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The Journal
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Minister criticised after recent deportation flight took off without human rights monitor on board
A GOVERNMENT CHARTER flight that flew to Nigeria earlier this month has been criticised after it emerged that no independent human rights observer was on board the flight. Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon accused the government of 'skipping independent scrutiny' in favour of 'theatre' by allowing the flight to make its journey without a monitor on board. These independent human rights observers were on board the government's two previous charter flights, which saw a combined 71 people deported to Georgia. This was followed by a special charter flight this month where some 35 people, including five children, were deported from Ireland to Nigeria. The flight was heavily criticised afterwards by a Dublin school and by a Clondalkin community group as each had members of their community on board. In response to a Parliamentary Question from Gannon about the makeup of the professional personnel involved in the flight, Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan disclosed that 'due to technical reasons outside the control' of the Department of Justice, the human rights observer was not able to accompany the flight to Lagos. O'Callaghan defended himself from criticism of the flights, telling Gannon that planning and consideration had been given to 'ensure the safety and wellbeing' of the people being removed from Ireland to Nigeria. Role of human rights observers The role of the independent human rights observer is to monitor the use of force and restraints for deportees on the flight. Such observers are currently not mandatory for charter deportation flights in Ireland. However, there are requirements to have such monitors so as to ensure fundamental rights are upheld during forced returns of people. These requirements feature in the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) but Ireland remains the only EU member state yet to ratify the protocol , despite having signed it in 2007. It is included in the current Programme for Government . They had been present at Dublin Airport before the flight took off and later received a debrief from gardaí who were on board the plane, according to O'Callaghan. In addition to Garda personnel, the returnees on the flights were accompanied by a doctor and an advanced paramedic. The flights are carried out by the Garda National Immigration Bureau. Advertisement In his response to Gannon, seen by The Journal , O'Callaghan said the independent observer was briefed by gardaí afterwards. 'For the charter flight to Nigeria the observer was present in Dublin Airport to monitor the operation prior to departure of the charter flight on 4 June 2025 and meet with returnees including the families concerned,' O'Callaghan said. 'However, due to technical reasons outside the control of my Department, the observer was not able to accompany the flight to Lagos. The observer has been debriefed by a nominated Garda escort on the operation of the flight.' Gannon had asked about the number of professionals present on board, including medical staff, child protection professionals and psychological support personnel. The Dublin Central TD told The Journal that the minister needed to clarify whether he believes a human rights observer is 'essential' for the flights. If so, then O'Callaghan needed to outline 'why did he let the Nigeria flight go ahead' without an observer. He repeated a criticism of the minister's use of the flights as a form of PR and a submission to anti-migrant demonstrations seen over recent years. 'Having the Gardaí who carried out the deportation 'debrief' the observer afterwards isn't oversight, it's theatre,' Gannon said. 'This flight involved children. The State has a legal and moral duty to safeguard their rights at every stage, not just when it's convenient. Skipping independent scrutiny when children are being forcibly removed strips away any pretence of a rights-based approach. What we're seeing is a government more committed to appearing tough than doing things properly. Gannon added that the deportation flights will 'go down as a shameful episode' in the life of the current government. 'It may play well in certain corners of the political world, but anyone with a shred of decency can see how wrong this was,' Gannon claimed. The Fianna Fáil minister said he accepted that deportations were 'challenging' for the people involved. He added that they had received legal orders to leave the State and that the flights were required to ensuring that Ireland's immigration system is 'robust and rules based'. He noted that any person who has been ordered to leave the State is committing a criminal offence and 'can be arrested without warrant if they come into contact with An Garda Síochána'. The 2,113 deportation orders signed this year are nearing last year's total of 2,403 orders. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Daily Maverick
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
State's interdepartmental strategy to tackle hunger hampers South Africans' right to food — report
South Africans cannot hold a specific individual or department to account for the right to food not being realised because most of the national frameworks on food security are interdepartmental, says the author of the report released by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute. The report calls for the drafting of national framework legislation in relation to the right to food in the country. The government of national unity (GNU) in South Africa has highlighted food security as part of its broader social and economic policies. According to its Statement of Intent, the GNU aims to tackle poverty, spatial inequalities and food security by providing a social safety net and improving access to basic services. South Africa's National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security outlines strategies to ensure food availability, accessibility, utilisation and stability. The government has committed to promoting the right to adequate food, addressing hunger and improving food security through coordinated efforts across various departments. Despite South Africa being food secure at a national level, household food security remains a challenge, with increasing food insecurity rates in recent years. The GNU's approach includes social support initiatives such as household grants and school feeding schemes to mitigate these issues. In a report released by the Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri) on Tuesday researchers recommended legislative and policy shifts that will help South Africans to have better access to food and potentially eradicate hunger. This is part of multiple recommendations that address other socioeconomic factors that create food poverty. The report recommends continued advocacy for the South African government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which serves as a complaints and investigative mechanism for rights violations, including the right to adequate food. The report recommends 'the drafting of national framework legislation in relation to the right to food in South Africa (e.g. a Food and Nutrition Security Act) in line with the recommendations under General Comment 12, as well as South Africa's National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security. This would set out the roles and responsibilities of the different actors in relation to food security in South Africa, including an interdepartmental body with oversight responsibility.' It also recommends that the updated National Food and Nutrition Security Plan be amended to address and monitor affordability and food pricing and enable people's economic access to nutritious food (the ability to purchase food as opposed to direct access, which refers to growing one's own food). The report, titled ' Food for Thought: Reflections on Food (In)Security. Laws, Experiences, Interventions ', aims to better understand how some of Seri's partners and client groups have been affected by, and responded to, food insecurity and hunger issues. Seri's research focused on the experiences of the leadership and of members as conveyed by leaders of the following partners: the Inner City Federation, the South African Informal Traders Forum, the African Reclaimers Organisation, the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agriculture and Allied Workers Union, the Izwi Domestic Workers Alliance and the Slovo Park Community Development Forum. Other recommendations call for an awareness of vulnerability of certain groups in society when creating, amending and updating policies that foster food security: 'Acknowledge food system workers, for example farm workers and informal traders, and ensure and monitor that they have fair and safe working conditions, and receive living wages. Acknowledge how women might be differently affected throughout the food system, for example as producers, workers and consumers, and incorporate specific interventions to attain greater gender equality. This could take the form of monitoring and increasing the number of women who have access to land for productive purposes, addressing unsafe working conditions due to pesticide use on farms and low wages/seasonal work of female farm workers.' The report further explains that sufficient funds have to be in place to implement these processes, which often need human and other resources to come to fruition. This is in line with the recommendations by the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation in its evaluation of the National Plan. The report took two years to compile, according to senior researcher at Seri Yvonne Erasmus. 'What is often missed is the issue of economic access, because food security has different dimensions, so national availability of food, whether food is nutritious, whether people have stable access over time, and a lot of the policy focus at government level is on the availability dimension. We do have more than enough food available nationally, we export a lot of our food and we waste a third of the food we produce.' Erasmus pointed out that economic access to food seems to be what the government is struggling to create a sound and sustainable plan for. Also, one of the challenges was that South Africans couldn't hold a specific individual or department to account for the right to food not being realised, because most of the national frameworks on food security were interdepartmental. Erasmus wrote the report and led the research, and legal researcher Michael Clark conducted the interviews and produced an earlier version of the report. The national organising secretary of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union, Karel Swart, said he is not sure whether new laws and policy will change anything. He said the past 30 years were a 'complete failure'. Black economic empowerment had failed dismally under the ANC government. 'Farmworkers believe there was more food under apartheid. The current agriculture system does not work for the majority [only] for a tiny minority. I believe in reforms, but the current system must be replaced by a people-driven system… that caters for farmworkers and farm dwellers as well as for South Africa and the world.' Swart was a panellist at the launch of the report in Johannesburg on Tuesday and the union was involved in the data collection and providing experiences for the report. Swart echoed the sentiment that people need money to access food. 'The farms are lobbying the government to change the minimum wage and change the sectorial determination for farm and domestic workers. They want to hire and fire,' he said. 'They don't understand their actions on human behaviour. Children drop out from school in large numbers. Teenage pregnancies and sexual abuse are on the rise… violence and murder are also on the rise. All these things emanate in a country where hunger and starvation is on the order of the day.' DM
Scoop
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
UN Torture Prevention Body To Visit Peru As Field Missions Resume
GENEVA (5 June 2025) –The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is set to undertake its first two visits of this year, to Peru and Serbia, from 15 to 21 June 2025. These visits mark the resumption of SPT's important in-country work, following the postponement of four missions earlier this year. The initial postponement of SPT visits was due to budget constraints related to the UN liquidity situation. The upcoming visit to Peru will be the second mission to the country, following one that took place in 2013. The Subcommittee delegation will visit various places of deprivation of liberty to evaluate the treatment of people held therein and the measures taken to protect them from torture and ill-treatment. 'In addition to visiting centres of deprivation of liberty across the country and interviewing people within the facilities and personnel who work there, we will pay special attention to how the authorities have implemented our recommendations from 2013. We will also use this opportunity to engage and collaborate with the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM),' said Marie Brasholt, head of the delegation. 'A comprehensive national system for the prevention of torture requires an independent and impartial NPM in charge of monitoring places through regular visits, and it must have adequate resources,' she added. Peru ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in 2006 and its NPM, established by law in 2015, is housed within the Ombudsman´s Office (Defensoría del Pueblo). Under its mandate, the SPT can conduct visits to State parties and carry out visits without prior notice to any places where people are or may be deprived of liberty. To follow up on its prior recommendations and appraise the progress made by the Peruvian authorities towards preventing torture through legislative, administrative, and other measures, the SPT delegation will hold meetings with government authorities, civil society, UN agencies, and the NPM, with whom it will also conduct a joint visit. Following the visit, the delegation will send a report to the State party, which will remain confidential unless and until the Peruvian authorities decide to make it public, as was the case with the first report. The SPT delegation will be composed of the following members: Marie Brasholt, head of the delegation (Denmark), Barbara Bernath (Switzerland), Luciano Mariz Maia (Brazil), and Maria Luisa Romero (Panama), along with two members of the Secretariat. The SPT had originally planned to visit, in 2025, not only Serbia and Peru, but also Burundi, Mexico, Mozambique, New Zealand, France, and Afghanistan. The SPT views the resumption of its visits, despite the ongoing financial constraints, as essential to fulfilling its preventive mandate and to assessing conditions in places of deprivation of liberty, where independent oversight is most urgently needed. Background: The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture monitors States parties' adherence to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, which to date has been ratified by 94 countries. The Subcommittee is made up of 25 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Subcommittee has a mandate to visit States that have ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, during the course of which it may visit any place where persons may be deprived of their liberty and assist those States in preventing torture and ill-treatment. The Subcommittee communicates its observations and recommendations to States through confidential reports, which it encourages countries to make public.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
UN High Commissioner For Human Rights Volker Türk Concludes Official Visit To Serbia
Belgrade, 21 May 2025 Dobar dan, And thank you all for coming. My visit to Serbia is part of a long and solid cooperation between the UN Human Rights Office and the country. I am grateful to the Government for having facilitated this visit, and for the important meetings yesterday and today with the authorities, with parliamentarians, with independent institutions, civil society, university students and other partners. I appreciate the Government's engagement with my Office and with UN human rights mechanisms. Serbia has ratified almost all international human rights treaties and recently acceded to the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. I also welcome the adoption by the Government of the Leave No One Behind guidance tool that is meant to influence legislative and policy processes. But it is also very important to move forward and to guarantee a meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders in the legislative processes. The national human rights mechanisms and the independence of the judiciary also need to be strengthened. For more than six months, Serbia has been witnessing a wave of protests mainly led by students, calling for transparency and accountability for the tragic incident at Novi Sad's railway station on 1 November of last year. The students' demands also include fighting corruption, the release of those who were detained for taking part in peaceful protests, accountability for attacks against demonstrators, and an increase in the budget for higher education. Today at the University of Belgrade, I had a chance to meet with students and their professors. I was impressed by the energy and by the enthusiasm of these young people. They have expressed a strong desire to me for a free and democratic society, and a thirst for human rights. Their voices need to be heard and respected. Societies thrive when there is an open, free and inclusive space for dialogue, where challenges can be discussed safely, when divergent opinions can be expressed freely, when criticism can be expressed without fear of reprisals, and when the vilification of critical voices is consigned to the past. Freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly are fundamental to society – particularly when there is sharp disagreement on major issues. A solution needs to be found so that the exercise of these freedoms is not pitted against the right to education. During my visit, I was struck by the level of profound polarisation and division within society, and by the lack of trust in State institutions and political actors. This highlights the need for the renewal of the social contract. Trust can only be gained through confidence-building measures, an open mind, and a self-critical reflection by everyone. I have urged the Government to ensure transparency and carry out prompt and thorough investigations into the Novi Sad tragedy, as well as into all allegations of violence against peaceful protesters. I have also expressed the readiness of my Office to carry out a fact-finding mission into the incidents surrounding the demonstration on 15 March. Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see that the recent protests have been mostly peaceful. My Office has received reports of raids, verbal attacks, harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrests, threats and smear campaigns directed against human rights defenders and media workers. We have also received reports about unlawful digital surveillance and lawsuits being used to intimidate, with a chilling effect. These are obviously concerns that need to be taken seriously and addressed. I am concerned about a rise in hate speech, both online and in traditional media outlets. Women, Roma and other communities, as well as LGBTIQ+ people and journalists, are particularly targeted. And sometimes, even politicians and high-level officials engage in hateful rhetoric. Vilifying and stigmatising those who exercise their human rights and defend them can only lead to deeper polarisation and fear. It is crucial to address the root causes of discrimination and marginalisation against all ethnic and national minorities. The Roma community still suffers from high poverty rates, exclusion, and limited access to healthcare, education, employment and basic services. This is unfortunately a phenomenon we see in many countries in Europe. Existing anti-discrimination policies need to be reinforced, with systematic collection of disaggregated data to help monitor and combat discrimination. Gender backlash is a global phenomenon, which also manifests itself in Serbia. It is expressed through the recent suspension of the gender equality law, misogynistic narratives and attacks, notably against women in the public sphere, as well as gender-based violence, including femicide. People with disabilities also suffer from discrimination. Their rights need to be guaranteed, both in laws and in their application. Serbia is part of a region that has suffered greatly as a result of war and conflict. Serbians have shown willingness to advance and rebuild a nation based on equality and human rights. Transitional justice is an important pillar in this process. More is needed in this regard. Accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed during the 1990s remains a major challenge. A number of criminal cases are still under investigation, with limited and often slow judicial proceedings. Most convictions involve low-ranking officials, while cross-border judicial cooperation and information sharing are still weak. Serbia also lacks a legal framework to recognise the status of missing people and the rights of their families. And victims' access to justice and reparations remains inadequate. Memorialisation is an essential part of the healing process. The denial of war crimes and glorification of war criminals are the opposite. Without genuine transitional justice, including truth and reconciliation, wounds of the past will remain open. I also had discussions with the authorities regarding the human rights situation in Kosovo, particularly with respect to non-majority communities. I am aware of the situation, and my Office will continue to work on it. I am committed to follow up personally. During the visit, I was touched by the resilience of people I met, as well as their desire and willingness to advance human rights in the country. They have my full solidarity and support. Thank you.
Irish Examiner
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Grace is not a victim of unfortunate oversight, but a citizen whose rights were repeatedly violated
Living as a disabled woman in Ireland means being underestimated, having your capacity constantly questioned regardless of your impairment, being infantilised, silenced, excluded, and rendered a nuisance. As women, we are marked by difference. Cultural and institutional memory often omits us, except for moments of public shame; even then, we are not centred — merely exposed. The story of Grace, a non-speaking, intellectually disabled woman left in an abusive 'foster' home for decades, is not just one of personal harm. Like many wrongdoings in Ireland, it is cloaked in euphemism, delayed accountability, and procedural malpractice. As a nation, we are culpable of collusion and cultural dissonance. In 1989, Grace was placed by the State in a 'foster' home that was never assessed or registered for foster or respite. The placement wasn't an oversight; it was a bureaucratic gamble with a disabled child's life. For decades, the State looked away. Reports of abuse circulated for years. The first real public conversation about vulnerability and disability emerged much later, amid outrage sparked by the Ryan Report (2009) and the Áras Attracta scandal (2014). These moments should have created a lasting national transformation, but outrage without structural change is merely a performance of eloquent rhetoric claiming shock and disgust. There is an inertia surrounding the abuse and mistreatment of disabled children and adults in this country. The Farrelly Commission and the State's decision not to proceed with the second phase has left 47 children unaccounted for. Ireland has signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). However, it has still not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which would allow for independent monitoring of settings where people are deprived of liberty. Ireland's discourse surrounding disabled lives is reductionist, patronising, and insulting in its reporting of Grace; this insulates systemic actors from critique. News coverage of her situation often fails to centre her as a person with rights. Cultural ableism thrives when language strips disabled people of our complexity, autonomy, and dignity. Philosopher Miranda Fricker describes this phenomenon as epistemic injustice — when someone is denied credibility or recognition as a knower of their own life. Grace, through her legal team, submitted extensive materials to the Farrelly Commission, but none were included. The result was a 2000-page report about her, from which her mediated voice was excluded. The Farrelly Commission, established in 2017, arrived late and left early. Phase two — which was intended to explore the experiences of 47 additional children placed in the same abusive home — was abandoned. Officially, this was deemed 'too complex.' The omission of the second phase is not merely a policy gap but an ethical failure. It denied others like Grace - such as Frances O'Keeffe, featured in these pages yesterday - the opportunity to name their harm and be heard. Here, we encounter profound cultural dissonance: policies, practices, and procedures treat disabled lives, voices, and experiences as inconvenient. The disability lens is rarely included as a perspective in public inquiry and never as the central framework. We are not considered worthy of an easy-to-read format or an executive summary. Grace's status as a ward of court meant she had representation and a right to speak; yet, the inquiry into her treatment refused to include her submissions. Throughout the Farrelly Report, there is no trace of her as a legal subject, no evidence of her, and no formal communication with her by the Commission. Grace, through her legal team, submitted extensive materials to the Farrelly Commission, but none were included. The result was a 400-page report about her, from which her mediated voice was excluded. File picture: iStock Grace's narrative is gendered. Most abuse cases in institutional care, such as Áras Attracta, involve disabled women. Misogyny, like ableism, is embedded in the perception of harm as minimal. Disabled women often experience multiple forms of erasure: we are deemed too dependent to consent, too marginal to protect, and too complex to be believed. This erasure is linguistic as much as legal. Reports often use the passive voice — 'mistakes were made,' 'oversight failed.' When the language of bureaucracy overtakes the moral clarity required to name harm, disabled women like Grace become collateral damage in the pursuit of institutional self-preservation. The facts of the case are not ambiguous. Grace was placed in an un-inspected foster home. She remained there for 20 years despite a documented history of abuse concerns. The State had multiple opportunities to intervene — and chose not to. In 2017, the Farrelly Commission was formed. In 2024, it issued its report — over 2000 pages, €13m spent — and Grace's voice was still absent. Grace is not a singular failure but a symbol of systemic neglect. Her story is one chapter in a broader narrative that Ireland has yet to confront: the persistent, patterned erasure of disabled people from our histories, protections, and safety. If justice is to mean anything, it must begin with truth. That means revisiting the Farrelly Report—not with neutrality but with moral clarity. It means reinstating phase two. It means recognising Grace not as a victim of unfortunate oversight but as a citizen whose rights were repeatedly violated. Like so many others, Grace's voice will remain silent in the public record until we rewrite it—not posthumously, but now, while we still have time to act. Dr Rosaleen McDonagh is a playwright from The Traveller community.
