Every 5 years, the Edmund Rice Network in England has the opportunity to submit a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council through our involvement with Edmund Rice International in Geneva.
Our report informs the UN’s Universal Periodic Review process, in which every member state is examined on its human rights record. This is advocacy at the very highest level, lobbying governments to enact policy change around the issues which are most important to us.
We have been working with Cormac McArt, Director of the Westcourt Centre in Belfast, and Brian O’Toole, Justice and Advocacy Coordinator for the Presentation Sisters, to produce a report focusing on the issues of asylum seekers and refugees in the Northwest and homelessness in Belfast. As well as presenting data to contextualise our issues, our report includes recommendations for systemic improvements which will form the basis of ERI’s lobbying of permanent missions in Geneva. Hopefully, our arguments will be persuasive enough for states to present to the UK delegation!
To strengthen our submission, we have gathered testimony from people directly affected by the issues. We are so grateful to our partners at Asylum Link Merseyside and Caritas Shrewsbury for facilitating these powerful testimonies. It was wonderful to get a number of students from St Ambrose College to lead on the interviews. They struck up a brilliant rapport with refugees from Syria and Iraq whose voices will now genuinely be heard by policymakers. Well done to Michael, Rodney, Jacob, Niall, Smawar and Ehi for gleaning such powerful responses from the interviewees!
In advance of our report going to ERI, Cormac and Tom presented summarised Oral Statements to the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council. For this, presenters get just 90 seconds to get their arguments across so, if you want to see them speaking (very quickly!) about their issues, check out the ERI website and social media!
Stay tuned for ways to follow the UPR process later in the year!
Tom Murray
O God, we thank you for the life of Edmund Rice.
He opened his heart to Christ present in those oppressed by poverty and injustice.
May we follow his example of faith and generosity.
Grant us the courage and compassion of Edmund as we seek to live lives of love and service.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.