V o lu m e 3 , I s su e 1
BULLETIN
Irish Centre for Human Rights
August 2002
Coming Events at
the Irish Centre for
Human Rights:
Conference
October 4 & 5, 2002
International Conference
on Truth Commissions
and Courts:
Towards a complementary
inter-relationship.
Please contact: Shane
Darcy:
shane.darcy@nuigalway.ie
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
This Bulletin is published
by the Irish Centre for
Human Rights, NUI,
Galway.
Editor: Niamh Walsh:
walshn@nuigalway.ie
+353-(0)91-512354
With special thanks to
intern Deirdre O’ Leary
ACADEMIC ACCLAIM FOR DEAD MAN
WALKING AUTHOR
Introductory address delivered by Professor
William Schabas, National University of Ireland, Galway on 29th June, 2002 on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor
of Laws, honoris causa, on Helen Prejean.
A Sheansailéir, agus a mhuintir na hOllscoile,
Dead Man Walking!
The expression
comes from the death rows of American
prisons as men condemned to be executed
are taken from their cells to the modernday scaffold. Sister Helen Prejean first
learned of it some twenty years ago, when
she took up an invitation to become a penpal with a death-row inmate. For years
since that time she has ministered to the
condemned, in time becoming America’s
best known advocate of the abolition of
capital punishment.
Sister Helen Prejean was born in
Baton Rouge in 1939, and she has lived
and worked in Louisiana all of her life.
She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of
Medaille in 1957. Sister Helen received a
From left to right: Nancie Prud’homme, Sr. Helen
Prejean, Prof. William Schabas and Niamh Walsh
BA in English from St. Mary’s Dominican
College in New Orleans in 1962, and an
MA in religious education from St. Paul’s
University in Ottawa in 1973.
Her religious commitment began
with the ethereal and the spiritual, but later
took a dramatic reorientation towards social and political activism. In 1981 her religious community took what they called “a
stand on the side of the poor” as part of a
reform movement in the Catholic Church.
(Continued on page 3)
INAUGURAL DOCTORAL SEMINAR
The Irish Centre for Human Rights held its
inaugural one-week doctoral seminar in human rights law from 29 April to May 4 2002.
Twenty-five students attended the seminar,
some of whom are based full time at the
Centre while others are working abroad in
conjunction with writing their doctoral dissertations. The morning sessions composed
of provocative seminars delivered by a group
of eminent academics in the field; Prof
Kevin Boyle, Prof Gerard Quinn, Prof. William A. Schabas, Prof. Dinah Shelton and
Prof. Virginia Leary spoke on a diverse
range of topics from workers rights, to the
latest developments at the Commission on
Human Rights, to the rights of the disabled.
The afternoon was based on a “master class”
during which PhD students presented short
summaries of their ongoing research, followed by lively debate, which included
comments and critiques by one or more of
the participating academics, as well as by
their own colleagues. This hugely successful one-week seminar is aimed at enriching the PhD experience with an intensive period of seminars, research presentations and feedback and networking. It is
now a set annual event and will take place
again on 22 – 26 April 2003. A limited
number of places are available to doctoral
candidates from other universities. For
more information please contact the Irish
Centre for Human Rights.
Page 2
A series of case studies
covered a vast
geographical range–
the Irish Travelling
Community, the
Adivasis of India, the
Chittagong Hill Tribes,
Ethno-tourism in Sri
Lanka and Aboriginal
Rights in Canada and
Australia
V o l u m e 3 , I ss u e 1
SUMMER COURSE ON INDIGENOUS
RIGHTS
Participants in the Indigenous Rights Course organised
by the Irish Centre for Human Rights in June, 2002.
New England School
of Law Summer
Progamme
The Irish Centre for Human
Rights once again hosted a
summer study abroad
programme for sixty law
students from thirty
different American Law
Schools.
The six-week programme
focused on courses relating to
international and comparative
human rights law and
accountability for human rights
violations.
Prof William Schabas, Dr. Ray
Murphy, Dr. Joshua Castellino
and Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh,
all of the Irish Centre for
Human Rights, taught courses
in the program, along with four
U.S. law professors: Prof
Michael Scharf, Prof Charles
Sorenson, Prof Richard
Graving and Prof Christine Ver
Ploeg. The programme was
organised by Professor
Michael Scharf of Case
Western Reserve University
School of Law, formerly of
New England School of Law
From June 9 – 15 the Irish Centre for Human Rights, in co-operation with the Raoul
Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and
Humanitarian Law, Lund, Sweden and Murdoch University, Australia, was host to the
second summer course on Minority Rights
and International Law, with this year’s special focus on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The week opened with a comprehensive
introduction to the international legal princi-
COURSE
ON
ples and mechanisms related to the topic,
delivered by Dr. Joshua Castellino, Prof
Martin Scheinin, Prof Gudmundur Alfredsson, Prof Patrick Thornberry and Prof. William Schabas. A series of case studies followed covering a vast geographical range
while having special emphasis on the Australian experience. The situation of the
Irish Traveling Community, the Adivasis of
India, the Chittagong Hill Tribes, Ethnotourism in Sri Lanka and Aboriginal rights
in Canada were presented as topics for discussion. Special appreciation goes to all
those who traveled from Australia for the
course: Seminars were given by Dr. Kathryn Trees (Murdoch University), Geoff
Clark (Commissioner for Victoria), Les
Malezer (Deputy Chair, National Indigenous Working Group on Native Title),
Steve Kinnane (Department of Premier and
Cabinet), Shandell Smith (Environmental
Scientist, Rio Tinto), and Mark Harris (La
Trobe University). Next year the more
general topic of Minority Rights will again
be the focus with the course taking place in
June 2003.
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
The Institute for International Criminal Investigations conducted its first ever Basic
Investigation Course on international criminal investigation at the Irish Centre for Human Rights from 20 May to 1 June 2002.
The course is designed to provide the investigator with the fundamental concepts
required to conduct investigations into
genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity. This very successful introductory course to this complex and demanding
field of enquiry attracted experienced police officers and investigators from Africa,
Europe, North America and Asia. Among
the important topics dealt with were the
design and function of an investigation
team, the legal and procedural framework
for international criminal investigations,
military science, forensic science for investigators, and interview methods and information gathering.
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH
MISSION
In April of this year, Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh, a lecturer at the Human Rights Centre
directed an Amnesty International research mission to Israel and the Occupied Territories. The
purpose of the mission was to investigate allegations of human rights and humanitarian law
abuse during ‘Operation Defensive Shield’.
During the initial part of the fieldwork, Dr.
Cavanaugh led a team of investigators, consisting of a forensic pathologist and a British military expert, to the Jenin refugee camp. Addi-
tionally, during the 3-month research project,
other experts in the fields of international law as
well as other members of the International Secretariat of Amnesty International joined the
mission. The mission, which was completed in
mid July concentrated on the towns of Jenin and
Nablus but additional research was undertaken
in Tulkarem, Ramallah, Hebron and Bethlehem.
The results of her findings will be presented in
an Amnesty International report due to be
launched on November 4th.
Page 3
Volume 3, Issue 1
(Continued from page 1)
“More than any
other personality,
Sr. Helen
symbolises the
gentler, kinder
America that we all
love and
appreciate”
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
OVER EIGHTY
PARTICIPANTS
FROM MORE THAN
FIFTEEN
DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES
ATTENDED THE
2002 SUMMER
COURSE ON THE
INTERNATIONAL
CRIMINAL COURT
She went to work at the St. Thomas Housing Project with deprived innercity residents, and soon she was counselling death row inmates at the Louisiana
State Penitentiary.
When she decided to write a book
about her experiences, Sister Helen was
inspired by Huck Finn in Mark Twain’s
great novel, “not fixing up any particular
plan, but just trusting to Providence to put
the right words in my mouth when the
time come: for I’d noticed that Providence
always did put the right words in my
mouth, if I left it alone.” Many of you
have read the words that Providence put in
her mouth in her best-selling book, Dead
Man Walking: An Eye Witness Account,
first published in 1993, or seen the Oscarwinning film by Tim Robbins, starring
Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Some
may even know the renowned contemporary opera Dead Man Walking, by American composer Jake Heggie, first presented
at the San Francisco Opera in October
2000.
Sister Helen’s encounters with
Louisiana’s death row soon focussed her
phenomenal energies and charismatic persona onto the more general issue of capital
punishment, especially the form it takes
within the United States. The United
States stands alone among developed
countries in its attachment to the death
penalty. Only the United States and Iran
continue to execute persons for crimes
committed while under eighteen, something prohibited by international law.
One year ago, the Irish electorate
passed a referendum making capital punishment contrary to our constitution. This
unprecedented event was overshadowed at
the time by other political issues, and was
never celebrated as it should have been.
Ireland is the only country in the world to
have put the issue to the public in this way I
am sure that Helen Prejean will be thrilled
if we share this moment of personal honour
and distinction with a celebration of Ireland’s rejection of capital punishment.
Ireland never forgot its sixteen
dead heroes, “loitering there to stir the boiling pot”, in the words of Yeats. As in many
countries, the death penalty was a cruel
memory of an oppressive past. In the
United States, capital punishment is the legacy – and the enduring, unforgettable symbol – of slavery and its post-emancipation
echoes in the Jim Crow laws. The Louisiana penitentiary where Helen Prejean began
her famous work is called Angola. The
place was given its name by slaves who
were brought there from Africa. The name
remained when it later became the killing
fields of a justice system infected with racism.
The second half of the twentieth
century has seen the steady erosion of the
death penalty. In 1945, most countries in
the world, including Ireland, still used capital punishment. But by the year 2002, according to figures from the United Nations,
two-thirds of the world’s states have put the
supreme penalty behind them as a form of
cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
An honorary degree is usually the
occasion to take stock of a life’s work, of
fulfilment and completion. But Helen Prejean’s work is unfinished, and she is still
young and energetic. While we honour her
achievement, we don’t want to delay the
return to her important work. More than
any other personality, she symbolises the
gentler, kinder America that we all love and
appreciate. We wish you Godspeed, Sister
Helen.
ANOTHER ICC SUMMER COURSE SUCCESS
The Irish Centre for Human Rights’ third
annual summer course on the International
Criminal Court took place this year from
July 20 to July 27, 2002. Over 80 participants from more than fifteen different
countries attended the course this year to
learn about both the historical origins of the
Court and how it will function since coming into force of the Rome Statute on July 1
of this year.
Speakers included a number of current or
former employees of the International
Yugoslavia including: Mr. Fabricio
Guariglia, Mr. Daryl Mundis, and Mr.
Stephane Bourgon; Legal Director of Interrights Ms. Helen Duffy; Professor
Diane Amann, University of California,
Davis,; Mr. John McManus of the Canadian Department of Justice; and Professor
William Schabas and Nicolaos Strapastsas
of the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
We look forward to another successful
summer course next July!
LLM IN INTERNATIONAL PEACE OPERATIONS
INTERNSHIP
PROGRAMME AT THE
ICHR
The Internship Programme
has just completed its
second successful year.
This summer there were
three interns at the
Centre who worked for ten
weeks on both
administrative and
research projects. They
were engaged in a wide
range of activities, from
the organisation of the
summer schools to
carrying out research on
issues relating to
international criminal and
humanitarian law Two of
the interns, Meghan
Higgins and Eileen
O’Connor, were from the
New York University
School of Law, while the
third intern, Deirdre
O’Leary, is a student at
the Law Faculty NUI,
Galway.
For those interested in
completing an internship at
the Irish Centre for
Human Rights please
contact us at
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
The concept of UN peacekeeping has had to
evolve and change to meet the challenges of
contemporary conflicts. What was traditionally known as “peacekeeping” has now
evolved to include multi-dimensional peace
support operations involving both military
and civilian components. In addition to its
purely military dimensions, peacekeeping
now requires a range of expertise and talent
in such areas as international law, human
rights law, conflict management, and community and international relations.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights has
launched a new Masters programme in International Peace Operations to commence September 2002, as a complement to its successful LL.M. in International Human Rights
Law, which began in 2000. It aims to prepare graduates for work in the field of international peace support operations, and with
international organizations and nongovernmental organizations. The new pro-
gramme recognises the prior field experience of military personnel, law enforcement officers, and others who have participated in peace support operations. The programme will be taught by faculty at the
Centre in association with adjunct faculty
with experience in the field of peacekeeping, human rights and conflict prevention,
including veterans of peacekeeping missions to which Ireland has contributed.
According to Prof. William Schabas, who
has extensive experience in training peacekeepers abroad, “Because of the everincreasing complexity and sophistication of
peacekeeping, those involved in missions:
military, civilians and police, require a
level of expertise and knowledge that a
postgraduate programme of this nature can
provide.” The Director of the programme,
Dr. Ray Murphy, is a specialist in peacekeeping operations and former member of
the Irish Defence Forces with UN experience.
NEW CROSS BORDER LLM
This September, the Faculty of Law, National
University of Ireland, Galway and the School
of Law, Queen's University Belfast, are introducing two exciting new Masters programmes: the Cross Border LL.M. in Human
Rights and the Cross Border MSSC/LL.M. in
Human Rights and Criminal Justice. These
programmes, the first such law programmes in
Ireland, will entail students attending classes
for one semester in Galway, one semester in
Belfast, and spending a summer in either
location completing their dissertations.
The goal of the course is to prepare
graduates for work in the field of international human rights and criminal justice,
with international organisations, nongovernmental organisations and as individual advocates. Eleven students have
been admitted for the first year of this exciting new programme.
Coming Events: International Conference on Truth Commissions
and Courts Towards a Complementary Inter-Relationship:
4-5 October 2002
Truth commissions and courts are two different
approaches to accountability for past human
rights violations - this conference is aimed at
exploring the issues and difficulties that arise
with respect to these two approaches and the
relationship between them. The subject will be
examined in light of the experience of truth
commissions in South Africa, Guatemala, El
Salvador, Peru, Sierra Leone and elsewhere.
The issues of prosecutions, amnesties and reparations will all be discussed in relation to truth
commissions and to national, international and
"mixed" courts. The contributions of courts and
commissions to the seeking of historical truth
will also be considered.
The conference is co-sponsored by the
Irish Centre for Human Rights, the International Centre for Transitional Justice
(New York) and the United States Institute
of Peace (Washington). Presentations
shall be made by a host of experts in this
field including: Paul van Zyl (Program
Director, Legal and Technical Assistance,
International Centre for Transitional Justice); Professor William A. Schabas (Irish
Centre for Human Rights, Galway, and
member, Sierra Leone Truth & Reconciliation Commission) and Neil Kritz
(Director, Rule of Law Program, United
States Institute of Peace)