Gardaí must properly define and prohibit racial profiling, the State's human rights watchdog has said.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) has called for the State to ensure that Garda powers are exercised in "a consistent and unbiased way" in its report to the UN Human Rights Committee. The committee will be examining Ireland’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) next month.
The commission has submitted over 100 recommendations, including on policing, gender-based violence, and historic human rights abuses.
IHREC says it is particularly concerned about the "ongoing failure of the State to take full accountability for Ireland’s long and dark history of institutional abuse"; the "continuing and widespread discrimination faced by Travellers"; "ongoing deficiencies in the State’s response to gender-based violence", and inadequate safeguards to ensure access to justice and the rule of law.
The submission adds that State intervention is needed to "eradicate structural and institutional racism, ableism, ageism and sexism".
The Commission recommends:
- That the State prioritises legislation through amendments to the Garda Síochána (Powers) Bill to define and prohibit racial profiling, and to include an express requirement to record the racial and ethnic origin of a person being stopped and searched, and the location at which the power is exercised;
- That the State adequately resources the provision of specialised and accessible services and refuge spaces across the country, and provides supports for victims of gender-based violence;
- That the State decriminalises abortion in all circumstances and ensures equality of safe and timely access to abortion across the entire country;
- That identified perpetrators of historic abuse should be prosecuted and punished "with penalties proportionate to the gravity of the offence" and that the State should provide a detailed update on the financial contributions of religious congregations to redress;
- That the State carries out a thorough inquiry into the pandemic response, including an examination of the impact on civil and political rights and the development of legal and policy measures to mitigate the disproportionate impact of future crises on structurally vulnerable groups.
Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney said that policing powers need to be applied consistently.
“It’s important that Ireland sets out in public to the UN how it is meeting its human rights obligations and faces direct questioning to account for those obligations," she said.
"The ICCPR plays a vital role in the implementation of international law and human rights, and countries like Ireland who have ratified it are obliged to legally protect and preserve an individual’s freedom from injustice, inequality, and discrimination in all forms.
“The specific use of police powers by the State can disproportionately impact marginalised individuals and groups, which is why it’s so important to ensure they are exercised in a consistent and unbiased way.
Across the globe, we’ve seen examples of how bias can negatively affect community policing, and it’s crucial that the current consolidation of Garda powers ensures effective oversight.”
The submission also calls for the extension of gender quotas to local, Seanad, and European Parliament elections, to ensure at least 40% of election candidates are women, and that additional measures, such as reserved parliamentary seats and a quota system to "support the political participation of under-represented groups", are introduced.
