This episode offers an unflinching and deeply insightful exploration of one of Ireland’s darkest chapters—its 20th-century system of “Mother and Baby Homes” and related institutions, and the wider regime of enforced family separation. Joining us are Dr. Maeve O’Rourke and Dr. Mary Harney of the CLANN Project, a renowned survivor-led initiative that continues in its tenacity to challenge the Irish Government’s ongoing failure to uphold the human rights of those affected.
Listeners will hear how, despite overwhelming evidence of gross human rights violations, the Irish State continues to deny survivors’ rights to truth, justice, access to information, and meaningful reparation. A decade after the establishment of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (MBHCOI) in 2015—and years after the State’s official apology in 2021—the government’s response remains gravely inadequate and in clear violation of international human rights law.
The CLANN Project has played a central role in documenting evidence of gross human rights violations and exposing the deeply flawed processes that led to the Commission’s wrongful conclusions that effectively contradicted its own evidence and the reports that came from survivor testimony.
We also discuss the Government’s Mother and Baby Institution Payment Scheme (MBIPS), a redress payment scheme that finally opened in 2024, and yet excludes tens of thousands of survivors through arbitrary and unjust eligibility rules. The CLANN campaign continues to advocate for the scheme to be expanded in line with human rights law. (More information at llmclann.com.)
Beyond redress, our conversation explores CLANN’s broader work—supported by the Human Rights Law Clinic at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway—including campaigns for legislative reform, access to identity and birth information, record-keeping in compliance with EU law, memorialisation, and public education ensuring that these injustices are never forgotten. We consider how movement lawyering, survivor-led advocacy, and international legal mechanisms have been mobilised to challenge ongoing State violations.
https://clannproject.org/
https://jfmresearch.com/
https://openheartcitydublin.ie/seanmcdermottstreet/
https://adoption.ie/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre-human-rights/humanrightslawclinic/
The podcast was produced by Lisa Murray and Kirsten Larson. Intro Music: 'Smarties Intro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License). Outro Music 'Smarties Outro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License).
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This episode offers an unflinching and deeply insightful exploration of one of Ireland’s darkest chapters—its 20th-century system of “Mother and Baby Homes” and related institutions, and the wider regime of enforced family separation. Joining us are Dr. Maeve O’Rourke and Dr. Mary Harney of the CLANN Project, a renowned survivor-led initiative that continues in its tenacity to challenge the Irish Government’s ongoing failure to uphold the human rights of those affected.
Listeners will hear how, despite overwhelming evidence of gross human rights violations, the Irish State continues to deny survivors’ rights to truth, justice, access to information, and meaningful reparation. A decade after the establishment of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (MBHCOI) in 2015—and years after the State’s official apology in 2021—the government’s response remains gravely inadequate and in clear violation of international human rights law.
The CLANN Project has played a central role in documenting evidence of gross human rights violations and exposing the deeply flawed processes that led to the Commission’s wrongful conclusions that effectively contradicted its own evidence and the reports that came from survivor testimony.
We also discuss the Government’s Mother and Baby Institution Payment Scheme (MBIPS), a redress payment scheme that finally opened in 2024, and yet excludes tens of thousands of survivors through arbitrary and unjust eligibility rules. The CLANN campaign continues to advocate for the scheme to be expanded in line with human rights law. (More information at llmclann.com.)
Beyond redress, our conversation explores CLANN’s broader work—supported by the Human Rights Law Clinic at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway—including campaigns for legislative reform, access to identity and birth information, record-keeping in compliance with EU law, memorialisation, and public education ensuring that these injustices are never forgotten. We consider how movement lawyering, survivor-led advocacy, and international legal mechanisms have been mobilised to challenge ongoing State violations.
https://clannproject.org/
https://jfmresearch.com/
https://openheartcitydublin.ie/seanmcdermottstreet/
https://adoption.ie/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre-human-rights/humanrightslawclinic/
The podcast was produced by Lisa Murray and Kirsten Larson. Intro Music: 'Smarties Intro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License). Outro Music 'Smarties Outro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License).
Push-Backs in the Aegean and the ECtHR’s failure to hold states accountable for systemic human rights violations
The Human Rights Podcast
47 minutes 40 seconds
3 months ago
Push-Backs in the Aegean and the ECtHR’s failure to hold states accountable for systemic human rights violations
On this episode of the Human Rights Podcast, LLM student Alessandra Cao speaks with Dr Niamh Keady-Tabbal about the topic of “Drift-backs” in the Aegean, the role of Frontex, and the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) failure to hold Greece accountable for serious human rights violations committed in the Aegean during systematic push-back operations.
The conversation first introduces the topic of push-backs at the external borders of the EU, the relatively new phenomenon of “drift-backs” in the Aegean Sea and their relation to European “migration management” strategies as well as human rights concerns arising from these practices. The speakers then dive into the recent European Court of Human Rights decision in the case of GRJ v Greece – a push-back case decided in January 2025, in which Niamh was closely involved – to discuss the evidentiary difficulties arising for applicants in push-back cases, and evaluate the way in which the ECtHR – despite explicitly acknowledging them – has failed to adequately accommodate these difficulties.
During the conversation, we referenced a number of cases and academic works. You can read more about the various topics in the links below:
#1 Journal Article “Weaponising Rescue: Law and the Materiality of Migration Management in the Aegean” by Niamh Keady-Tabbal and Itamar Mann (Leiden Journal of International Law, 2023): access
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/leiden-journal-of-international-law/article/weaponizing-rescue-law-and-the-materiality-of-migration-management-in-the-aegean/068B225CF16390CCBA5FFD10FC3CEF8C?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark
#2 Blog Post “Tents at Sea: How Greek Officials Use Rescue Equipment for Illegal Deportations” (Just Security, 2020): access https://www.justsecurity.org/70309/tents-at-sea-how-greek-officials-use-rescue-equipment-for-illegal-deportations/
#3 Forensic Architecture study about the practice of “drift-backs”: access https://forensic-architecture.org/investigation/drift-backs-in-the-aegean-sea
#4 Journal Article “The Enforced Disappearance of Migrants” by Valentina Azariva, Amanda Danson Brown, and Itamar Mann (Boston University International Law Journal, 2022): access https://www.bu.edu/ilj/files/2022/08/Vol.-40.1-Azarova-et-al.-online-unprinted.pdf
#5 European Court of Human Rights Judgment in GRJ v Greece: access the original judgment in French , and the official summary in English
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-243431%22]}
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre-press?i=003-8124872-11378023
#6 European Court of Human Rights Judgment in ARE v Greece: access the original judgment in French , and the official summary in English
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-238636%22]}
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre-press#{%22itemid%22:[%22003-8124877-11378031%22]}
The podcast was produced by Alessandra Cao, Gráinne McGrath and Kirsten Larson. Intro Music: 'Smarties Intro - FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License). Outro Music 'Smarties Outro - FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License).
The Human Rights Podcast
This episode offers an unflinching and deeply insightful exploration of one of Ireland’s darkest chapters—its 20th-century system of “Mother and Baby Homes” and related institutions, and the wider regime of enforced family separation. Joining us are Dr. Maeve O’Rourke and Dr. Mary Harney of the CLANN Project, a renowned survivor-led initiative that continues in its tenacity to challenge the Irish Government’s ongoing failure to uphold the human rights of those affected.
Listeners will hear how, despite overwhelming evidence of gross human rights violations, the Irish State continues to deny survivors’ rights to truth, justice, access to information, and meaningful reparation. A decade after the establishment of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation (MBHCOI) in 2015—and years after the State’s official apology in 2021—the government’s response remains gravely inadequate and in clear violation of international human rights law.
The CLANN Project has played a central role in documenting evidence of gross human rights violations and exposing the deeply flawed processes that led to the Commission’s wrongful conclusions that effectively contradicted its own evidence and the reports that came from survivor testimony.
We also discuss the Government’s Mother and Baby Institution Payment Scheme (MBIPS), a redress payment scheme that finally opened in 2024, and yet excludes tens of thousands of survivors through arbitrary and unjust eligibility rules. The CLANN campaign continues to advocate for the scheme to be expanded in line with human rights law. (More information at llmclann.com.)
Beyond redress, our conversation explores CLANN’s broader work—supported by the Human Rights Law Clinic at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, University of Galway—including campaigns for legislative reform, access to identity and birth information, record-keeping in compliance with EU law, memorialisation, and public education ensuring that these injustices are never forgotten. We consider how movement lawyering, survivor-led advocacy, and international legal mechanisms have been mobilised to challenge ongoing State violations.
https://clannproject.org/
https://jfmresearch.com/
https://openheartcitydublin.ie/seanmcdermottstreet/
https://adoption.ie/
https://www.universityofgalway.ie/irish-centre-human-rights/humanrightslawclinic/
The podcast was produced by Lisa Murray and Kirsten Larson. Intro Music: 'Smarties Intro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License). Outro Music 'Smarties Outro -FMA Podcast Suggestions' by Birds for Scale (Attribution - ShareAlike 4.0 international License).
