23rd December 2010
As Ireland’s leading non-governmental organisation campaigning for the rights of people in prison and the progressive reform of Irish penal policy, IPRT believes that the United Nations UPR process offers a unique opportunity to examine Ireland’s human rights record with regard to prisoners before other countries for the first time (in October 2011). Through our involvement with the process we hope to shed new light on specific human rights violations in the Irish prison system, make recommendations for improvement and thereby effect much-needed change. The high profile, intra-state nature of the UPR examination in Geneva, together with the stated intention of the Irish government to be elected to the Human Rights Council[1] in 2012 presents a unique opportunity to evaluate the State’s past performance, and to promote awareness of international human rights standards in general, and of prisoners in particular.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.