Compensation for women recommended by UN body

THE GOVERNMENT should set up a statutory investigation into allegations of torture and degrading treatment of women committed to Magdalene Laundries, the UN Committee Against Torture has said

It said, in appropriate cases, Ireland should punish the perpetrators of abuse and compensate any women who suffered cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment in the laundries.

In a report detailing its concluding observations on Ireland’s record of protecting the rights of those in detention, the committee criticised the State’s inadequate response to alleged reports that it co-operated with rendition flights.

It said it is also deeply concerned about overcrowding in prisons and called on the Government to adopt specific timeframes for the construction of new prison facilities and to update it on its decision on Thornton Hall prison.

The report was published yesterday by the committee, which monitors states’ compliance with the UN convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. A Government delegation answered questions on its record at public hearings in Geneva last month, which was the first time Ireland has taken part in monitoring by the committee.

The committee’s recommendations are not legally binding but carry moral authority, particularly for countries such as Ireland that pride themselves on their record of promoting human rights.

The committee, which is staffed by human rights experts from UN states, said in the report it expressed “grave concern” at the failure by the State to protect the girls and women who were involuntarily confined between 1922 and 1996 in the Magdalene Laundries.

It concluded the State’s failure to regulate and inspect these institutions, where it is alleged physical, emotional and other abuses were committed, amounted to “breaches of the convention”. It also strongly criticised the State for failing to investigate allegations of abuse at the laundries.

The report recommended the State carry out a “prompt, independent and thorough investigation” of the alleged committal of women to Magdalene Laundries.

It said in appropriate cases, it should “prosecute and punish the perpetrators with penalties commensurate with the gravity of the offences committed”. The State should also ensure all victims obtain redress and have an enforceable right to compensation including the means for a full rehabilitation.

In its submission to the committee, the Government said the vast majority of women entered the laundries “voluntarily, or if they were minors with the consent of their parents”.

It said the alleged events happened “a long time ago” in private institutions and the only situation where women were detained in a laundry by law applied to one institution. “We have found no evidence of any complaint by or mistreatment of women remanded there.” Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said he would examine the committee’s report with his Cabinet colleagues.

The lobby group Justice for Magdalenes, which submitted a 47-page report to the committee on the Magdalene Laundries that included personal testimonies from survivors, welcomed the UN committee’s recommendations.

“The committee’s request for a prompt response from the Irish State reinforces Justice for Magdalenes’ assertion that this is a population of women who are ageing and elderly and therefore the time to act is now,” said Mari Steed, a director of the lobby group whose mother is a survivor of one of the laundries.