It is an important week for the examination of human rights issues in Ireland as the Irish Government will be appearing before the UN Universal Periodic Review in Geneva on Thursday morning October 6.

The Universal Periodic Review is a process through which the human rights records of the United Nations’ 192 Member States are reviewed and assessed every four years. It is a new monitoring system of the UN Human Rights Council and it is the first time that UN States directly examine each other on their human rights record.

In preparation for this examination 17 NGO’s have been leading the civil society response to the UPR, the result of which was published and submitted in March of this year. The project titled Your Rights, Right Now has seen consultations and submissions throughout the country involving many groups and sectors of society. Over 100 civil society organisations have endorsed the report.

More about this process is detailed in this short film.

 

Other civil society organisations also made submissions for consideration by the committee.

The Irish Government submitted their report to the United Nations in July.

The United Nations published their analysis and have heavily referenced the Your Rights. Right Now document throughout.
 

On Thursday morning you can watch the examination live online where Minister for Justice Alan Shatter will be defending Ireland’s human rights record.