Rights group Amnesty International and the Irish Refugee Council have called on Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to intervene after Sligo-based Nigerian woman Pamela Izevbekhai lost her challenge to her deportation.
Pamela Izevbekhai claimed her two young daughters, Naomi (7) and Jemima (6), would be at risk of serious harm due to female genital mutilation if returned to Nigeria. She has indicated her intention to appeal her case to the Supreme Court.
“We believe Ms Izevbekhai and her children have been denied a fair hearing and that their human rights have been ignored throughout this entire process,” said Amnesty International Ireland executive director Colm O’Gorman.
“The court’s refusal to undertake a substantial review of the merits of the case, or to take into account the new information presented by Ms Izevbekhai and her lawyers, is deeply regrettable.”
The group said if the family is returned the children may be forcibly subjected “to the human rights atrocity that is female genital mutilation”. It said Nigeria, by its own admission, cannot protect them
“The focus now shifts to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern,” said Mr O’Gorman. “It is still within his power to grant the family leave to remain. We call on him to do so as a matter of absolute urgency.”
Ms Izevbekhai's final hopes rest with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg which is examining her case before deciding if it can go to a full hearing. It is unlikely the matter will be heard before June.
The Irish Refugee Council also called on Mr Ahern to intervene and "use his discretion to grant Pamela, Naoimi and Jemima to right to stay in Ireland and to avail of the protection that is available to them so that they can stop living in fear".
Expressing disappointment at the ruling, the council's spokewsoman Roisin Boyd said Ms Izevbehkai had been consistently courageous in publicly highlighting the risks that her daughters’ face if they are returned to Nigeria.
The Children's Rights Alliance also said Mr Ahern should use his discretion in granting the woman and her children the right to stay in Ireland.
"To send these two young girls back to an environment where they may be threatened with FGM, which has already claimed the life of an older sister, raises serious concerns about the Government's commitment to children and is contrary to its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified in 1992," the group said in a statement.
Mr Ahern’s spokesman said the judges in three separate High Court challenges have now refused to overthrow the original deportation orders made in 2005. The spokesman said the minister had no further comment to make on the case ahead of proceedings due before the ECHR.