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Ireland’s Fourth Universal Periodic Review: Submission from Members of the Crime Punishment and Rights Research Cluster
Apr
22
2026
Posted: 16:18 IST
Ireland will undergo its fourth UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) this November, an important milestone in assessing the State’s human rights record and identifying priorities for reform. The UPR is a distinctive mechanism of the Human Rights Council through which each UN Member State is subject to a peer review of its human rights record approximately every four and a half years.
In advance of the review, members of the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster along with colleagues from the Irish Centre for Human Rights submitted a joint stakeholder submission to inform the process. The submission is available here: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/media/irishcentreforhumanrights/files/ICHR-and-School-of-Law-Joint-UPR-report-2026.pdf
The submission reflects the expertise of Dr Maeve O’Rourke who co-ordinated the submission alongside Keelin Barry, Prof Shane Darcy, Dr Edel Hughes, Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza, Dr Roisin Mulgrew, Dr Charles O’Mahony, Erin O’Riordan and Luke Smyth.
The report is available here: https://www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre-human-rights/newsevents/universal-periodic-review-submission.html
Drawing on a wide range of research across the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster, and the ICHR the submission highlights several pressing human rights issues. It calls for Ireland to strengthen its international commitments through ratification of key instruments, including the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The report also raises concerns regarding prisoners’ rights and examines the experiences of individuals living in Direct Provision, including persons with disabilities. It considers the implications of forthcoming reforms to Ireland’s international protection system arising from the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. A significant focus is placed on access to justice for persons with disabilities, alongside broader issues affecting older persons in the context of care and personal support. The submission further highlights the ongoing issue of young persons with disabilities being placed inappropriately in nursing homes.
