Ireland opts in to UN protocol on the rights of people with disabilities
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Ireland has agreed to opt in to a protocol that will see “systemwide change” in the treatment of those with disabilities.
The Government announced yesterday that it will accede to the optional protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Ireland ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2018, but the ratification of the optional protocol has been a long-held ask of disability advocates.
The optional protocol supplements the convention by establishing additional procedures aimed at strengthening the implementation of the convention. It means that people with disabilities will have their rights better upheld by strengthened accountability measures and can take a case directly to the UN if they feel their rights are being denied.
Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman, who earlier this year established an interdepartmental working group on the issue and brought it to Cabinet yesterday, said that he was “really pleased” to see the measure enacted.
Mr O’Gorman told the that the Attorney General’s advice on the optional protocol suggests that there are areas like assessments of need and interventions where the State needs to improve. He said that the fact that the UN’s reporting cycle was not going ahead was not enough of a reason not to opt in and that a mechanism for cases to be taken was a major step because previous breaches of UN conventions had brought about change.
“We’ve seen where UN bodies have made findings against Ireland in other areas, changes have come about,” said Mr O’Gorman. “There will be systemwide pressure on departments and State agencies because where there are things not as they should be, there is a risk of people taking a case. The systemwide change will be the biggest benefit of this move.”
The optional protocol establishes the competence of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), a body of independent experts, to:
- Receive and examine communications from or on behalf of individuals or groups of individuals who claim to be victims of a violation of the rights;
- Undertake inquiries in cases where they receive reliable evidence of grave or systemic violations of the convention;
- Issue recommendations to Ireland.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission welcomed the decision, but said “much remains to be done by the State towards the full implementation of the CRPD”.
The commission said: “These include the review and amendment of legislative frameworks, including Equality Acts, EPSEN Acts, the Mental Health Act, and to bring forward legislation that adequately safeguards individuals at risk and/or deprived of their liberty. Central to this work is meaningful engagement with disabled people and disabled people’s organisations, as a key pillar of the CRPD implementation strategy.”
Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns called for the process to be completed without any further delay.
“Ireland signed the UNCRPD as far back as 2007 and ratified it in 2018. But it is only today — 17 years later, just as this Government’s term draws to a close — that a memo on ratifying the optional protocol has finally been approved by Cabinet.
“This is further proof that disabled people have not been a priority for this Government.
“The optional protocol is a missing piece of the jigsaw.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin will now sign an instrument of accession on behalf of the Government, to be deposited with the Secretary General of the UN. The Protocol will enter into force on the 30th day following that instrument being delivered.