THE ISSUE of human rights is too often sidelined as being difficult, overly political and someone else’s business, former president Mary Robinson said last night.
Speaking at the launch of an Amnesty International book titled From the Republic of Conscience, Mrs Robinson said there was a need to be true to the whole agenda of human rights, and that Amnesty was providing great assistance in inspiring people to take note of this agenda.
Thirty of Ireland’s best-known authors contributed a story to the book, which first appeared as a series of articles in The Irish Times. Each story reflected on a separate article of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The stories are illustrated with original works by prominent Irish artists such as Louis le Brocquy, Robert Ballagh, Nick Miller, Vivienne Roche and Amelia Stein.
Earlier yesterday, Mrs Robinson launched a report on gender-based violence which warned that violence against women would rise globally during the recession, setting back development in the poorest parts of the world.
The report by the Irish Joint Consortium on Gender Based Violence cited a 75 per rise in numbers of women in the US seeking help for abuse. In the African state of Benin, forced marriages had increased as families sold off girls to raise money, it continued.
Speaking at the launch, Mrs Robinson said she was concerned about possible cuts in the overseas aid budget in Ireland. “Yes we’re hurting, and a lot of people are becoming unemployed, and lots of people are very worried. But, when Ireland was much poorer, we built our reputation for caring about the poorest countries. And we have to keep that reputation.”
She said the question of overseas aid was “no longer a them and us” question. “If you add it to climate there’s an interconnection . . . We’re going to be all in this together because we need to reduce the emissions across the world. It’s a really interconnected future until 2050. The future of the poorest is also our children’s and our grandchildren’s future.”