ensure breaches by Member States against their Roma populations can be curbed.
“Committee Members also expressed support for other Amnesty priorities, including their calls for a more coherent EU response to crises such as Syria; the eradication of the practice of Female Genital Mutilation; the upholding of asylum seekers’ rights; and human rights follow-up in post accession countries.”
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Committee Membership
Deputies
Dominic Hannigan, TD (Chairman)
Paschal Donohoe, TD (Vice-Chairman)
Seán Crowe, TD
Timmy Dooley, TD
Bernard J Durkan, TD
John Halligan, TD
Seán Kyne, TD
Joe O’Reilly, TD
Senators
Colm Burke,
Fidelma Healy Eames,
James Heffernan,
Terry Leyden,
Kathryn Reilly