Ms Fiona Crowley:

On behalf of Amnesty International, I thank the committee for inviting us to address it today on foot of its public consultation on domestic and sexual violence. We welcome the opportunity to emphasise some of our key points we made in our submission to that consultation.

Domestic and sexual violence is a serious global human rights concern and, from the evidence already presented today, it remains a serious human rights issue nationally too. Accordingly, it is welcome the committee is considering how Ireland addresses these issues. We urge the committee to place due emphasis on women and girls as those most subject to this human rights abuse. It must be recognised that domestic violence affects women disproportionately.

In our submission, we focused on one key step Ireland should take, that is signing and ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, the Istanbul Convention. This would not only ensure that Irish law, policy and services are brought up to regional best practice standards, it would also, very importantly, bring improved accountability, as well as the sharing of good practice with other states in this region.

The background to this convention is the prevalence in Europe. In 2006, the Council of Europe conducted a regional campaign to highlight the issues. The campaign revealed significant and concerning variations in member states’ laws, policies and supports, as well as the need for more harmonised legal standards and responses. After several years of negotiation by justice ministries, including Ireland’s, the convention was adopted in May 2011 in Istanbul. It will come into force when there have been ten ratifications including by eight member states, so we are two ratifications short. In November 2013, Denmark became the 32nd member state to sign the convention, so Ireland is coming late to the table.

We urge the committee to recommend that Ireland signs the convention without further delay and takes the necessary measures to ensure its swift ratification.

The convention establishes a gold standard comprehensive framework for governments to take action in this area. Due to the fact that it is not only women who experience domestic violence, parties are also encouraged to provide the protective framework to children, men and older people who are exposed to violence within the family. However, the Council of Europe cautions that it cannot be overlooked that the majority of victims of domestic violence are women and that violence against them is part of a wider pattern of discrimination and inequality which also needs to be addressed in the state party.

The convention extends beyond domestic and sexual violence, of course, and also requires the criminalisation of forced marriage, female genital mutilation, forced abortion and sterilisation. The convention provides for the establishment of a group of experts - referred to as GREVIO - to monitor its implementation. Parties to the convention must report periodically to GREVIO, which may also seek information from NGOs and national human rights institutions such as the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. GREVIO may also conduct official country visits. Based on the state party's report and other information it gathers, GREVIO will draft a report analysing the implementation of the convention in the state and making suggestions and recommendations in respect of any gaps or problems it has identified. The state must submit the GREVIO report to its national parliament, thus making national parliaments and their committees a valuable partner in the monitoring process. GREVIO's reports and conclusions are aimed at helping the state, not just criticising it. GREVIO may also adopt general recommendations to all states parties. I am sure the committee will agree, therefore, that this monitoring mechanism is a very important part of the convention. As well as promoting accountability for poor practices, it will facilitate the identification and sharing of good practices among states. This is the added value for Ireland if it is indeed serious about combating these serious human rights violations.

The Irish Government appears to be in favour of acceding to the convention, as evidenced by its response to the Austrian recommendation in the universal periodic review in 2012. From replies we have received from the Department of Justice and Equality, we know that Ireland supports the provisions of the convention in principle. However, the replies from the Department have repeatedly stated that the detailed provisions of the convention and the legislative and administrative arrangements necessary to allow signature and ratification of the convention by Ireland are being examined.