Ireland's obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Michael Nugent

Atheist Ireland has made a written submission to the Seanad Public Consultation Committee on Ireland’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Here is the overview and recommendations.

Overview

The key priorities and challenges facing Ireland in complying with the ICCPR are to comply with Articles 2 (nondiscrimination and right to an effective remedy) and 26 (equality before the law). Please remember that Article 26 covers all laws in Ireland, and it guarantees to all persons equal and effective legal protection against any religious discrimination.

This raises fundamental issues about how the Irish State fails to protect atheists and secularists (as well as religious minorities) with regard to the various religious exemptions in Irish laws. Please also remember that it is persons, not groups, that are guaranteed these rights.

Specific relevant rights are guaranteed under Article 18 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), 19 (freedom of expression) and 6, 7 and 17 (life, treatment and privacy). Protecting these rights requires changes to the Irish Constitution and laws, including equality laws, the education system, religious oaths, the blasphemy law, the Civil Registration Act, and abortion law.

2. Recommendations

1. Give full effect to the human rights under the Covenant in domestic law.
2. Amend Article 44 of the Constitution, on Religion, to explicitly give equal protection without discrimination to religious and non-religious philosophical believers.
3. Amend Article 40.1 on equality before the law with the principle of non-discrimination.
4. Remove Section 7.3(c) of the Equal Status Act 2000 to ensure that children have a guaranteed access to schools without discrimination of any kind.
5. Remove Section 12.4 and 37.1 of the Equality Acts which permit schools and hospitals and training bodies to discriminate on the grounds of religion.
6. Ensure that all children have equal access to a basic moral, intellectual and social education in schools (Art 42.3.2 Irish Constitution) and not one just permeated by religious values.
7. Amend Section 15 of the Education Act 1998 to ensure that the curriculum in all schools is delivered in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.
8. Amend Section 15 of the Education Act 1998 to ensure that all schools write down their Characteristic Spirit.
9. Enact legislation to ensure that a common ethics course is an integral part of all B.Ed and Graduate Diploma programmes in the colleges for student teachers based on human rights and equality and also in accordance with the Toledo Guiding Principles.
10. Reform the governance of State-funded teacher training colleges to remove the authority of religious bodies.
11. Replace the requirement that the President, judges and Council of State members (including Taoiseach and Tanaiste) must swear a religious oath in the presence of Almighty God (Arts 12, 31, 34), and that the President and judges ask God to direct and sustain them (12, 34), with a single neutral declaration that reveals no details about personal religious beliefs.
12. Remove the Constitutional references to all authority coming from the Holy Trinity and our obligations to our divine Lord Jesus Christ (preamble); powers of government deriving under God from the people (6); the homage of public worship being due to Almighty God and the State holding his name in reverence (44); and the glory of God (closing line).
13. Amend Article 40.6.1 of the Constitution to remove the offence of blasphemy.
14. Remove Section 36 and 37 of the Defamation Act 2009 (blasphemy offence).
15. Amend the Civil Registration Act to treat religious and nonreligious bodies equally.
16. Remove Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution to enable the Oireachtas to pass abortion laws consistent with our obligations under the ICCPR.

You can read the full submission here.

expectationlost

discussion of this in the seanad http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/committeetakes/PCJ2014050600002?opendocument#A00100 a couple of people from educate together and Children's Rights Alliance spoke on schools < presentation
http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/committeetakes/PCJ2014050600016?opendocument

questions from senators http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/Debates%20Authoring/DebatesWebPack.nsf/committeetakes/PCJ2014050600019?opendocument


Paul Rowe

The fundamental issue in Irish primary education is the ownership of the real estate, the fact that 98% of the primary schools are privately owned and the legal lien over property which the Department of Education and Skills should have is extremely weak despite the fact that in most cases the State has provided 85% of the building cost of infrastructure and over many years and has provided well over 90% of the running costs of all schools.