UN committee warns scope of mother and baby homes inquiry is too narrow

IRELAND
The Journal

A UNITED NATIONS committee has published its concluding observations on how Ireland is eliminating all forms of discrimination against women, and found that there are “several crucial gaps” in the country’s obligations on women’s rights and equality.

The UN committee said that the scope of reference for the investigation into abuse at mother and baby homes is “narrow” and that it may not address the whole spectrum of abuses perpetrated against women and girls.

The committee was also critical of the State’s efforts to address the issue of abuse, ill-treatment or neglect of children in the Magdalene Laundries, it said:

Ireland has failed to establish an independent, thorough and effective investigation, in line with international standards.

It added that “no effort has been made to establish an independent investigation to identify, prosecute and punish the perpetrators who performed the medical procedure of symphysiotomy without the consent of women”.

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