Michael Noonan
Ceist:168 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will make a statement on Ireland's ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. [9954/01]
Written Answers - UN Conventions.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that Ireland formally ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination at the end of December 2000. The Deputy will recall that, on 15 December 2000, the Dáil had passed a motion approving the terms of the convention, pursuant to Article 29.5 of the Constitution, following an earlier debate on 7 December 2001 before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The UN convention entered into force for the State on 28 January 2001. Ratification of the convention fulfilled a commitment in the Action Plan for the Millennium and affirmed the Government's ongoing commitment to ban racial discrimination in Ireland.
The 1965 convention is the major multilateral treaty embodying obligations on UN member states to ban racial discrimination. It has been recognised as the centrepiece of the United Nations ongoing efforts to tackle racism and racial discrimination. The convention was opened for signature in 1965. Ireland signed in 1968 but was not in a position to ratify until its domestic law was in conformity with the requirements of the convention. The terms of the convention require the state parties to have in place at domestic level an effective means of redress for those who may experience racial discrimination.
The enactment of the comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation sponsored by me, namely, the Employment Equality Act, 1998, and the Equal Status Act, 2000, enabled Ireland to ratify the UN convention. With the coming into operation of the Employment Equality Act on 18 October 1999 and the Equal Status Act on 25 October 2000, Ireland now has in place a comprehensive anti-discrimination legal code and an equality infrastructure to support it in the form of the Equality Authority and the Office of the Director of Equality Investigations. The Office of the Director of Equality Investigations is the first forum for redress under the Acts for individuals who have experienced racial discrimination.
On ratification Ireland opted to accept the right of individuals or groups of individuals, who have exhausted all available domestic remedies, to petition the UN committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, about any violation by Ireland of rights set forth in the Convention. Ireland will be expected to submit its initial national report to the UN committee by early next year, detailing the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures which it has adopted to give effect to the provisions of the convention.