merrion street

Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ciaran Cannon, today chaired the first meeting this year of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Human Rights.

In his opening address to the Committee the Minister highlighted a number of recent developments:

“Since the Committee last met, there have been a number of significant developments, including Ireland’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the launch of the National Plan on Business and Human Rights and Ireland’s chairing in March this year in New York of the Commission on the Status of Women.”

Quoting from his address to the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council in March in Geneva, Minister Cannon highlighted a number of significant anniversaries in 2018, including the 20th anniversary of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the 25th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and 70 years since the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

In addition to briefings on the outcome of the Commission on the Status of Women and Human Rights Council sessions, Committee members were also updated on a number of current and ongoing issues, including Ireland’s recent ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, progress on the Global Compacts on Refugees and Migration, and upcoming reports on the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, implementation of the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations. 

The Inter-Departmental Committee on Human Rights was established in 2015 under The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World to improve the coherence of the promotion and protection of human rights in our foreign policy.  It brings together senior officials from a number of Government Departments who coordinate on relevant issues including compliance with international human rights treaty obligations.