Asylum-seekers facing ‘scapegoating and discrimination’ in Ireland, says UN expert

‘Damning’ report into global state of rights for women and girls released

There are concerns refugees coming to Ireland are facing “scapegoating and discrimination” by anti-migrant forces who are framing them as a threat to women’s safety, the head of a leading UN body has said.

Dr Natalia Kanem, the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was speaking before the publication of a new report that paints a “damning” picture of the global state of sexual and reproductive rights for women and girls.

UNFPA, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, has today published its 2024 State of World Population Report. It found that 800 women across the world die giving birth every day, a figure that has not changed since 2016.

A quarter of women across the world cannot say no to sex with their partner and nearly one in 10 women cannot make their own decisions about contraception.

The report found that in 40pc of countries with data, women’s bodily autonomy is diminishing.

Speaking before the report’s publication, Dr Kanem was asked about protests in Ireland that have blocked access to accommodation for refugees, amid claims from activists that asylum-seekers pose a threat to the safety of women and children here.

Dr Kanem said the question was “raising a very important fundamental principle in terms of how scapegoating and xenophobia only aggravates the inequalities that we elucidate in the report”.

She said research by the UNFPA had found that in countries hit by humanitarian crises, other trends often emerge, including a rise in sexual violence and maternal deaths.

Child marriage, another harmful practice, also rises as people “scramble for solutions”.

“So for all these reasons, the attitude of governments that are receiving refugees and people who are migrating makes a world of difference,” Dr Kanem said.

“For all these reasons, the ability of local communities to show solidarity makes a world of difference.

“And I have to admit that it’s disturbing that the blame game, which it’s very easy to point the finger at migrant communities, has become part of a kind of vernacular of politics in recent times.

“I think the import of your question is it is important for people to speak out against this type of scapegoating and discrimination.

“And I believe that the United Nations has been in the forefront of calling attention to these types of xenophobic attacks.”

The report said that women and girls who are poor, belong to ethnic, racial and indigenous minority groups, or are trapped in conflict settings, are more likely to die because they do not have access to timely healthcare.

This year is the 30th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt, when 179 countries vowed to put sexual and reproductive health at the core of sustainable development.

“In the space of a generation, we have reduced the unintended pregnancy rate by nearly one-fifth, lowered the maternal death rate by one-third and secured laws against domestic violence in more than 160 countries,” Dr Kanem said.

“Despite this progress, inequalities within our societies and health systems are widening, and we have not adequately prioritised reaching those furthest behind.

“Our work is incomplete but not impossible with sustained investment and global solidarity.”

“It’s disturbing that the blame game… has become part of a kind of vernacular of politics in recent times”