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UNTIL RECENTLY, IRELAND did not blaze much of a trail when it came to human rights at home. The 20th century saw plenty of shameful treatment of vulnerable people, normalised by a deep and often blind devotion to a religious institution that preached a message of compassion.
“Fallen” women were ostracised and their babies often were taken from them, thousands of children were abused by pillars of their communities, a lot of damage was done. In Ireland, same-sex intimacy was illegal until 1993 and until last year, women had to travel to another island to terminate a pregnancy.
The 21st century has seen some improvements but there is still a long way to go. Recent events in the United States and ensuing Black Lives Matter protests have shifted the focus once again to our State’s reliance on Direct Provision. We are no gold star winners either when it comes to the rights of Travellers or people with disabilities.
A country evolving
Referendums on marriage equality and the 8th amendment to the Constitution in recent years have shown Ireland to be a very different place to the one that turned a blind eye to injustice for so long. Becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote, we stepped forward on the international stage to declare that we are a society that believes people should be treated with fairness and dignity, regardless of who they are.
By taking that step forward, however, Ireland now has a responsibility to continue to lead the way internationally. The Occupied Territories Bill is an opportunity to do just that.
Six of the seven main parties support the legislation, with Fine Gael being the exception. It has become a sticking point in Government formation talks, with Fine Gael stating that the Attorney General’s advice is that it may contravene EU law. This advice has not been published, and there has been plenty of international legal opinion to the contrary.
It is worth remembering that acting Attorney General, Peter Sutherland, said the same thing about calls for a ban on importing fruit from South Africa during the apartheid era. The brave actions of Dunnes Stores workers caused Ireland to lead the way then, and in a similar fashion, Ireland can lead the way now.
The issue of Israel and Palestine is an emotive one for many, as illustrated by the reaction that the Bill has received since first introduced in the Oireachtas. Former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter has slammed those supporting the Bill, as well as suggesting they would choose not to take a vaccine for Covid-19 were it made in Israel. In the midst of tense discussions around such a divisive issue, it is crucial to stick to the facts.
What are the facts?
It is a fact that Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits an occupying power from moving its civilians into the territory it occupies, and that Article 8.2 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines such actions as a war crime.
Since occupying the West Bank in 1967, Israel has transferred over 600,000 of its citizens to live in settlements there and provides financial incentives for people to do so.
It is also a fact that the European Union has declared settlement construction anywhere in the West Bank to be illegal, and that the United Nations Security Council has called on Israel to cease their construction. It is, undeniably, a gross violation of international law to continue to do so – and neither ‘fanatical’ nor ‘extremist’ to believe such laws should be respected.
It is a fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, awaiting trial for corruption, publicly stated that Arab votes were “not part of the equation” in the aftermath of the recent election. He plans to annex parts of the West Bank completely, as he promised in 2019. This will be a further step towards the elimination of any potential Palestinian state and any prospect of lasting peace.
The lives of Palestinians have already been brutally impacted by the occupation. A separation barrier, the so-called ‘apartheid wall’, runs through hundreds of kilometres of the West Bank. I have experienced the checkpoints around the territory myself – people are treated like livestock.
Those travelling to Jerusalem for work start queueing between 3 am and 4 am each morning. Access to water is severely restricted, with Palestinians in the West Bank consuming a quarter of the amount that Israelis do. Settlements are fully serviced by separate water infrastructure which Palestinians cannot access.
Additionally, hundreds of residential structures were demolished in the West Bank in recent years for lacking construction permits, which are impossible for Palestinians to attain.
Propping up the system
Importing goods and services from settlements legitimises and normalises something that is inherently illegal. It makes a mockery of the world’s supposed commitment to a two-state solution to condemn them on one hand while doing business with them on the other.
The Occupied Territories Bill will not send shockwaves through the Israeli economy. The value of imports from settlements is estimated to be a modest €1 million. It will, however, allow Ireland to lead by example and show its counterparts in Europe and beyond that rogue states should not be allowed to repeatedly ignore the law without consequence.
If international treaties, conventions, resolutions and commitments only exist to pay lip service to human rights and justice in the world, then what is the point? For too long, the responses here and elsewhere have been statements of concern and other platitudes, with no concrete action. There is now an opportunity for Ireland, a small country that punches above its weight, to play an influential role in shaping international opinion towards this issue.
The Bill has been passed in both the Dáil and the Seanad. There is no excuse for any further delay, and efforts to block it can only be viewed as undemocratic. The people of Palestine are relying on us to show leadership and do what is right. It would be a tragedy for us to fail them.
Duncan Casey is a former professional rugby player for Munster and FC Grenoble who has been a vocal supporter of the campaign for Palestinian rights for many years. He has visited Israel and the West Bank as part of his advocacy work.
So your guaranteed remission regardless of behavior inside ? That’s absolutely ridiculous. Remission should be used in extreme circumstances where a prisoner has really showed signs of turning their life around. What’s the point in a criminal been good when there is no punishment.
I think between suspended sentences, serious sentences been run concurrently and light sentences its clear there is not enough space in prisons.
Time for a new one demolish the Dublin ones, sell the lands for housing and fund a new super max in the middle of nowhere and send them all there.
@Lie Smeller: The land around Mountjoy would be worth a fortune, turn the main building into a new hotel and the grounds can be used for apartment blocks… the price of the sale would cover a new prison in the midlands somewhere..
@Dotty Dunleary: a new hotel? Sher there’s already a hotel on that land
Not surprising really. The whole criminal justice system in this country is broken. Criminals constantly being re-released to inflict more pain amd suffering on society, so why would they worry about attacking prisoner officers. There is no real deterrent.
@kevin: We need at least one really tough prison like Alcatraz for the incorrigibles. It needs to be under the control of “The Dept. of Defence” and well beyond the influence of the Bleeding hearts P.C brigade!!
Utterly outdated and inadequate facility, not enough room to segregate and separate Ireland’s most Unwanted!
The Prison officers in that place aren’t paid enough by half to deal with the worst of society!
Send in the Army!
Stats, lies, stats, lies? It’s how ya tell em.
It makes me smile. the people who take these well paid jobs and then complain.
@Sean Conway: so you think that if someone is“well paid “ by your standards it is ok to be assaulted or seriously injured?
@Sean Conway: Why don’t you take one of these ‘well paid jobs’ ?we’ll see how long it will take before that smile is wiped off your face when reality bites.
@Sean Conway: starting salary is very low until you move up the scale if you do and can you stick it.
@Sean Conway: I’m sure that smile would be on the other side of your face if you were to take up work in the prison service.
@Sean Conway:
Can we take then assume nurses, ambulance crew, fire fighters, children detention staff, bus drivers, taxi drivers and everyone else who works frontline with the public should put up and shut up too?
Unbelievable!
@Sean Conway: if that makes you smile then you’re one sick puppy
@Sean Conway: As somebody with family and friends who work there you’d be a lot better doing some research before making comments like that.
If you think its that good the prison service is recruiting at the moment , could be your big chance to make your fortune.
@Ray Farrell: Who’s making them do it? the same goes for joining the army.
@Sean Conway: Prison Staff know there are risks involved in doing the Job. But those risks should be minimised as much as possible. And keeping an accurate record of All incidents where violence has been used against staff is part and parcel of that process.
It is the Prison Officers on the floor that are the ones have to place their own safety at risk to protect others.
And it is the Job of those in charge to enable the staff to work in an environment where there is zero tolerance to Any act of violence towards them.
@Honeybee: I am afraid that is not only reality that bites but also some inmates who are still out early because of ” good” behaviour.
@Sean Conway: it makes me smile, when idiots miss the point…
@Ray Farrell: The same thing that makes you do your job, that is if you have one. And if you do I hope your not going into a job every day where your putting yourself in danger. Just be glad that you can sleep nice and cosy in your bed at night deep in the knowledge that there are men in women in this country putting their personal safety at risk so you can stay like that.
@Sean Conway: well paid? I wouldn’t lift a finger for that kind of money. Completely underpaid dangerous job should be paid double, especially for the people in the front line, the pencil pushers not so much though!
Anyway, ludicrous statement Sean!
I worked as a corrections officer in North America for a while. I never had a problem. If you act the bol**ks and don’t treat inmates with simple respect and dignity, if you throw your weight around simply because you can, if you act like you’re something special because you wear uniform instead, then you will end up getting a hammering. I never read a prisoner’s file or asked why they lost their liberty and made no secret of the fact. I just treated the guys how I like to be treated. That’s not to say if they were breaking the rules that I wouldn’t deal with them. They recognised that and I was always fair and straight with them. I had more problems with chronic staff than I ever had with any inmate.
@Niall Sheridan: The difference between the US System and ours in how those involved in violence towards staff are treated. Assault an officer over there and you are likely to get pepper sprayed at a minimum, tazed or in extreme cases shot. The Irish Prison System has no such protocols.
@Greg Mumble: Because in Ireland Pepper Spray and Tazers are considered as Firearms under the Law and Prison staff have not been issued with either. Even the issue of Asp Batons are only issued to Staff on external duties such as Prisoner escorts, they are not currently issued to Staff on internal duties.
@Greg Mumble: They are not allowed the use of tazers in prisons here in case you tazer somebody and its triggers a reaction to their heart. That would be terrible.
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