New approach to law enforcement

by Edward Horgan - Peace and Neutrality Alliance Sat Dec 17, 2005 17:21

Peace activists and citizens, Edward Horgan, Mary Kelly, Tim Hourigan and Deirdre Morgan, have been granted the privilege of addressing the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday next 20th December 2005 at 11.30 am, in Government Buildings, Kildare Street. We will also be making a written submission.
This is an open public meeting so we urge members of the public to attend.
The purpose of our meeting with this committee is inform the committee of the evidence we have concerning the breaches of Irish and international laws that are occurring on a daily basis at Shannon airport, and to request the members of this committee to carry out a detailed investigation of these matters on behalf of the Oireachtas, on behalf of the people of Ireland, and on behalf of all the innocent people killed in Iraq since Dáil Éireann approved a motion on 20 March 2003, allowing the US military to use Shannon airport for the purposes of making an unlawful war on Iraq.

We will be making four main points:
1. That Ireland is in breach of international law, especially the UN Charter, and Hague Convention on Neutrality, and the Geneva Conventions on War, in assisting the unlawful US war against Iraq, by allowing over 650,000 US armed troops in uniform to pass through Shannon airport for the purposes of the Iraq War, and that this has resulted in the unlawful killing of up to 100,000 Iraqi people.
2. The Irish Government has provided landing facilities at Shannon airport, and possibly at other Irish airports, for dozens of US Government and CIA aircraft that have been involved in the so-called 'rendition' of prisoners for torture in contravention of the UN Convention on Torture and the (Irish) Criminal Justice (UN Convention on Torture) Act 2000. Some of these prisoners are believed to have been tortured beyond the point of death.
3. That Irish Government ministers are in continuing breach of the Hague Convention on Neutrality, and are committing an offence against this convention, by continuing to declare that Ireland is still a neutral state, even though it is in flagrant breach of the fundamental rules of international laws on neutrality, at Shannon airport.
4. That there are very serious safety and security implications arising from the misuse of a civilian airport such as Shannon, and from the contravention of international laws by the Irish Government. These matters, especially the transit of very dangerous military cargoes and munitions through Shannon, are putting members of the public, Shannon airport employees, and other workers and residents at Shannon Town and Shannon Industrial Estate at grave risk. In addition, the decision of the Irish Government to support the war being waged by the United States, in contravention of the UN Charter, puts the Irish people as a whole, and the people of Dublin city in particular, at risk of retaliation, by those who perceive themselves to be the victims of the US-led war.

We wish to emphasise that all our endeavours over the past several years, and in attending this meeting are directed towards reinforcing the rule of law, nationally and internationally, and promoting peace by peaceful means. We accept that the laws and the United Nations are often inadequate, but we insist that the solution to these inadequacies is to reinforce and transform the laws and the United Nations, and not to operate in flagrant breach of these laws, as we believe our government is doing. We also believe laws much be applied and enforced on a priority basis, based on the priority just needs of the people of Ireland and the need for justice for humanity as a whole. Therefore, the laws should not protect human greed, or Ireland’s economic interests, or inanimate property, if by so doing, human lives are put at most serious risks, in Ireland or anywhere in this increasingly interdependent world. We believe, especially, that the life of one Iraqi child, or one American child, is equal to the life of one Irish child.
We are aware that tens of thousands of Iraqi children have been unlawfully killed, and we believe that dozens of prisoners have been ‘rendered’ for torture, and that Shannon airport has been used for these nefarious purposes.

We welcome this opportunity to inform members of the Oireachtas on these most important issues, because the Oireachtas, especially Dáil Éireann, are the primary legislators in Ireland, and also have important oversight duties as to how the laws are applied and complied with for the benefit of the all people. We will ask the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs also to investigate and inform themselves in more detail on events at Shannon airport and we will be requesting that this committee should report these matters to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and to the Irish Government, with a view to bringing the unlawful use of Shannon airport to an immediate end. We will be further recommending that the present use of Shannon airport by the US military and by the US CIA should be suspended forthwith, pending an enquiry to be conducted by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Peace to all the survivors of wars

by True Believer Thu Dec 15, 2005 02:36

The ad reads:

'The Dept of Justice Equality and Law Reform is currently preparing the First National Report by Ireland as required under S 19 of the UN International Convention aganst Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ....the Dept. now wishes to invite submissions from interested parties on the above matter. Submissions should be made in writing or by email and should be confined to the above matter.

Submissions should be made before 9 January 2006. Send to Room 304, Dept. of Justice Equality and Law Reform, Shelbourne Rd., Ballsbridge, Dubln 4 or to Prisons_Policy_INBOX@justice.ie.

Note: the text of the Convention is available electronically from www.ohchr.org/english/law.htm. The legislation which gave effect to it in Ireland is the Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act 2000 (no 11 of 2000) available from www. irishstatutebook.ie or www.oireachteas.ie'.

..............
That email address must be the most user unfriendly address in the universe so watch your upper/lower cases and underscores and maybe ask for an acknowledgement.

Sayonara.

by kate Thu Dec 15, 2005 01:58 Japan

Any chance someone could post the address to enter submissions to and a closing date.

Ill be posting my christmas cards soon anyway.