Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, are making a submission this week to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Committee is questioning Ireland about its human rights record under this treaty.

We want the State to establish secular schools and to ensure that every child has the right to access a local publicly funded school, without religious discrimination or being threatened with refusal of access if they don’t uphold the school’s ethos.

Every school should respect the positive rights of minorities to freedom of conscience and respect for their religious or nonreligious philosophical convictions, and should vindicate the right of children who exercise their constitutional right to not attend religious instruction, and provide such children with supervision or an alternative curriculum subject.

You can help us to continue this and other secular work by joining Atheist Ireland as a member, or by asking anybody who you think may be interested in joining us to do so. We are an entirely voluntary body with no paid staff, and we depend on our members to continue our work. You can join Atheist Ireland here.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child will soon be questioning Ireland again. Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland have sent this joint submission to the UN Committee.
Contents
Introduction
Summary of Questions
Cluster 3. General Principles
Article 2 — Non-discrimination
Article 12 — Respect for the views of the child
Cluster 4. Civil Rights and Freedoms
Article 14 — Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
Article 37A — Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
Cluster 6. Basic Health and Welfare
Article 24 — Relationship and Sexuality Education
Cluster 7. Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities
Article 28 — Right to Education
Article 29 — Aims of Education
1. Types of Schools
2. Access to Education
3. Influence of Religious Ethos on Minorities
Introduction 
Irish atheists, Evangelicals and Ahmadiyya Muslims are united in a campaign for Secularism and Human Rights. While we have different world views, and different emphases in policies, we all agree that each person should be treated with respect, our right to hold our beliefs should be treated with respect, States should treat us all equally before the law by remaining neutral between religious and non-religious beliefs.
Parts of our campaign are:

• We will promote the fundamental human rights of freedom of conscience, religion and belief, equality before the law, and freedom from discrimination for all.
• We will promote these human rights within Irish society and Irish political institutions, and at the United Nations and other international human rights regulatory bodies.

In support of these aims we are making this Submission to outline the failure of Ireland to protect and respect the human rights of atheists and secularists, Ahmadiyya Muslim and Evangelical Christians minorities in the Irish education system. Our children are discriminated against on the grounds of religion and their rights under the Convention are not protected.
Summary of Questions
Cluster 3. General Principles
Article 2 — Non-discrimination
Will the State part commit to amend Article 42.1 so that it applies to all parents and not just those based on marriage?
Article 12 — Respect for the views of the child
Will the State party amend Section 30-2(e) of the Education Act 1998 to ensure that the views of children are taken into consideration, taking account of their evolving capacities as they grow into adolescence?
Cluster 4. Civil Rights and Freedoms
Article 14 — Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
(a) Why are there no guidelines for schools on how they should accommodate children who exercise their Constitutional Right to not attend any type of religious teaching on the grounds of conscience?
(b) Why are students who do not attend religious teaching, in accordance with their right, not offered another subject and will the State party give a commitment to ensure that students who do not attend religious teaching are offered another curriculum subject?
Article 37A — Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(a) Ask the state again the same question as was asked during the last session, about measures taken to ensure accountability for sexual abuse committed by religious leaders and/or organisations and their associated institutions, including with regards to the provision of compensation for such cases?
(b) Will the State give an update on the Report of the Commission of Investigation (Mother and Baby Homes and certain related Matters), the completion of which has again been delayed, with a new predicted completion date of 30 October, just after this session?
Cluster 6. Basic Health and Welfare
Article 24 — Relationship and Sexuality Education
Will the state party amend Section 15-2 (b) of the Education Act 1998 to ensure that all students have access to objective Relationship and Sexuality Education at primary level and Social, Personal and Health Education at second level?
This should be done consistently with the right under Article 42.1 of the Constitution and Section 30-2 (e) of the Education Act 1998 of a student to not attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parent or an over-18 student. Read more…

Atheist Ireland’s ‘notme.ie‘ is a place where people can publicly renounce the religion of their childhood. Currently there are 1935 symbolic defections. Many share their reasons for making a public symbolic defection which you can read here. 

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Have you any feedback that you would like to give us on the Secular Sunday newsletter. What are we getting right? What could we improve on? Is there something you would like to see included? Drop us an email at secularsunday@atheist.ie.

Atheist Ireland is an entirely volunteer run organisation. We receive no grants or government funding to continue our campaign work. We rely entirely on membership fess and donations.

Annual membership is nominal; €25 waged, €10 unwaged/student and €40 for family membership. Please consider becoming a member. Membership means:

National

Irish Catholic Church set to go back to the future by embracing laity and women

By Patsy McGarry

Ireland

• Two out of 10 Church of Ireland bishops affirm same-sex relationships at international conference

International

• Justin Welby says it is ‘very difficult’ to hold church together over sexuality
• What might a Pope Francis retirement mean for the Catholic church?
• Man from Ahmadi minority stabbed to death in Pakistan
• Leading German prelate faces calls to resign amid claims he manipulated abuse survivors
• ID Theft, Fraud, Prison: The Wild Life of a Bishop Robbed at the Pulpit
• White House calls Indiana abortion ban ‘devastating’
• Spanish Catholic church to investigate antisemitic rituals
• Majority of German Catholics don’t like Church being against abortion, poll finds
• The Mormon Church must do more to protect children from sexual abuse
• Japanese PM shakes up cabinet amid anger over Unification church links
• Highlands and Moray churches at risk of closure
• Japan PM shuffles cabinet as anger deepens over ties to Unification Church
• Texas church’s rendition of ‘Hamilton’ ends with sermon comparing being gay to drug addiction
• What happened to the Saudi sisters?
• Author Salman Rushdie attacked at western New York event and a suspect is in custody, police say