There is an "impenetrable lack of transparency" surrounding the decision making process for asylum-seekers in Ireland, the Irish branch of Amnesty International said today.
Speaking at the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2005this morning in Dublin, Mr Jim Loughran, Campaigns Manager for the Irish section, said the Government "must apply at home the same high standards that it promotes internationally."
"There is no room for complacency," he said. "Allegations persist of ill-treatment by gardaí, there has been a growth in racist crime and conditions in psychiatric hospitals remain unsatisfactory."
"Prisoners with mental problems are being sent to the Central Mental Hospital in Dublin where they are continuing to slop out."
He called on the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to bring a greater transparency to the grounds on which asylum is being granted in Ireland.
He also appealed for the National Action Plan against Racism to be implemented in a meaningful way so that it did not become a "cosmetic document."
Asked about the position of women in Ireland, Mr Loughran criticised the lack of funding for rape crisis centres.
"Rape crisis centres are having their funding cut and women are being turned away from refuges because of lack of space. There has also been no research carried out on the problem of sex trafficking in this country."
Mr Loughran said that governments all over the world had failed to show principled leadership and must be held to account.
"Governments are betraying their promises on human rights. A new agenda is in the making with the language of freedom and justice being used to pursue policies of fear and insecurity. This includes cynical attempts to redefine and sanitise torture."