Higgins calls for spot checks of US aircraft

Ireland is obliged under three conventions against torture to verify through random checks that people being brought through Irish airports are not at risk of torture, according to Labour's foreign Affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins.

He said that "sometimes it is necessary to be frank in friendly relations with another country", and he urged the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, to have random checks of military aircraft travelling through Shannon.

The Labour TD claimed that "various international sources have verified that a plane, on lease to the US State department and the CIA, has landed in Shannon on up to 80 occasions.

"The Minister has relied on assurances from the US, but the UN Committee against Torture regards a simple assurance as insufficient."

But Mr Ahern said that Human Rights Watch issued a statement and said that aircraft alleged to have been involved in the transportation of prisoners by the CIA landed in airports in seven EU members and two others states, but there was no reference to Ireland. "Human Rights Watch went on to say that it was highly unlikely that this type of clandestine activity would operate out of a major civilian airport. The statement did not add 'such as Shannon' but obviously Shannon would be included in that."

He said article three of the European Convention on Human Rights imposed an obligation to prevent torture. "A state is obliged under the convention to take measures when it know that there are substantial grounds that a person faces a real risk of being subjected to torture. The Government is satisfied that this is not the situation in the use of Irish airports by the US authorities."

The Government had repeatedly been assured that this was not the situation at Shannon.

But Mr Higgins said circumstances had changed, and that the conventions against torture require "random or regular checks to be made on planes that are possibly being used for what is called 'extraordinary rendition'." He added that "a simple assurance, such as that referred to by the Minister, is surely no longer satisfactory". He said Human Rights Watch saw an aircraft landing in Shannon and said that the same one landed in Sweden, where an individual was removed.

"The individual's clothes were cut off and he was chained on a mattress while the Swedish authorities looked on in shock." He said the Minister "should think about this".

Earlier the Minister said there was a "window of opportunity" over the next few months to advance the cause of the undocumented Irish in the US, but after that America would be in election mode and the issue would not be dealt with in a "rational manner".

He had directed that it was a top priority for the Government and he would be travelling to the US later this month to discuss this issue. He pointed out that there were up to 11 million undocumented in total from all nationalities and the only way the issue could be dealt with successfully was through proposals that would encourage people to come forward voluntarily.