Every 5 years, Ireland’s human rights record is reviewed by the United Nations, who use the exercise mostly to push countries to become as confused about human rights as they seem to be, gathering from the fact that they are heavily staffed with the kind of people who think preborn babies can be disposed of or that people who menstruate is a good term to replace women.
But since the UN is an enormously self-serving organisation and receives billions in taxpayer funding every year to talk down to the rest of us, these reviews happen as surely as night follows day.
So the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group sat last week and listened to Minister for Equality Roderic O’Gorman tell them how brilliant and progressive we are now in Ireland because we have abortion now and everything.
He was very enthusiastic about plans to bring in “new legislation against hate crime and hate speech” and also “end Direct Provision”, the Minister said.
He was then quizzed by countries who were lining up to ask Ireland questions. No fun being part of a human rights body if you can’t throw your weight around and ask tough questions like Atticus Finch in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ – or, at the least, some character from a John Grisham novel.
All the media reports gloss over the fact that noted human rights abusers like China and Cuba sit on the Human Rights Council. It’s all just a joke really and everyone knows it, but there are lucrative jobs a-plenty so no-one wants to upset the applecart.
So we has the ludicrous situation last week where China (who currently has a million people locked up in concentration camps) saying they were “concerned” at “systematic racial discrimination and poor living conditions of Travellers and Roma” in Ireland.
Here’s Pavee Point tweeting this mad situation without comment.
China concerned at systematic racial discrimination and poor living conditions of Travellers and Roma #HumanRights #UPR39 #Ireland pic.twitter.com/2mAnfRaqUy
— Pavee Point (@PaveePoint) November 10, 2021
Then we had Afghanistan (it’s been in the news lately for oppressing its citizens, especially women) telling Ireland that they needed to be more welcoming to refugees – with Turkey chiming in to say that we’d better be especially more welcoming to the refugees from Afghanistan
“The Talibans are telling Ireland to improve the situation of refugees flying from the Talibans themselves,” as Dr Angelo Bottone put it.
The Talibans are telling Ireland to improve the situation of refugees flying from the Talibans themselves. This #UPR39 is a farce. https://t.co/mEJjbbWNQ3
— Angelo Bottone (@angelo_bottone) November 12, 2021
Dr Bottone also noticed that North Korea (I kid you not) had a few harsh for words for Ireland. (North Korea as everyone knows, is a truly authoritarian state where “unlawful or arbitrary killings by the government” and “torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment by government authorities” are a regular occurrance according to human rights bodies.
But still: “North Korea recommended Ireland to “cease torture and cruel or inhuman treatment of children in places of reformatory and industrial schools operated by religion institutions”.
At #UPR39 North Korea recommended Ireland to "cease torture and cruel or inhuman treatment of children in places of reformatory and industrial schools operated by religion institutions". Seriously. Read the whole submission here: https://t.co/Yw3ZFgVpWi pic.twitter.com/EFV2iSYynR
— Angelo Bottone (@angelo_bottone) November 12, 2021
Even famously liberal Iceland couldn’t get their act together, telling Ireland to repeal a piece of legislation which is long gone off the books.
At #UPR39 Iceland asked Ireland to repeal the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. They don't know that it has already been replaced in 2018 by the new abortion law. They don't have a clue. #facepalm https://t.co/57yxqqRyAm
— Angelo Bottone (@angelo_bottone) November 12, 2021
Facepalm indeed. Not that any of the media noticed, since most journalists probably dream of getting a UN gig that will pay a lavish salary, plus give you bragging rights as a genuine human rights activist (natch!).
Clearly the whole thing is a joke and none of this really matters to any person with a functioning brain, except that the UN’s pronouncements are used to beat people into submission about mad stuff like putting biological males in women’s prisons.
It’s also a joke that costs the Irish taxpayer tens of millions at a time when we have no money for homelessness or operations for sick children. The kind of services that should be a human right. But won’t be as long as the focus is on this charade.
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