A/HRC/19/2 562. The International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, on behalf of Pavee Point, stated that Ireland continued to ignore the opinions and recommendations of a range of eminent international and regional human rights bodies that had taken the position that the Traveller community met all the legal criteria to be recognized as an ethnic minority. A report released in 2010 had revealed that Traveller mortality was higher than that of the general population. It urged Ireland to engage with Traveller organizations to formulate a response to the issues raised in the said report. 563. The International Federation for Human Rights Leagues welcomed Ireland’s acceptance of 91 recommendations. It remained concerned about the declaration of partial acceptance of 17 recommendations, where it was not clear in what precise manner each recommendation has been accepted. It urged Ireland to ratify all core United Nations human rights instruments, especially those with monitoring mechanisms, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, and called on Ireland to set out a clear timetable in this regard. It remained concerned about the rejection of recommendations regarding the implementation of the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights on access to abortion, putting an end to ongoing religious discrimination in access to schools and recognizing Travellers as an official ethnic minority group. 564. Amnesty International urged Ireland to ratify, without further delay, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which had been signed almost five years earlier. Ireland must recognize in law the rights to health and housing. It urged consideration of these rights at the upcoming review of Ireland’s Constitution. It also urged Ireland to sign and ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Violence against Women and Domestic Violence without delay. It encouraged Ireland to set time frames, to establish a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of accepted recommendations, and to undertake to provide a midterm report. 565. Age Action Ireland, a member of the HelpAge International network, together with the coalition partners (Disability Federation Ireland, the MakeRoom Campaign Alliance, Mental Health Reform and the Women’s Human Rights Alliance) welcomed the spirit in which the universal periodic review process of Ireland had been conducted. It commended Ireland for committing to sign the Optional Protocol to the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It also welcomed the partial acceptance of the recommendation to incorporate into the law the rights to health and housing, and to bring legislation into line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It hoped that civil society and the Government could work together, including in the preparation of the interim report. 566. The society for the Protection of Unborn Children stated that it was the will of the Irish people that the right to life of unborn babies be protected from the very beginning. During the universal periodic review, many States had called for Ireland to introduce abortion. It expressed appreciation for the Irish delegation’s rejection of these calls. Ireland had an excellent record in protecting the lives of both mothers and babies. Life-saving medical interventions for pregnant women had always been available. While some children may not survive those interventions, their deaths were an undesired consequence of the treatment of the mother’s condition rather than the intended result of the doctor’s actions. Such interventions should not be confused with abortion procedures. 567. The European Disability Forum, on behalf of the Equality and Rights Alliance (Ireland), welcomed Ireland’s acceptance of the recommendations on the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, as well as Costa Rica’s recommendation that measures be taken to allow people with disabilities access to education, employment, housing, transport and cultural life, and to facilitate their access to GE.13-14768 217