Speech by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform at the Launch on World Refugee Day of an Art Exhibition, 'The Art of Living', at the Centre for the Survivors of Torture
Good morning, everyone.
I am very pleased to have been invited here today to launch this week-long touring art exhibition, 'The Art of Living', to mark and link two important days in the international calendar - World Refugee Day, being celebrated today and United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Wednesday next, 26 June.
SPIRASI ( Spiritan Asylum Services Initiative ) is to be congratulated for its compassion and foresight in establishing Ireland's first specialist centre for the care and rehabilitation of those who have survived torture. This is a unique, important and very valuable initiative. The Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture works very closely with and complements the work of the statutory services. Many clients are referred to the centre by the health boards and it is able to provide important services such as counselling, psycho-social support services, medico-legal reports and complementary therapies. The centre is also involved in raising public awareness and training initiatives.
I am especially pleased that the Reception and Integration Agency of my department, which is the administrative authority in Ireland for administration of the European Refugee Fund (ERF), has been able to make funding available to this innovative project. A grant of E139,000 was made available from the 2000/01 ERF allocation of E1.3m. Ireland's ERF allocation for 2002 is E0.9m and out of this, a further grant of E150,000 has been awarded to the Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture. The centre is also supported by the Northern Area Health Board.
As we are on the subject of health related issues, I would like to speak briefly on some of the important work which the Reception and Integration Agency is doing in this area. You will probably be aware that the agency is organised on a cross departmental/agency basis and staff have been seconded to it from a number of Government departments and agencies, including the Department of Health and Children. Health services in Ireland are accessible to all persons who need them, irrespective of race, creed or colour.
However, the emerging multicultural nature of Irish society has highlighted issues in service delivery which require ongoing evaluation. These are mainly related to cultural differences and language barriers and are being addressed through training initiatives. For example, the RIA is working closely with the Department of Health and Children and the Irish College of General Practitioners to develop a training programme for GPs. This programme will be geared towards developing a better understanding of the differing cultural and ethnic backgrounds from which asylum seekers and refugees come and the implications of this for the delivery of health services. It is also intended to develop similar programmes for other health services personnel, including nurses, community pharmacists and psychologists.
The Reception and Integration Agency is also working with the health boards on making health promotion literature more accessible to asylum seekers and refugees and on the promotion of greater awareness amongst these groups of how to access health services and the appropriate use of such services. In addition, the agency is also closely involved with a Working Group on Health Promotion for Asylum Seekers. This group is establishing a peer led education programme for asylum seekers accommodated in reception centres in Dublin. The programme will include the showing of a video, developed by the Dublin maternity and A&E hospitals and the Northern Area Health Board, setting out basic information on health services in Ireland and how these may be accessed. The video is currently available in a number of languages. The overall aim is to extend these health promotion and service information programmes to accommodation centres in other health board regions.
I have already referred to ERF funding of the SPIRASI Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture. ERF funding has also been made available for a project involving the provision of health information to asylum seekers and refugees, and which also offers mother and child services. These and other ERF funded projects will be evaluated in due course and it would be my hope that many of them will become models of best practice, nationally and internationally.
My own department has also put measures in place to ensure that applicants for refugee status who have been victims of torture are treated with appropriate sensitivity. Let me assure you all that this Government is committed to ensuring that all applicants for asylum are treated fairly, humanely and in accordance with principles which fully respect human dignity. Arrangements for processing asylum claims allow for the particular vulnerabilities of certain applicants. The Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner and the Refugee Appeals Tribunal are independent statutory offices and are responsible for the determination of claims at first instance and appeal, respectively. Comprehensive training is provided to staff, including training to deal appropriately with vulnerable groups such as victims of torture and unaccompanied minors.
The particular focus of this year's World Refugee Day is refugee women and women too, can be victims of torture, including rape and sexual assault and can be especially vulnerable in situations of conflict. The asylum processing agencies in many countries, including Ireland, have adopted gender sensitive approaches to claim determination. Where possible, interviewers and interpreters of the same gender as applicants are provided. An interview can be completed on another day if relating his or her story becomes too upsetting. The processing agencies are quite happy to adjourn interviews in such circumstances.
A number of events have been organised to mark World Refugee Day but I would like to mention one in particular, taking place later this morning on the theme of refugee women. The Reception and Integration Agency of my Department and the UNHCR , in association with the UN Association and UN Development Fund for Women, have produced a leaflet which relates the stories of five refugee women resettled in Ireland under Government programmes for the reception and resettlement of vulnerable refugees. These are women who have fled as children with their families, or as mothers, and have managed to rebuild their lives and make a positive contribution in their communities and Irish society.
The leaflet is being launched at a press conference organised by the UNHCR and the five women will relate something of their experiences of flight and resettlement in Ireland.
The Reception and Integration Agency, which is responsible for the co-ordination of integration policy in Ireland, including integration programmes for vulnerable refugees, is pleased to have been involved in these initiatives.
In conclusion, I would like to commend the Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture, SPIRASI and Amnesty International on organising the week-long travelling arts festival which I understand will take in Cork, Limerick and Galway and culminate in a celebration of food and music at Spiritan House in Dublin. I believe that both the aim and title of the exhibition, 'The Art of Living', are very appropriate. The exhibition aims to show the positive aspects of the lives of refugees, asylum seekers and survivors of torture. Such survivors are a very real testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the indomitable will of man - and woman - to overcome unimaginable traumas and rebuild shattered lives.
Art is hugely important in all our lives as it gives expression, be it in music or drama or the visual arts, to our innermost thoughts and feelings. Art has the capacity to heal through self expression. It nourishes the soul and sustains us.
To all involved, well done and I wish you every success with the exhibition.
Thank you.