Speech by Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan, Justice Ministers meeting at the Council of Europe. European Convention on Human Rights and Migration.

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Thank you President, and good morning colleagues.

Thank you also to Secretary General Berset for convening this meeting and opening this important discussion within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe.

Ireland reiterates its support for the Convention on Human Rights and for the Court as critical elements of the architecture of the rule of law in Europe.

We see multilateralism as essential to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law.

Indeed, in the case of Ireland, this architecture is particularly important to the Good Friday Agreement which brought an end to decades of conflict, and which underpins the peaceful, democratic relations between communities on the Island of Ireland and our close relations with our neighbours in the UK.

We share the concerns expressed by our Danish colleague on behalf of a number of member states, Ireland included, regarding the challenges arising in relation to migration and the need to ensure that the Convention is understood and applied in a way that meets its core objectives of protecting fundamental rights, while at the same time recognising:

• The realities faced today regarding the expulsion of foreign criminals
• The need for clarity about inhuman and degrading treatment
• The need for innovative solutions to address migration
• The need for an appropriate balance between individuals’ rights and the public interest, and
• The need to address the instrumentalisation of migration.

Ireland supports the draft conclusions – which strike the right balance between recognising the importance of the court and the concerns raised by Member States. We also support the Secretary General’s proposed approach to this challenge, and indeed by convening us here today, the first point of the Secretary General’s plan has been achieved.

Ireland also supports the proposed decisions for today’s meeting. In particular I welcome the instruction to the CDDH to prepare a political declaration for agreement by Ministers in May. It is important that any future texts to be negotiated are grounded on a sound legal basis. I also think that it will be beneficial if accommodations can be made to enable migration policy specialists from member states to work with their CDDH colleagues on this foundational work for next year’s political declaration.

I am also very supportive of the consideration of a possible inter-governmental committee to focus on pressing migration issues and policies. It is imperative that discussion on this difficult and sensitive topic is facilitated within the walls of the Council of Europe and that migration experts are involved in future discussions along with human rights lawyers.

It is our view that the conclusions and decisions we are making here today will empower the Council of Europe to address the challenges being experienced by many member states, while recognising always the independence and impartiality of the Court.

ENDS