Here are some pictures of Atheist Ireland and Alison Mawhinny, along with other Irish NGOs, briefing the UN Human Rights Committee at the formal and informal sessions in Geneva. Alison is an independent academic who worked with Atheist Ireland on Freedom of Religion issues. The pictures are from the Centre for Civil and Political Rights […]
I’ve just had this Twitter conversation with @Adam4004 about Reductio Ad Absurdum: Michael: Children have a human right to a neutral studying environment, even in denominational schools http://bit.ly/1pynTek Evert Bopp: That’s not a human right. What’s next, a “human right” to clean socks? Michael: There is no human right to clean socks, but there is […]
Educate Together has made two statements recently that undermine the duty of the Irish Government to provide secular education though new non-denominational schools, as required by the UN Human Rights Committee. Educate Together is doing this by blurring the distinction between multi-denominational schools (which Educate Together schools are) and non-denominational schools (which the UN Human […]
This is Yuval Shany of the UN Human Rights Committee, during the Committee’s questioning of Ireland in Geneva in July. He is challenging the Irish State’s reasons for not mandating the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to monitor human rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Starting with the new […]
This is a powerful extract from the closing address of Nigel Rodley, Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Committee, after the Committee’s questioning of Ireland in Geneva in July. Then there remain the many social issues that have been raised by colleagues. The Magdalene laundries, the Mother and Baby homes, the child abuse, the symphysiotomy. […]
This is the hugely significant exchange in Geneva in July, where the Irish Government formally accepted that the will of the Irish people as expressed in a referendum or parliamentary vote cannot be used to deny human rights, including on abortion. The UN Human Rights Committee asked Ireland why it was in breach of the […]
The UN Human Rights Committee has told Ireland to stop breaching the human rights of atheists and minority faiths in the education system, reflecting concerns raised by Atheist Ireland at the questioning session in Geneva. The Committee concluded: The Human Rights Committee is concerned about the slow progress in increasing access to secular education through […]
The UN Human Rights Committee has told Ireland to stop breaching the human rights of atheists and minority faith teachers and health workers, reflecting concerns raised by Atheist Ireland at the questioning session in Geneva. The Committee concluded: The Human Rights Committee is concerned that under Section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Acts, religious-owned institutions, […]
The UN Human Rights Committee has told Ireland to remove religious oaths for public office and to remove the law against blasphemy, reflecting concerns raised by Atheist Ireland at the questioning session in Geneva. The Committee concluded: Religious Oaths: The Human Rights Committee is concerned at the slow pace of progress in amending the Constitutional […]
Yesterday’s smears against Richard Dawkins go beyond the usual pattern, in which some people place the most uncharitable meaning they can on a comment by Richard, and continue to do so even after he clarifies what he meant. In this instance, the uncharitable meaning that some people are placing on his comments seems almost the […]