IRELAND
Irish Human Rights Commission
IRISH STATE FAILED TO PROTECT AND VINDICATE THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN IN MAGDALEN LAUNDRIES – REDRESS SCHEME MUST REFLECT IMPACT OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS EXPERIENCED
Issued : 18 June 2013
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) today published its Follow-up Report on State Involvement with Magdalene Laundries saying the State failed in its obligation to protect the human rights of girls and women in Magdalen Laundries. The IHRC is calling for a comprehensive redress scheme that provides individual compensation, restitution and rehabilitation for the women in accordance with the State’s human rights obligations. The IHRC also makes a number of recommendations regarding measures needed to ensure similar wrongs are not repeated in the future.
The IHRC Follow-up Report reviews the facts set out in the Report of the Interdepartmental Committee chaired by Senator Martin McAleese and assesses the human rights implications for the State of what occurred in Magdalen Laundries. It also revisits the findings of the IHRC’s 2010 Assessment Report on the Magdalen Laundries in light of the information now available. The IHRC concludes that girls and women placed in Magdalen Laundries did not have their human rights fully respected in relation to equality, liberty, respect for private life, education, and to be free from forced or compulsory labour or servitude.
Speaking at the Launch of the Report, Professor Siobhán Mullally, IHRC Commissioner said:
“The Report of the Interdepartmental Committee (IDC) confirms extensive State involvement in Magdalen Laundries but it falls short of drawing any conclusions on the human rights obligations of the State. To fill that gap, the IHRC has reviewed the findings of the IDC report against a range of human rights standards. We conclude from the evidence available that the human rights of girls and women placed in the Laundries have not been fully respected. The State acted wrongfully in failing to protect these women by not putting in place adequate mechanisms to prevent such violations, and by failing to respond to their allegations over a protracted period. Credible allegations of abuse should always be promptly, thoroughly and independently investigated.”
Professor Mullally continued:
“The IHRC is calling for a comprehensive redress scheme that provides individual compensation for the impact of the human rights violations which occurred to each individual woman who resided in the Laundries. The extent of such violations and their ongoing impact needs to be factored into the determination of individual compensation and ongoing supports in order to go some way to vindicating the rights of these women. Measures should also be put in place to guarantee that these women have restitution in terms of lost wages, pensions and social welfare benefits. Rehabilitation supports including housing, education, health and welfare, and assistance to deal with the psychological effects of the time spent in the Laundries should be made available to them.”
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