Have your say on Mother & Baby Home Investigation

Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2014

The terms of reference for the investigation into Mother and Baby Homes are due to be published this Thursday July 17th. 

We urge you to contact your local TD’s entire calling for the inclusion of Magdalene Laundries, the Bethany Home, and all Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes in the investigation, seeking full compliance with international human rights standards.

You can use this short letter as a template for your own letter;

Dear Deputy,

I welcome the announcement of the investigation into Mother and Baby Homes as a recognition of the vital need to shine a light on the lived experiences and the devastation inflicted upon women and children incarcerated within these institutions.

I urge you to support the calls for;

• The inclusion of all Mother and Baby Homes and County Homes in the investigation. 
• The inclusion of the Magdalene laundries in the investigation given the extent of movement of women and children between mother and baby homes and Magdalene Laundries and the fact that the McAleese Committee’s      terms of reference did not allow it to investigate individual complaints of abuse or examine fully the religious orders’ financial records.
• Inclusion of the Bethany Home and all Protestant Mother and Baby Homes on an equal footing in the investigation. 
• Full compliance in the investigation with European and international human rights law.  In doing so the investigation must:

(a) be carried out by an independent commission, the members of which shall be chosen for their recognized impartiality, competence and independence as individuals. In particular, they shall be independent of any suspected perpetrators and the institutions or agencies they may serve.
(b) have the power and obligation to obtain all information necessary to the inquiry, in order to make findings of fact regarding alleged human rights abuses;
(c) have at its disposal all the necessary budgetary and technical resources for effective investigation;
(d) have the authority to issue summonses to witnesses, including any officials allegedly involved, and to demand the production of evidence;
(e) be conducted with reasonable expedition;
(f) have a sufficient element of public scrutiny to secure accountability in practice as well as in theory;
(g) involve survivors, next-of-kin and representative groups in the procedure such that they are informed of and have access to any hearing and all information relevant to the investigation, and that they have the opportunity to provide evidence and comment on the evidence being examined
(h) Issue a public notice inviting the submission of relevant information and written statements, and providing instructions to persons willing to testify.   Notice should be disseminated in a manner designed to reach survivors and next-of-kin, including in rural and international locations and those without access to internet;
(i) Issue conclusions, findings of fact and recommendations based on its findings at the end of its investigation.


Yours sincerely,

Name __________________________________

Address

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