UN Human Rights Review: FLAC and ICCL highlight risk of backsliding on human rights and equality in Ireland

25 August 2026

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) and ICCL (the Irish Council for Civil Liberties) have raised serious concerns about human rights and equality in Ireland in advance of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (‘UPR’) of the State’s human rights record.
FLAC will deliver a statement to UN Member States at the United Nations in Geneva at 9am (Irish time) on Tuesday, 25 August to brief them on key issues.

The statement highlights the lack of progress in addressing longstanding human rights issue, including the failure of the State to update and improve civil legal aid and anti-discrimination laws. It also highlights potential backsliding on human rights and access to justice in areas like judicial review – where draft legislation runs the risk of blocking disadvantaged groups from asserting their rights in court.

Speaking in advance of the UPR Pre-Session, Christopher Bowes, FLAC Policy & Public Affairs Manager stated:

“The UPR is a unique process which examines the State’s human rights record as a whole. In the five years since the last review of Ireland, the human rights and equality agenda in Ireland has stalled if not regressed. The State has introduced legislation which will likely lead to an increase in homelessness amongst non-Irish nationals and migrant communities, and it is considering judicial review legislation which may block disadvantaged groups from taking cases about access to basic public services like housing and education. That judicial review legislation should not proceed.

Progress in areas like anti-discrimination has also stalled, leaving many victims of discrimination without access to an effective remedy. A draft Equality Bill which would greatly strengthen Ireland’s anti-discrimination laws has been published but it has not been progressed.

It has been over a year since the first review of the civil legal aid system was completed and the system remains chronically under-resourced and unable to meet the legal needs of disadvantaged groups. It is time for the State to treat legal aid as an essential public service and set out a timeline for comprehensive reform of the system. Urgent law reform is also needed to address the extremely high rate of Traveller homelessness and to remove barriers to groups such as Roma accessing basic public services.

FLAC will be urging UN Member States to use the UPR process to challenge Ireland to make real progress on human rights and to address longstanding issues which gravely impact the lives and rights of disadvantaged groups.”

Speaking today, ICCL Executive Director Joe O’Brien said:

“Ireland is not immune to the global trend of backsliding on human rights and democratic freedoms. The UPR process is a valuable opportunity to look at Ireland’s human rights record in the round, identify shortcomings and push the State to better fulfil the rights of everyone in Ireland.

“We’ve seen worrying developments recently in Ireland, including a stalling of equality and anti-discrimination efforts, and moves which would hinder people’s access to justice, most notably through the proposed judicial review changes. Ireland needs to course-correct and recommit to robustly protecting everyone’s rights and freedoms.”

ENDS/

FLAC and ICCL’s full UPR Pre-Session statement may be accessed here.
FLAC and ICCL’s joint stakeholder submission to the Universal Periodic Review of Ireland may be accessed here.

Notes:

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a process run by the United Nations Human Rights Council in which every UN member state's human rights record is reviewed approximately every 4.5 years. Countries receive recommendations from other states and report on their progress.

UPR Pre-Sessions are held in advance of the formal review to allow NGOs and national human rights organisations to brief diplomats from UN member states on key human rights issues and suggest recommendations for the review.

FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres) is an independent legal, human rights and equality organisation, which works in a number of different ways to promote equal access to justice:

In 2025, our Telephone Information and Referral Line responded to 14,103 queries. FLAC also provides Phone Legal Advice Clinics.
Our independent law centre provides targeted legal services for the Traveller and Roma communities and also undertakes public interest litigation (i.e. cases which may have an impact beyond the individual).
FLAC also operates PILA which facilitates NGOs to obtain legal assistance from private lawyers via its pro bono referral scheme.
FLAC makes policy recommendations in relation to areas of law that most impact on people living in poverty and disadvantage, including equality and anti-discrimination law, social welfare law, housing law, human rights law, and access to justice.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) is one of Ireland's most established independent human rights organisations. It has been at the forefront of every major rights advance in Irish society for 50 years, since 1976. ICCL helped decriminalise homosexuality, divorce and contraception. We have fought censorship and driven police reform, defending suspects' rights in dark times. In recent years, ICCL has led successful campaigns for marriage equality, data protection and reproductive rights.