Dáil debates
Thursday, 21 September 2017
Other Questions
Human Rights
4:45 pm
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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11. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when the report on human rights and business will be launched; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39824/17]
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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With the Ceann Comhairle's indulgence, I would like to speak on the previous question because I met that group and was with it for a few days. Other members of the group, some of them young students, who were interrogated by the immigration authorities in Tel Aviv airport were traumatised by the way the immigration authorities spoke to them.
My question is to establish when the report on human rights in business will be launched.
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The national plan on business and human rights was approved by Government in July and will be launched by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, within the next few weeks. Ireland will be the 16th country in the world, and the 12th EU member state, to adopt a national plan on business and human rights. The publication of the national plan meets a commitment made by the previous Government in June 2014 to give effect to the UN guiding principles on business and human rights which were adopted by the Human Rights Council in 2011. The guiding principles are a globally recognised framework which outline the roles of states and businesses in protecting human rights as well as providing for access to remedy when they are breached.
The national plan being launched is the result of a collaborative effort, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and involving extensive consultations with business, civil society organisations and other Departments and agencies. Its goal is to promote responsible business practices at home and overseas by all Irish business enterprises. It brings together two of our national priorities: our commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights and to being one of the best countries in the world in which to do business. The implementation of the actions identified in the national plan will be a collective endeavour. In this regard, several actions will be assigned to a business and human rights implementation group to be established comprising representatives from Government, the business community and civil society.
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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This has been a long time coming. It was announced in October 2013 and I have tabled several questions on it in the meantime. The answer is always that the process is under way. The working outline was produced in 2015 and last year it was said it would appear in the first quarter of 2017. I hope it happens as the Minister of State says it will.
We know it is important because it will implement the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. We have seen many examples of violations of human rights in order to facilitate multinational companies, violations on the part of some governments with the displacement of people and land grabs. The Rana Plaza disaster was caused by the desire for greater profits, faster turnaround times and cutting corners. It is vital to have this report. Many submissions were made by organisations in Ireland with a lot of recommendations but that was a few years ago. The political landscape has changed, legislation has been introduced, and there is the problem of Brexit. Maybe there is a way in which those recommendations could be updated, not that anybody wants another consultation process but because it has been so long in coming there is a need to facilitate the voices of those who made submissions which may need to be reconsidered to ensure they are relevant today.
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Touching on the delay, the Deputy has outlined some of its stages. It began at the Department's annual NGO forum on human rights in November 2014 and continued as further consultations took place throughout 2015. This included workshops with business and civil society representatives. In February 2015 following the public consultation it received over 30 submissions which had to be addressed. Based on these inputs a working outline of Ireland's national plan was published in December 2015. Written submissions on the working outline were received and further consultations took place last year and early into this year. The presentation on the final draft of the plan was made to a meeting of the interdepartmental committee on human rights in May 2017 and all relevant Departments and agencies were given the opportunity to submit comments and observations prior to the submission by Government. There has been a lengthy process and individuals have had the opportunity to have their say. It is important now that it is published. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has committed to publishing it in the coming weeks. We hope to stick to that deadline.
Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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The EU Commission and the UN Human Rights Council have called on states to develop national action plans to implement the guiding principles. Some of the plans produced by other countries have been weak, some have been aspirational and some have been voluntary rather than binding. I ask that ours will not be weak, aspirational or voluntary. It was recognised in the working outline how important it was to have legal remedies for those who suffer human rights violations in business. That would include Irish companies doing work overseas. There is also a need for a gender focus but we have to be strong in conveying to Irish companies which are working abroad that we will not tolerate violations in other countries that would be illegal in this country.
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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There will be a deadline for the implementation of this plan. The business and human rights implementation group, which will comprises representatives of Government, the business community and civil society, will take forward the implementation of the actions in this plan and it is proposed that the implementation group will meet twice yearly over the first three years to review the implementation. The initial priorities for the implementation group are set out in the plan and are structured according to the three pillars of the UN guiding principles: the state's duty to protect human rights, the corporate responsibility to protect human rights and the access to remedy. A forum on business and human rights will be convened within two years of the adoption of the plan to review progress in achieving delivery on its commitments.