Ireland will ratify the international conventions against torture and racial discrimination "in the near future," the Taoiseach has promised.
Speaking at the Amnesty International lunch in Dublin yesterday, Mr Ahern said it was a Government priority to ratify UN human rights treaties which it had signed, but not so far ratified.
Ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination would happen as soon as the Equal Status Bill was enacted, he said. Legislation now being prepared by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform would pave the way for the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to be ratified "in the near future".
On Ireland's treatment of asylum-seekers, Mr Ahern said "our rapid social and economic development left us unprepared for some of the unfamiliar responsibilities that have come with it". But a system was now in place to ensure a fair hearing with all the necessary safeguards for every asylum-seeker.
Mr Ahern said not all refugees had received "the welcome they have a right to respect", even though Irish people were renowned throughout the world as "a warm, welcoming and friendly race".
