Image by Leucippus via Flickr So what started off in the comments on my post about Europe Day and continued on twitter and email has come to fruition. I give to you, My Europe Week! It takes place from the 3rd to 9th of May. My Europe Week is a way of celebrating Europe Day online. By running for a week we incorporate both the Council of Europe’s Europe Day on May 5th (marking its foundation) and the EU’s...
The above is a ruling from Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court on the right of access to a child of a lesbian couple. This was overruling Justice Hedigan, of the High Court, who held that ‘de facto’ families existed under the European Convention on Human Rights. This is an interesting ruling from the Supreme Court and takes a bit of an argument away from Gay Marriage Campaigners. The High Court judgement was being used an arguement in...
Europe’s leading human rights watchdog has criticised Ireland for failing to sign and ratify an international treaty tackling modern-day slavery. The 46-nation Council of Europe approved the new convention in May 2005 to strengthen the campaign against human trafficking. It need to be ratified by at least eight member states to come into force, but the council said today that only three countries had already done so. It said Ireland was among dozens of countries who have not signed...
The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is apprealing to all European cities and regions to sign up online to a Declaration on the fight against trafficking in human beings. The Declaration, which was presented and opened for signature on 31 May 2006 , during the Congress session, has been signed by the local elected representatives of 17 local authorities, who have thereby committed themselves to take a series of measures in their own communities. All elected representatives of...
Well this June is Toture Awareness Month, if you notice there is a blogoll in the sidebar of bloggers against torture. Torture is high on the international agenda again with USA under huge pressure to close Guantanamo and accusations of rendition flights in which 14 EU states, including Ireland , are implicate in a Council of Europe Report. More info can be found here and here
Voting Rights for the Irish Diaspora?
Image via Wikipedia The Irish Left Review picked up on an EU survey by GlobalIrish.ie on emigrant voting rights. Ireland is the only country in the 20 surveyed to have to voting rights for Diaspora or plans to bring it in. Greece is being forced to bring it in after a ruling by the ECHR. Will an Irish emigrant bring a case to try and force Ireland to change? Shouldn’t we change anyway? European Country – Vote at national...
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