Justice for Magdalenes Ireland: Submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review

Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries were residential, commercial and for-profit laundries operated in Catholic convents by four orders of nuns: The Sisters of Mercyi , The Sisters of Our Lady of Charity, ii the Sisters of Charity,iii and the Good Shepherd Sisters.iv Between the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922v and 1996, when the last institution closed, an as yet unknown number of Irish girls and women, estimated to be in the tens of thousands, were incarcerated in Magdalene Laundries and forced to carry out unpaid labour because they were perceived to be “promiscuous”, were unmarried mothers, were the daughters of unmarried mothers, had grown up in the care of the Church and State, or were otherwise in vulnerable situations.non-peer-reviewe

Freedom of artistic expression and the referendum on the 8th Amendment

[No abstract available]non-peer-reviewe

Ireland’s experience of memorialisation in the context of serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law: A submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence

Background The systematic sexual, physical and emotional abuses which children experienced in Ireland’s Industrial and Reformatory Schools during the 20th century are discussed in the official report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse2 and the Amnesty International report, In Plain Sight, 3 among many other sources. In 2017, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) made several recommendations to Ireland regarding the need to ensure accountability and comprehensive redress for these abuses.4 The CAT’s concluding observations were prompted in particular by a report for the session by the voluntary group, Reclaiming Self.5 The system of arbitrary detention, forced labour and multiple forms of torture or ill-treatment of girls and women in Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries during the 20th century is described in oral histories6 and in written submissions to human rights bodies by the voluntary group Justice for Magdalenes / JFM Research, 7 among other sources. The CAT addressed the Magdalene Laundries abuse in its Concluding Observations in 2011 and 2017.8 The CAT’s recommendations to Ireland regarding the Magdalene Laundries (focusing on the obligations to investigate, prosecute perpetrators, facilitate access to information, and ensure comprehensive redress) have been echoed by the UN Human Rights Committee, 9 the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women10 and the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.11 The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has also made criticisms and recommendations to the Irish Government similar to the UN bodies. 12 The widespread incarceration of unmarried mothers in Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes, and the forced separation of children from their mothers in these institutions and through a broader network of adoption agencies, hospitals and nursing homes, is examined in the report of the voluntary evidence-gathering project, ‘Clann: Ireland’s Unmarried Mothers and their Children: Gathering the Data’, 13 among other sources. Numerous international human rights bodies have issued recommendations to Ireland in respect of these human rights violations in recent years.14non-peer-reviewe

Justice for Magdalenes Research NGO submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in respect of Ireland

Paragraph 5 of the Committee’s List of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR)i addresses Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries abuse. The Committee asks Ireland about the following: (1) Whether the State will establish an independent, effective investigation into the full extent of human rights violations in the Magdalene Laundries, including deprivation of liberty and forced, unpaid labour; (2) Whether the State has taken measures to ensure the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of abuse in the Magdalene Laundries; and (3) The status of various elements of the Magdalene “ex gratia” scheme, including: a. the scheme’s treatment of women who live abroad; b. the provision of health and community care under the scheme; c. the women’s need for adaptation services; d. the experiences of women who have been deemed to lack sufficient capacity to apply to the scheme; and e. the establishment of the promised Dedicated Unit under the scheme. 1.2 In asking these detailed questions, the Committee is adding to previous expressions of concern regarding the Magdalene Laundries by three other United Nations treaty bodies and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission.ii 1.3 This report by JFM Research (JFMR) replies to the Committee’s questinon-peer-reviewe

Justice for Magdalenes Ireland: Submission to the United Nations Committee against Torture

Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries were residential, commercial and for-profit laundries operated by four Irish orders of nunsi where between the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922ii and 1996, when the last institution closed, a number of girls and women, estimated in the tens of thousands,iii were imprisoned, forced to carry out unpaid labour and subjected to severe psychological and physical maltreatment.non-peer-reviewe

The power of law: current constraints on truth-telling and transition from Ireland's institutional past

[No abstract available]non-peer-reviewe

Justice for Magdalenes Research: NGO submission to the UN Committee against Torture in respect of Ireland

In 2011, the Committee Against Torture (‘the Committee’) made three urgent recommendations13 to Ireland regarding the abuse of thousands of girls and women in Magdalene Laundries between 1922 and 1996. The Committee recommended that Ireland: (a) institute prompt, independent and thorough investigations into all complaints of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that were allegedly committed in the Magdalene Laundries; (b) in appropriate cases, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offences committed; and (c) ensure that all victims obtain redress and have an enforceable right to compensation, including the means for as full rehabilitation as possible.non-peer-reviewe