Overview

The Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in Geneva actively participates in the full range of international human rights bodies and mechanisms in Geneva.

We have been active participants in the Human Rights Council (HRC) since its establishment in 2006 and are currently a member for the period 2013-2015.  We are proactively involved in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), both as a State issuing human rights recommendations to UN Member States and as a State under review to further improve our human rights situation at home. We also engage constructively with the UN human rights treaty bodies on an ongoing basis.

Ireland strongly supports the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and are in the top ten financial contributors to the Office on a per capita basis.  We consider that a strong, independent OHCHR is crucial to the functioning of the United Nations, bearing in mind also that respect for human rights is central to the preservation of peace and the promotion of development.