Ms Emily Logan:

Thank you very much, Chair. I also thank the members of the committee. On behalf of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, I thank the committee for the opportunity to meet in this module of its deliberations. I would like to briefly outline the institutional structure and legislative basis of the commission for members of the committee and members of the public who may be less acquainted with our work. The commission is Ireland's independent national human rights and equality institution. It was established in primary legislation in the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014, following the merger of the precursor bodies of the Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission and it has been in operation since November 2014.

Professor Siobhán Mullally and I are two of 15 members of the commission, appointed by the Head of State, the President, following an open competition and resolution by both Houses of the Oireachtas. We have no reporting relationship to Government and account directly to the Oireachtas for our statutory functions. We appear today, to represent the views of the commission, which for the record, are contained in our recent policy statement on a new legal and regulatory framework on abortion in Ireland, in light of its international human rights obligations. The statement was submitted to the committee on Monday. It will come as no surprise to the committee that we do not have consensus at the commission on this matter but, procedurally, section 16 of the Act facilitates majority decision making. In practice, that means that when we meet in plenary we take a vote on matters that are contested and this matter has been put to the commission on ten occasions since its inception in 2014. What we bring before the committee today represents the views of 13 out of 15 members of the commission. Two members of the commission do not support the document in its entirety. The commission's independence has been recognised internationally and we have been awarded A status accreditation at the United Nations, under the UN Paris Principles. Those principles set out the necessary guarantees required to ensure that a national human rights institution can carry out its functions in full independence, free from any form of political or other pressure. Through a range of legal powers determined by the Oireachtas, we are mandated to promote and protect human rights and equality in the State.

Of most relevance to today's discussion, is section 10(2) of the 2014 Act, which is to "keep under review the adequacy and effectiveness of law and practice in the State relating to the protection of human rights and equality". Under section 10 of the Act the commission is also mandated "to consult with such national, European Union or international bodies or agencies having a knowledge or expertise in the field of human rights or equality as it sees fit". Ireland has ratified six of the nine core UN human rights treaties and is bound by those obligations as a matter of international law. For each treaty, there is an expert independent monitoring committee that oversees compliance. Ireland's compliance with the treaties is examined on a periodic basis and under our legislative mandate, the commission formally participates as the national independent monitor of human rights in this process and monitors the State's compliance with the recommendations.

UN treaty monitoring committees have regularly raised concerns regarding the current legal position in Ireland in relation to abortion. Most notably, in 2016 and 2017 the UN Human Rights Committee found that Ireland had violated a number of rights of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, following complaints taken by Amanda Mellet and Siobhán Whelan, both of whom experienced pregnancies with fatal foetal abnormalities. I use that term as it is well understood. I know it offends some but it is important that we all know what we are talking about. In Amanda Mellet's case the UN Human Rights Committee found a violation of Article 7, namely, the prohibition on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The committee took the view that many of the negative experiences could have been avoided if Ms Mellet had not been prohibited from terminating her pregnancy in the familiar environment of her own country and under the care of the health professionals whom she knew and trusted.

The committee also found a violation of Article 17, namely, protecting the right to privacy, stating that: "the interference in Ms Mellet's decision as to how best to cope with her non-viable pregnancy was unreasonable and arbitrary". The committee also found a violation of Article 26, namely, equality before the law, taking into account the financial cost of travelling to the UK. The facts of the 2017 Siobhán Whelan case were similar to those in the Mellet communication and relying on the same reasoning, the committee also found a violation of Articles 7, 17 and 26, namely, the prohibition against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, protecting the right to privacy and equality before the law.

The State’s response to the UN Human Rights Committee’s views in the Mellet case, which included an acknowledgment by the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, of its views, an ex gratiasum of €30,000 and a detailed itemisation of the steps being taken by the State on foot of the case, further demonstrate the significance of Ireland’s international legal obligations for domestic law and policy.

UN treaty monitoring bodies are the pre-eminent interpreter of Ireland’s binding obligations in international law under the human rights treaties it has ratified. Their views on Ireland are, therefore, authoritative and have a significant role in the interpretation, application and development of Irish law.