Ireland is due to be reviewed in 2011 under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council . The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process takes place every four years and covers all aspects of Ireland’s human rights record including, economic, social, cultural and political rights. This is a process of state review by other states and was created by the UN General Assembly in 2006. Ireland is required to submit a report which is examined by the UN Human Rights Council which then makes recommendations on how Ireland could improve its human rights record. Other bodies including NGO’s and the treaty bodies of various UN human rights treaties also submit reports to the Council as part of the review process. The state has primary responsibility for responding to the report, though at the point of the second review, cognisance of the state’s response to the initial review will be taken into account.

The Irish Human Rights Commission are currently looking for looking for the input of statutory bodies, civil society organisations and members of the public as part of the report it will submit in the UPR. The ICHR will enable or aid these groups to take part in the UPR process and are currently looking for interest in participation. The IHRC’s role as the National Human Rights Institution means that it is particularly well suited to report on Ireland’s human rights record and it is important that as many views as possible are represented in the UPR process to ensure that a true picture of the state of human rights in Ireland emerges.