UN Supports Dale Farm

[Mark Barrett]

*Irish Traveller Movement in Britain*
***The Resource Centre, 356 Holloway Road, London N7 6PA**     **
Tel: 020 7607 2002 Fax: 020 7607 2005*

*Email: info at irishtraveller.org.uk<http://mc/compose?to=info@irishtraveller.org.uk>
  *
*www.irishtraveller.org*

*News Release*

02 September 2011



*Irish Traveller Movement in Britain call on UK government to comply with
UN’s request to suspend the planned eviction of Dale Farm Travellers site*

* *

The UN Committee for the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Racial Discrimination (CERD) have called on the Coalition Government to
suspend the eviction of Dale Farm Travellers site until culturally
appropriate accommodation is identified and provided.



Since March 2010 the UN Committee has had the UK under an ‘Early Warning and
Urgent Action Procedure’ on Dale Farm and previously urged the government to
suspend the eviction. The UN Early Warning and Urgent Action procedure is
designed to ‘prevent serious violations of the Convention’ and has recently
been used with countries like Libya, Columbia and China



The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain calls upon the Coalition government
to comply with the UN’s request to suspend the eviction and to abide by its
obligation under international Human Rights Law. Spokesperson for ITMB
stated:



*‘the UK government have morally and financially backed the eviction of Dale
Farm Travellers site to the tune of approximately £6 million of central
government funding. We believe that if David Cameron’s government proceed
with this eviction, which is in direct contravention of the UK’s obligations
under CERD, then it follows that the UK’s status as a party to the UN
Convention should be seriously questioned by the UN CERD Committee.’ *

* *

*‘The Travellers on Dale Farm have repeatedly acknowledged that they are
living on the site illegally and that the legal process has been exhausted.
They have publicly stated their willingness to move off the site peacefully
so long as land can be identified for them to move to. The UN have clearly
stated that the eviction should be suspended until culturally appropriate
accommodation is identified and provided. *

*The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain call upon the Coalition Government
to respect Gypsies and Travellers Human Rights under international Human
Rights law and the specific concerns of the UN on the eviction of Dale
Farm.’*





ENDS



*Notes to Editor*

* *

*UNITED NATIONS ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE CALLS ON UNITED KINGDOM TO SUSPEND
DALE FARM EVICTIONS*

2 September 2011



http://www.unog.ch/unog/website/news_media.nsf/%28httpNewsByYear_en%29/0E8E1A5B7DC300CFC12578FF00325986?OpenDocument

GENEVA – The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination on Friday expressed deep regret at the insistence of
authorities in the United Kingdom to proceed with the eviction of Gypsy and
Traveller families at the Dale Farm in Essex before providing culturally
appropriate alternative accommodation to them.

“We call on the Government to suspend the planned eviction, which would
disproportionately affect the lives of the Gypsy and Traveller families,
particularly women, children and older people,” the Committee members said.

“We urge the authorities to find a peaceful and appropriate solution,
including identifying culturally appropriate accommodation, with full
respect for the rights of the families involved,” the Committee added.

The Committee reviewed the combined 18th, 19th and 20th reports of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland at its current session
in Geneva. The Dale Farm issue was extensively discussed with the United
Kingdom’s delegation.

In March 2010, the Committee sent a letter to the United Kingdom under its
Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure on the matter, expressing its
concern, seeking clarification and calling for protection of the human
rights of the families.

The evictions may breach articles 2 and 5 of the International Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and are inconsistent
with the Committee’s General Recommendation No. 27 (2000) on Discrimination
against Roma.

“Travellers and Gypsies already face considerable discrimination and
hostility in wider society and the Committee is deeply concerned that this
could be worsened by actions taken by authorities in the current situation
and by some media reporting of the issues,” the Committee noted.

The Committee will today issue its concluding observations on the United
Kingdom as well as Albania, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Kenya, Maldives,
Malta, Paraguay and Ukraine. The documents will be accessible on the
Committee’s website on
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/cerds79.htm.

* The Irish Traveller Movement in Britain (ITMB) is a national community
development policy and voice charity who campaign against discrimination,
promote inclusion, participation and community engagement for the Irish
Traveller and Gypsy communities in Britain. ITMB is proud to work in
partnership with the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities together with
service providers and policy makers across the UK to better promote social
inclusion and community cohesion.

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