The government response to COVID-19 raised human rights concerns, including in relation to the right to health, the enactment of emergency legislation without parliamentary oversight, and police use of spit hoods. Increased numbers of people accessed abortion services under the 2018 law, but gaps...

SEX WORKERS IN IRELAND DEMAND THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS Women’s rights and gender equality issues have exploded into public consciousness in recent years, with the #MeToo movement galvanizing millions of people worldwide to demand change. But one demographic facing such human rights violations every day...

This submission was prepared for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Ireland in November 2021. In it, Amnesty International evaluates the implementation of recommendations made to Ireland in its previous UPR, including in relation to its ratification of human rights treaties and removing the...

Welcome to #LetsTalkAboutYes – find out about the campaign and how to join in helping to change the world one conversation at a time. What is the problem? If someone doesn’t consent to having sex, it is rape. It’s as simple as that. However, outdated laws, widespread myths, gender stereotypes and...

One year on since Ireland’s vote to end its abortion ban, Amnesty International is paying tribute to the brave campaigners who spoke out for reproductive rights and sending messages of hope to people in Northern Ireland who are still subject to one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Today...

One year on since Ireland’s vote to end its abortion ban, Amnesty International is paying tribute to the brave campaigners who spoke out for reproductive rights and sending messages of hope to people in Northern Ireland who are still subject to one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Today...

On 30 March more than a thousand South Korean women braved freezing conditions in Seoul to call for abortion to be decriminalized, ahead of a key Constitutional Court ruling expected on 11 April. Abortion is banned in South Korea except in limited circumstances, such as rape, incest or where a...

I am an international human rights lawyer with two decades experience working on sexual and reproductive rights globally, including as a consultant for the World Health Organisation and other UN agencies. I tend to work in countries with restrictive abortion laws, like Ireland. I have found...

Women and girls in Ireland finally have a once in a generation opportunity to have their right to decide what happens to their bodies recognised, said Amnesty International ahead of Friday’s referendum on abortion. The long fought-for referendum will give Irish people a chance to vote on removing a...

Ahead of Ireland’s historic referendum on abortion, the #hometovote hashtag has unleashed a wave of solidarity and inspired Irish voters from Nairobi to Toronto to return home and campaign for a woman’s right to decide.  When the Irish government finally announced there would be a referendum on...

Amnesty International submits this briefing to the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture (the Committee) ahead of its examination, in July 2017, of Ireland’s second periodic report on the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or...

A ruling issued today by the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) that Ireland’s harsh abortion laws violated the human rights of an Irish woman is yet another reminder of the desperate need for reform, Amnesty International said. The UNHRC ordered that Ireland redress the harm it caused to Siobhán...

In this submission, Amnesty International sets out its concerns about the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by Ireland in relation to: violence against women and girls; the criminalisation of sex work and sex workers, restrictive...