The Garda human rights report is an important first step, but only that,writes Seán Love.
The Garda Síochána's move to commission and publish an audit of the compliance of the force's policies and strategies with international human rights standards (the Ionann report) is a sound one. The Commissioner's candour in making it public, and his unequivocal acceptance of its findings and recommendations, could be a historic step in the search for a properly accountable police service in Ireland.
The extent to which our human rights are respected depends on the performance of the police. To prevent human rights violations, Amnesty International recognises the importance of engaging with them. Since 2000 Amnesty has advised the Garda human rights working group in developing and introducing initiatives such as training programmes, a declaration of ethics, and human rights awareness and auditing, in order to integrate international human rights standards into the daily practice of gardaí.
These international standards directly affect every member of the force. Properly adhered to, the standards will lead to more effective and transparent policing. Meeting these standards presents a challenge to the Government, civil society and each member of the Garda.
The compliance of gardaí with these standards has been consistently put in question, not just by human rights organisations in Ireland, cases such as that of Dean Lyons, and tribunals of inquiry, but also by international bodies such as the Council of Europe's Committee Against Torture.
The Ionann report reveals how allegations of Garda abuse of powers, ill-treatment, institutional racism and unaccountability, all in the public domain for some time, are not isolated, unconnected events. They are the result of systemic failures in Garda policy and practice, with an absence of mechanisms to ensure human rights compliance.
Of enormous significance is that these concerns are being highlighted by the hundreds of members of the Garda, of all ranks, who were interviewed for the audit.
Mr Justice Morris, in his first report (July 2004) of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the Donegal Division, asserted that the Garda is losing its character as a disciplined force.
Officially, the protection of human rights has been identified as a key priority by senior manage-
ment of the Garda for some years. But following interviews and surveys with hundreds of gardaí of all ranks, the authors of the Ionann report found a marked difference in perceptions between senior officers and members about how human rights have become part of the organisation's ethos.
While most senior officers felt that good progress was being made, others displayed a low level of knowledge about how human rights fit into day-to-day policing, and a disturbing cynicism that work on human rights is a "back-covering" exercise.
Perhaps the strongest themes of the audit were about diversity and discrimination. The report's writers identify institutional racism as a key concern for the Garda.
With a relatively recent culturally diverse society, Ireland need only look to its nearest neighbour to see the consequences of such findings going unchecked. The UK government's Commission for Racial Equality recently stated that its own police services are like a permafrost in regard to racism - thawing on the top, but still frozen solid at the core.
The Lawrence inquiry committee, in its criticism of the London Metropolitan Police, defined institutional racism as the collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture or ethnic origin.
France offers a further example. On April 6th, Amnesty Inter-
national published a damning report on policing in France, highlighting how police officers benefit from effective impunity in cases of violence where the victims are from ethnic minority commun-
ities. Complaints of police violence in France for 2004 show the seventh consecutive annual increase.
The Garda Commissioner has published a plan to tackle the issues raised by the Ionann report. This introduces a level of accountability and openness by setting target dates and identifying individuals responsible for delivery.
But the Garda cannot be left alone to address the shortcomings revealed in its observance of fundamental rights, and its failures on training and accountability. The Department of Justice must also face its responsibilities.
The inconsistency in the department's approach is exposed by its introduction of laws conferring extra powers on gardaí, eg the Immigration Act, 2004, Criminal Justice Bill, 2004, and Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act, 2002, about which Amnesty, other human rights organisations and the Irish Human Rights Commission have expressed serious reservations.
It purports to be reforming the Garda while continuing to enact legislation that will allow human rights infringements without accountability.
All laws providing police powers need to be human-rights-proofed, and lessons learned from other jurisdictions in Europe, the US and elsewhere, to avoid unnecessarily making the same mistakes. The step taken by the Garda to deliver a police service that meets the highest international human rights standards is to be welcomed.
Seán Love is executive director of Amnesty International (Irish section)
