Draft Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review2

Published: Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Draft Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review

On the 6th of October 2011 Ireland was examined for the first time by other UN countries on its human rights record. This process is called the Universal Periodic Review or UPR. This is the new human rights monitoring system of the UN Human Rights Council. It aims to improve the human rights situation in each of the 192 countries within the UN. Under the UPR the UN Human Rights Council reviews all 192 countries every four years so 48 countries are reviewed each year.

The result of the UPR examination is a list of recommendations made by other countries on how Ireland can improve its human rights record. The UPR is an important political process for countries because they are examined by their peers so can be used as a platform to promote public awareness of human rights issues.

On the 8th of October the UPR Working Group adopted the Outcome Report on Ireland. The Outcome Report contains a summary of what was said and recommended during the UPR Working Group session. Out of a total of 126 recommendations, the government accepted 62 recommendations, committed to considering 49 by the next UPR session in March 2012 and rejected 15 recommendations set by the UN in particular in the area of reproductive rights and combatting racism.

Click on the link to read the full document.

Download file:Draft Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review2