Equality safeguards in the Government’s new International Protection Bill remain “unclear”, the State’s human rights watchdog has said.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission was responding to the publication of the full International Protection Bill, which will overhaul the system for processing people seeking refugee status this summer.
The aim of the legislation, being brought forward by Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan, is to integrate Ireland with the new European migration pact. It must be in place by June.
The commission said that while there is additional detail in the Bill beyond that outlined previously in draft legislation, “substantial gaps and ambiguities persist”.
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These are in areas which “directly affect the rights and safety of international protection applicants, including vulnerable applicants such as children and victims of trafficking”, the body said in a statement on Thursday evening.
The commission drew particular attention to issues around legal counselling, age assessment safeguards, and a new independent monitoriing mechanism - including the office of a new chief inspector proposed to oversee the functioning of the system.
It said the Bill does not define what is meant by legal counselling provided to asylum seekers, or who will provide it. This, it said, creates “serious uncertainty” regarding their rights to legal advice and representation at all stages of the new process. It said it is “particularly concerned ” about what it said was a lack of clarity around whether legal counselling may be provided by non-legal professionals, and warned that applicants may be denied “tailored, individualised legal advice”.
Regarding age assessments, the commission said there was a lack of clarity on who will conduct them and what specialised qualifications they might hold, and no details on what the Bill terms “suitable medical means” of assessing age.
It said serious concerns also remain about the independence and effectiveness of a new independent monitoring mechanism envisaged by the Bill, with powers assigned to the chief inspector’s office appearing to be “primarily regulatory rather than investigative”.
It questioned who would have authority to initiate investigations into alleged human rights breaches, including assault, sexual assault or deaths in custody.
It said a provision that the chief inspector may be removed where it is deemed to be in the best interests of the State is a standard “overly broad and open to abuse”.
Commission chief Liam Herrick said Ireland can have a migration and protection system that is fair, efficient and fully compliant with human rights and equality law.
“That requires careful, meaningful scrutiny of this Bill by the Oireachtas.”
Without clear, enforceable safeguards, there is a real risk that the new system will fall short of the State’s human rights and equality obligations," he said.
