THE JUSTICE for Magdalenes group (JFM) has asked the Irish Human Rights Commission to conduct an inquiry into the state’s refusal to acknowledge their role in the laundries.Representatives from the JFM group met with the IHRC and with Amnesty International chief executive Colm O’Gorman in Dublin yesterday.
The IHRC has agreed to examine the arguments put forward by JFM before deciding whether to conduct an inquiry. JFM is seeking the inquiry under Article 13 of the European Convention of Human Rights, which provides a right to remedy if rights and freedoms are violated.
The advocacy group for survivors of the Magdalene laundries has long argued that even though the laundries were run as private institutions, this does not "absolve the state of responsibility to protect the women and girls from abuse endured".
They also argue the state "knew the nature and function of the Magdalene laundries" and that it had a "duty to protect all the women and girls in the laundries".
Senior board members of JFM said they had no choice but to approach the IHRC as the Government has repeatedly refused to take any responsibility for what happened in these institutions. This is despite JFM finding documentation proving the courts service and probation officers sent women to these homes while the Department of Education knew that children were housed there and were not attending school. The Department of Health was also paying capitation grants for "problem girls" sent to such laundries.
A spokesman last night said "the state had a constitutional duty to educate all children and to care for children in cases of parental failure" yet the abuse that these women and children suffered "amounted to slavery and forced labour".
JFM is seeking an apology from the state for the abuse that occurred at the Magdalene laundries and also a distinct redress scheme.
A petition containing 1,000 signatures was handed in to the Department of the Taoiseach earlier this week.
Fianna Fáil TDs Tom Kitt and Michael Kennedy delivered to Taoiseach Brian Cowen the first signatures from an online petition demanding a state apology and a distinct redress scheme for survivors of the Magdalene laundries.
Signatories to the petition include people of more than 40 nationalities. Many have also posted comments expressing outrage at the Government’s failure to correct a historic injustice.
It is now nearly one year since the JFM campaign began. The group has met with representatives from the departments of Education, Justice and Health.
JFM advisory committee member Professor James M Smith last night reminded Mr Cowen that this is a "time sensitive issue".
"Many survivors in this community are elderly; some are nearing the end of their lives. They deserve a form of restorative justice. An apology would mean a lot to this community of survivors," he said.