“This referendum makes the adoption of a policy on immigration that is global, fair and transparent increasingly urgent”. Without such a policy the rights of the more vulnerable are at risk. That’s the warning of the standing Council of the Irish Bishops’ Conference, which recently issued a statement on the referendum amending article 9 of the Constitution on the right of people born in the island of Ireland to Irish citizenship, and due to be held in the country on 11 June, concurrently with the local and European elections. The question, in the view of the bishops, “has serious moral, social and legal implications; so it’s important that voters be fully informed of the consequences of their own decisions”. “We need first of all to ensure than anyone living in Ireland, child or adult, citizen or not, enjoys the full protection of his/her fundamental rights, without discrimination linked to origins or race says the statement -. This must be the keynote of the future constitutional and legal framework. Each vote expressed with the intention of weakening or denying this principle would be morally deplorable”. “The Constitution defines the fundamental ethos of the State. Changing the Constitution continue the bishops is always a very serious matter”; the bishops therefore encourage citizens “to exercise this democratic right and duty both by actively and responsibly taking part in the debate, and by casting their vote”. Many people in Ireland believe it is necessary to “offer greater hospitality and security to people of different nationalities and cultures who land on our coasts”, the bishops point out. Others, “while hoping for greater hospitality of immigrants, feel that the best way of doing so is that of the prudent regulation of immigration and citizenship through appropriate legislation, in conformity with international law”, with a view to preventing “the exploitation and trafficking of persons”. The referendum, conclude the bishops, “represents an important challenge for Ireland”, because without a proper “policy on immigration we run the risk of undermining the rights of refugees and the important judicial safeguard of asylum”.
