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BBC News
05-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
UN criticises failure to appoint language and culture commissioners
A failure by the executive to appoint commissioners for the Irish language and Ulster-Scots has been criticised by a United Nations (UN) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) also criticised "inadequate funding" for cultural and language language laws for Northern Ireland were passed in the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner for the Ulster-Scots and Ulster British tradition have not yet been appointed. The roles, along with an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression, were originally promised in the New Decade, New Approach deal in the office has not been set up, and there are no commissioners yet in place. The president of the Irish language and culture group Conradh na Gaeilge, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, welcomed the UN said he hoped commitments previously agreed by the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin to appoint an Irish language commissioner would soon be delivered."I hope we'll have them in place before the end of this [Stormont] mandate, I do not for the life of me understand what the delay is," he told BBC News Mac Giolla Bhéin said Irish language campaigners were deeply disappointed that a timetable for the appointment was not spelled out in the executive's programme for government but insisted that organisations would continue to put pressure on politicians to appoint someone to the role. The commissioners are meant to monitor the services public bodies deliver to Irish and Ulster-Scots from the language commissioners have to be approved by the first minister and deputy first minister before taking is a body of 18 independent experts that monitors how states are implementing international agreements on social and cultural latest report, which has just been published, monitors the UK government's actions and those of the devolved governments, including Northern Ireland."The committee regrets that the institutions created to protect and promote the Irish language and to promote and develop the Ulster-Scot tradition have not yet been established," the committee's report recommends that the executive "expedite the establishment of the institutions and policies envisaged for the protection and promotion of the Irish language and Ulster-Scots culture and heritage." A penal law dating from 1737, which prohibited the use of languages other than English in court, was recently cleared the way for Irish to be used in legal proceedings in Northern there has been political disagreement over cuts to cross-border funding for the Irish led to a recent strike by some Irish language organisations and activists."The committee is concerned at the inadequate funding for culture and culture-related activities, which hampers the right of all to participate in cultural life, to express one's own identity, values and way of life without fear of discrimination," the UN report said. Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said the UN committee was "echoing what we have been saying, not just with recent announcements around cuts to Foras na Gaeilge, but this something that's been 20 years in the making.""We have way more kids now enrolled in Irish medium education, we've much deeper demand for services across the whole strata of society, yet groups are expected to do more and more with less and less," he said."That isn't sustainable, groups are really staring into the abyss as things stand."We welcome that the report has highlighted this but more importantly it needs to be on the radar of Stormont to ensure a solution is found urgently to address this crisis."The UN Committee also highlighted other rights in its report, including expressing concern about the controversial Troubles Legacy Act and recommending "access to safe abortion services".It also called for more schemes to help women, people with disabilities, young people, ethnic minorities and migrants into it cannot force the UK government or the Northern Ireland Executive to act, the governments will have to report to the UN committee on what steps they are taking to implement its recommendations.
Zawya
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to review Croatia, Peru, United Kingdom, Rwanda and Philippines
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is set to hold its latest session from 10 - 28 February. During the session, the Committee will review Croatia, Peru, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Rwanda, and the Philippines. The five countries are among the 173 States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. They are required to undergo regular reviews by the Committee of 18 independent international experts on how they are implementing the Covenant. The Committee, which has received the respective country reports and other submissions from non-governmental organisations, will discuss a range of issues with the five delegations on the following dates at Geneva time. Croatia 10 February 15:00 – 18:00 11 February 10:00 – 13:00 Peru 12 February 15:00 – 18:00 13 February 15:00 – 18:00 United Kingdom 13 February 10:00 – 13:00 14 February 10:00 – 13:00 Rwanda 17 February 15:00 – 18:00 18 February 10:00 – 13:00 Philippines 18 February 15:00 – 18:00 19 February 10:00 – 13:00 The above public dialogues will be held in Palais Wilson, Geneva. All public meetings are open to accredited press and livecast on UN Web TV. More information about the session, including reports submitted by the States and the full schedule of meetings, is available on the session webpage. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Memri
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Memri
The Qatar Weekly Update (QWU) – Part Of The Qatar Monitor Project (QMP) – No. 4, January 28, 2025
"In October, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) raised concerns regarding reports of discrimination of religious minorities in the country, including the Baha'i Faith community, some of whom are citizens. According to CESCR, Baha'is were subjected to administrative deportation and blacklisting, resulting in loss of employment and familial separation." – 2023 US International Religious Freedom Report, Op-ed: "End America's unwise alliance with Qatar," by Michael Pregent, a former U.S. intelligence officer who also served as a Defense Department advisor on the Iraqi security forces from 2006 to 2011 – see The Continued Arbitrary Detention of Sheikh Talal Al-Thani in Qatar. "The deprivation of liberty of Sheikh Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Ahmed bin Ali Aal Thani, being in contravention of articles 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2 (1), 9, 10 (1), 11, 14, 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is arbitrary and falls within categories I, III and V."- see See also Fox News: "Fear grows for jailed Qatari royal amid health decline as wife pleads at UN for release – his wife is waging David vs. Goliath struggle against the wealthy Qatari monarchy" – see
