Remarks on the United Nations’ Day in Support of Victims of Torture
26th June 2012
A dhaoine uaisle, Dia dhaoibh go léir ar maidin. Tá an áthas orm bheith anseo inniu.
Tá áthas an domhain orm bheith anseo libh inniu don ócáid thábhachtach seo. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le Greg Straton, Stiúrthóir an Togra um Sheirbhísí Tearmainn Spiritan (SPIRASI) as an cuireadh labhairt libh ar an lá seo – Lá na Náisiún Aontaithe mar thaca le Íospartaigh Céastóireachta.
[I am delighted to be here today for this important event and wish thank Greg Straton, Director of the Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative (SPIRASI), for inviting me to speak to you all on the occasion of the United Nations Day in Support of Victims of Torture.]
Here in Ireland we live in a State with a written Constitution and a body of laws designed to protect the fundamental rights of our citizens, including the right to be protected from torture. Our courts have identified the right to freedom from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment as one of the unspecified personal rights guaranteed under Article 40 of our Constitution.
We are easily appalled to hear that many people around the world do not enjoy such protections as we do. We find it difficult to imagine an existence where we would live in fear of heinous acts committed by, or at the instigation of, the agents of oppressive regimes. Yet we must be vigilant in ensuring that the reality and damage of inhuman and degrading treatment is discussed and opposed wherever it is encountered in the world.
Today, on this day of support for victims of torture, people here in Ireland have the opportunity to stop and reflect on what the word torture really represents: to explicitly acknowledge the terrible abuses of human rights that the horrific word ‘torture’ truly denotes; to remember that every day, somewhere in the world, people are being physically and sexually assaulted, beaten up, starved, subjected to sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, mock executions or electric shocks; and to face up to the appalling reality that these horrific acts of intentional suffering are being inflicted upon their victims with the consent of state authorities and non-state actors. It is a frightening thought and one that reminds us of what the word ‘torture’ really means.
It is notable that the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, does not countenance the use of torture in any context; not even in exceptional circumstances such as a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency. Neither does it allow for a defence of “following orders”, too often used as an excuse for the cowardly and inhumane infliction of pain and suffering on another human being.
Unfortunately, there have always been people who have claimed that sometimes, under exceptional circumstances, torture can be justified in pursuit of some other overriding goal, to perhaps prevent an even greater atrocity and that, in this context of clear and present danger, the ends can justify the means. It is regrettable that this type of amoral thinking is often positively portrayed in TV and film drama as the supposed hero deploys whatever means are necessary in pursuit of some outcome which purports to transcend all morality or decency. There will always be people who will make excuses to try and defend the indefensible, including the use of the phrase “I was only following orders” which echoes from history with a shame and horror that should never be forgotten.
We must always remember that torture can never, in a civilised society, be legitimised or substantiated. The infliction of torture is something that debases, not just the victim, but the perpetrator also.
If we argue that torture may be justifiable when dealing with people who are egregiously odious, we are on the slippery slope to accepting that it may also be legitimate when dealing with the next group of people who are only slightly less odious. Torture is a practice that completely undermines any system of justice and demeans and shames any society that condones and supports it.
It is important that we reiterate, again and again, that torture should never, and must never, be justified or allowed by any society that claims to be enlightened, to care about the dignity of the human person, to be fair.
It is also important that the repugnance we feel when confronted with accounts of such acts continues to compel us, as a nation and as a civilised society, to do all we can to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice; and that we continue to protect the fundamental human rights of all our citizens and to strive to protect the human rights of citizens across the globe by committing to, and rededicating ourselves to, the international frameworks that have been developed to prevent torture.
By setting aside a day to mark the needs of victims of torture, the United Nations is sending a clear message that the experiences of its survivors should not be forgotten. Their experiences and testimony are a clarion call to uphold our fundamental shared humanity and dignity. It is, of course, difficult, uncomfortable and deeply upsetting to listen to the testimony of torture survivors. However, sometimes it is necessary to hear such experiences to provoke us into fully connecting with such testimony, to remind us of what the word ‘torture’ really means, to remember that it is a lived reality for many people.
The important work of organisations like SPIRASI, with which I am very familiar, and the valuable support they provide to victims of torture who have arrived on our shores as asylum seekers, is to be highly praised.
It a sobering thought to realise that, since its establishment in 1999, SPIRASI has provided rehabilitative supports to over 3,200 survivors of torture from over one hundred different countries. While this indeed is a sobering statistic, it is also an indicator of the enormous well of compassion that lies at the heart of SPIRASI, an organisation that continually fulfils its mission to protect, rehabilitate and integrate survivors of torture and other vulnerable people.
As well as providing a crucial fundamental human and compassionate response to the brutal reality of torture, SPIRASI gives enormous practical support to those damaged and helpless people who arrive on our shores in a desperate search for safety. Those supports include medical assessment, psychotherapy, outreach support, assistance to integrate into their new found home and, of course, that all important listening and believing ear.
The physical wounds of torture can often be addressed by medical intervention, but the psychological wounds are much more profound and difficult to heal: the nightmares that go on and on, the terror of sudden unexpected noises or movements, the permanent feeling of fear – of not being safe wherever you are in the world.
At its heart, today is about supporting the victims of torture, which includes hearing their experiences and working collectively to repair the damage, both physical and emotional, that has been and continues to be inflicted on people in many countries across the globe.
Activities such as the public discussion and debate taking place today provide public recognition of the reality of torture and of the needs of survivors; allowing us to move forward the discussion on how best to improve the situation of people who have survived torture and who come to Ireland to seek international protection. Such a discussion is vital and I applaud SPIRASI for organising this debate. I hope that today’s discussion will be an encouraging event for all those involved and will help to raise the profile of torture survivors and their needs here in Ireland, and indeed worldwide, and I wish you all well in your important work which is central to maintaining the dignity of the human persona and the decency of our society.
Aríst, tá obair thábhachtach SPIRASI sa réimse seo le moladh go mór. Níl aon amhras agam ach go gcoinneoidh SIPRASI orthu ag tabhairt cluas éisteachta dóibh siúd a thagann go hÉireann faoi bhagairt agus go gcuirfear seirbhís tuisceanach, cineálta ar fáil dóibh i gcónaí.
[Once again, I commend SPIRASI for all their work in this area. I am confident that they will continue to ensure that the voices of those torture survivors who reach our shores will always have available to them a compassionate and empathetic service which listens, supports and seeks to work on their behalf.]
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.