IRISH CENTRE FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS
Promoting human rights through teaching,
research and advocacy
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Contents
Message from the Director
About the Irish Centre for Human Rights
Structure and Personnel
Programmes
Research and Publications
Conferences
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
Projects at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
Advocacy and Other Professional Activities
Forthcoming Conferences
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Irish Centre For Human Rights Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Message from the Director
It is my pleasure to introduce the 2008-2009 Activity Report for the Irish
Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway. There have
been important new developments at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
since I introduced the last Activity Report, two years back. Most notably, we
have commenced three new academic programmes over the past two years.
The B.A. Connect (Human Rights)
programme gives engaged young
undergraduates the opportunity to learn
the fundaments of human rights, combined
with a work placement in their third year,
which allows students to experience the
reality of a career in the field of human
rights. It is the only undergraduate course
of its kind in Ireland, as until now human
rights qualifications have only been offered
at Masters or PhD level. The programme is
offered within the College of Arts, Social
Sciences, and Celtic Studies. It is a transdisciplinary programme which allows students
to combine specialist study in human rights
law and theory with subjects in the humanities
and social sciences.
In September 2008, we launched the LL.M.
programme in International Criminal Law.
This rapidly changing area of law is now at the
forefront of the development of international
human rights law, making it both exciting
and challenging to study. LL.M. students are
given the unique benefit of esteemed visiting
lecturers, judges, and other professionals from
the field. They also participate in an annual
class trip to The Hague where they visit some of
the main institutions, such as the International
Criminal Court and the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
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A second new Masters in Law programme
commenced in September 2009, in
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This
LL.M. examines the historical development
and recognition of economic, social and
cultural rights, and gives students the
opportunity to appraise the implementation
and enforcement of these rights. There
are a wide range of electives to choose
from, including the Right to Development,
Children’s Rights, the Right to Food, and
How to Argue with an Economist.
Nine Ph.D. students successfully defended
their theses over the past two years. They are
now engaged in professional work, most of
it in an academic environment as lecturers
at universities in various parts of the world,
including Japan, the Netherlands, the
United States, the United Kingdom and,
of course, Ireland.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is
proud to serve as Chair of Scholars at Risk
Ireland. We are indebted to the Bank of
Ireland Fellowships Scheme which has
facilitated us in hosting two Scholars at
Risk to date, from Iran and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
The popularity of our now-internationally
renowned summer schools continues to grow
and grow. The calibre of our guest lecturers
at these schools is unrivalled and, according
to the participants’ feedback, the week-long
summer school experience is an engaging,
informative and exciting one for all concerned,
where they can make invaluable connections
with other professionals in the field.
As well as the excellence of its teaching, the
Irish Centre for Human Rights prides itself on
the scope and quality of its academic research
and publications. Since 2004, staff members
at the Centre have produced no less than 27
monographs and almost 200 articles, as well
as frequently featuring in distinguished panels
on contemporary human rights issues. We
are also pleased to be at the forefront of an
exciting new project, the Oxford Reports on
International Criminal Law case reports series.
In addition, members of the Centre have been
active in a range of human rights activities,
for international organisations such as the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the Organisation for Security and
Cooperation in Europe and the Council
of Europe, and NGOs such as Amnesty
International, Al Haq, the International
Committee of the Red Cross, Handicap
International, the Office of Public Counsel
for the Defence for the International Criminal
Court, SOS Torture and FrontLine
The Centre regularly hosts major international
conferences and expert meetings, often
in partnership with other universities and
international organisations, on themes such
as the right to scientific progress (November
2008, with UNESCO and the University
of Amsterdam), forensic medicine and
Professor William A. Schabas,
Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights
human rights (April 2009, with University
of Dundee), abolition of capital punishment
(December 2007, with Université de Paris II
and the Irish Cultural Centre), abortion and
human rights (November 2009, with Irish
Family Planning Association). An annual
academic exchange takes place with the
Centre of Civil and Human Rights of Notre
Dame University.
Lastly, we are exceptionally proud of a
number of projects which Irish Centre for
Human Rights staff and students are involved
with- these include the current EU-China
project, the fact-finding Mission to Burma
which was undertaken in early 2009 and the
ongoing project on Ireland’s participation in
human rights law and institutions. Further
information on these projects, and on more
of the Centre’s activities, can be found in the
following pages of this Report. I hope you find
it interesting.
William A. Schabas
Director
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
About the Irish Centre for Human Rights
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is one of the world’s premier university-based
institutions for the study and promotion of human rights and humanitarian law.
Since its establishment in January 2000, the Centre has developed a global reputation
for excellence in the field of human rights teaching, research and advocacy, which
has enabled the institution to attract high quality students to its acclaimed masters
programmes and to build a thriving community of doctoral researchers.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is located
in a detached two-storey building on Earl’s
Island, facing the Galway Cathedral, and in
between the bridges lining the town of Galway
with the University campus. The building
was constructed in 1820 as the Galway Fever
Hospital. It was purchased by the University
early in the 20th century and was used for
many years as a sports facility. The building
was entirely renovated in 1999 to a very high
standard. It now consists of twelve individual
offices, a seminar room, a study centre, a copy
room, and a dedicated workroom for the
Centre’s doctoral fellows.
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Structure and Personnel
The Irish Centre for Human Rights has a staff
of six full-time lecturers, six adjunct lecturers,
plus a number of both full-time and part-time
research and administrative support personnel.
The Centre also draws other members
from the Faculty of Law to assist in both its
teaching and activities. Several members of
the University’s Law Faculty have established
themselves internationally in human rights
with lectures, publications and other research
activities in such fields as: humanitarian
intervention, international humanitarian
law, refugee law, rights of the disabled, and
freedom of expression.
Structure and Personnel
ACADEMIC STAFF
Professor William A. Schabas is Director
of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the
National University of Ireland, Galway, where
he also holds the chair in human rights law.
He is also a Global Legal Scholar at the
University of Warwick’s School of Law. He is
a ‘door tenant’ at the chambers of 9 Bedford
Row, London.
Professor Schabas holds BA and MA degrees
in history from the University of Toronto
and LLB, LLM and LLD degrees from the
University of Montreal, as well as honorary
doctorates in law from Dalhousie University
and Case Western Reserve University.
Professor Schabas is the author of twentyone books dealing in whole or in part with
international human rights law, including,
published in the 2008-2009 period, War
Crimes and Human Rights: Essays on the Death
Penalty, Justice and Accountability, (London:
Cameron May Publishers, 2008), Genocide in
International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2nd ed., 2009) and The Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court:
A Commentary, (Oxford: Oxford University
Press (forthcoming)). During this period,
his book an Introduction to the International
Criminal Court, (3rd. ed., Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2007) was
produced in the Turkish and Nepali languages
and his monograph The Abolition of the Death
Penalty in International Law was published
in Chinese. Prof. Schabas has also published
more than 250 articles in academic journals,
principally in the field of international human
rights law and international criminal law.
Professor Schabas is editor-in-chief of
Criminal Law Forum, the quarterly journal
of the International Society for the Reform
of Criminal Law. In 2009, he was elected
President of the International Association of
Genocide Scholars. He is also the President
of the Irish Branch of the International
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Law Association, Chair of the International
Institute for Criminal Investigation and a
member of the board of the International
Institute for Human Rights (Strasbourg).
Dr. Vinodh Jaichand
Dr. Vinodh Jaichand, a national of South
Africa is the Deputy Director of the Centre.
He was formerly associate professor and
dean of the Faculty of Law at University
of Durban-Westville. In the years prior to
joining the Centre, he served as national
executive director of a major South African
non-governmental organization, Lawyers for
Human Rights for more than five years. He
completed his doctoral degree and a LL M
degree (magna cum laude) at Notre Dame Law
School at the Centre for Civil and Human
Rights and his primary law degree at the
University of Natal.
He has been involved in the training of
police, lawyers, prosecutors, and judges in
China, South Africa, Slovenia, Slovakia,
Hungary, Ireland, Nepal and India. Apart from
English he is published in Chinese, German,
Portuguese and Spanish in numerous journals
around the world. He has presented papers in
more than twenty countries.
He has served on the Standards Generating
Body on Legal Education and Training of the
South African Qualifications Authority; as
in Independent Assessor by the Council on
Higher Education: Department of Education
and as the Ministerial Representative
on the Council of Technikon Pretoria.
He holds membership in the Editorial
Review Board of Human Rights & Human
Welfare, in the Advisory Board of the SurInternational Journal on Human Rights, in
the International Advisory Board of Diakonia,
Jerusalem. He was the first Chairman of the
Board of Integrating Ireland.
He has taught in the Mediterranean Masters
on Human Rights and Democratisation and
acted as an examiner in the European Masters
in Human Rights and Democratisation.
He has been the architect of the LL M in
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which
was launched in September 2009.
Dr. Ray Murphy is a Senior Lecturer in
Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
He completed his B.A. in Political Science
and Legal Science in 1979, and then took a
Bachelor in Law (LL.B.) degree in 1981. He
studied at Kings Inns in Dublin where he
completed a B.L. degree and was called to the
Irish bar in 1984. He completed a Masters
degree in International Law (M.Litt.) at Dublin
University (Trinity College ) in 1991. In 2001
he completed his Ph.D. in International Law
at the University of Nottingham in England.
In addition to his position at the Irish Centre
for Human Rights, Dr. Murphy is on the
faculty of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre,
the International Institute for Criminal
Investigations and the International Institute of
Humanitarian Law at San Remo, Italy . He also
lectures on international humanitarian law for
the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Dr Murphy was awarded a Fulbright
Fellowship in 2006 and worked with Human
Rights Watch in New York as a resident
Dr. Ray Murphy
scholar. In 2007 he was awarded the NUI
Galway President’s Award for Teaching
Excellence, and in 2008 he received the
National Award for Excellence in Teaching by
the National Academy for the Integration of
Research & Teaching & Learning (NAIRTL).
He is a former Captain in the Irish Defence
Forces and he served as an infantry officer
with the Irish contingent of UNIFIL in
Lebanon in 1981/82 and again in 1989. He
practiced as a barrister for a short period
before taking up his current appointment at
Galway University. He was Chairperson of the
Broadcasting Complaints Commission from
1997 to 2000. He has field experience with
the OSCE in Bosnia in 1996 and 1997. He
has also worked on short assignments in west
and southern Africa and the Middle East for
Amnesty International, the European Union
and the Irish Government.
Dr. Noam Lubell is a Lecturer at the Irish
Centre for Human Rights. Before joining
the Centre, he was the Co-Director of the
International Law Amicus Curiae Clinic
at the Concord Research Centre in Israel,
and a Visiting Research Fellow at the
Harry S. Truman Research Institute for
the Advancement of Peace, at the Hebrew
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Structure and Personnel
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Structure and Personnel
ADJUNCT LECTURERS
University, Jerusalem. In the years prior to
that, he was based at the University of Essex
in the UK, where he was a Senior Researcher
at the Human Rights Centre, and co-authored
a handbook on the medical investigation and
documentation of torture. He completed
his Ph.D. and LL.M. at the University of
Essex Law Department. He also holds a B.A.
in Philosophy. He has taught courses on
international human rights law and the laws
of armed conflict in a number of academic
institutions, including Essex University,
Oxford University, and as a Visiting Professor
at Case Western Reserve University
School of Law. Dr. Lubell is currently
teaching introduction to human rights law;
international humanitarian law; and counterterrorism & human rights. He is the Director
of the Centre’s LL.M. programme.
During the last ten years Dr. Lubell has
worked for various organisations including
human rights NGOs dealing with the Israeli/
Palestinian conflict, as Outreach Coordinator,
International Law Advisor, and Director of a
Prisoners & Detainees Project. He has also
provided consultancies and training in human
rights law and the laws of armed conflict,
for international bodies such as Amnesty
International, various government bodies, and
the BBC. He is a member of the Executive
Committee of Amnesty International
(Ireland). He has taught, researched and
published articles on a variety of topics in the
fields of international human rights law and
international humanitarian law.
Dr. Shane Darcy is a Lecturer in International
Human Rights Law at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights. He holds a B.A. in Law and
Accounting from the University of Limerick
(2001), and LL.M (2002) and Ph.D (2005)
degrees from the National University of
Ireland, Galway. Prior to joining the academic
staff of the Centre, he was a lecturer at the
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Professor Joshua Castellino was
appointed Professor of Law & Head of
Law Department, Middlesex University,
UK in September 2007. From 20002006, Prof Castellino was a member of
the teaching faculty at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights. He played a major role
in the development of the Irish Centre
for Human Rights and is currently an
Adjunct member of faculty. Professor
Castellino is the driving force behind the
Centre’s acclaimed annual Minority Rights
Summer School.
Prof. William Schabas presents Dr. Shane Darcy with a John Kable QC Memorial Young Lawyer Award, in recognition of
outstanding contributions to the goals and objectives of the International Society for the Reform of Criminal Law
University of Ulster, a Government of Ireland
Scholar and a Doctoral Fellow at the Irish
Centre for Human Rights. In 2007, he was
awarded the Eda Sagarra Medal for excellence
in the Humanities and Social Sciences by the
Irish Research Council for the Humanities
and Social Sciences. Shane is Director of the
Ph.D Programme at the Centre.
Teaching and research interests are in the
fields of international humanitarian law,
international criminal law, human rights
and transitional justice. Shane is currently
teaching Public International Law, Business
and Human Rights, Transitional Justice and
Procedure before International Criminal
Courts. He is engaged in research projects
exploring the judicial development of
international criminal law and humanitarian
law. Shane has participated in training,
workshops and research projects in Iran,
South Africa, India, Cambodia, South Africa
and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
He is an Associate Editor of the Criminal Law
Forum journal.
Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh is currently a
Lecturer of International Law in the Faculty of
Law, Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR),
National University of Ireland, Galway. She
holds a B.A. in Political Science from the
University of Connecticut, USA, LL.M
(Distinction) from the Queen’s University
of Belfast, Northern Ireland (1998), and
PhD in Comparative Politics from the
London School of Economics & Political
Science (1997). She has held several Visiting
Lectureships including: Visiting Research
Fellow, Minerva Centre for Human Rights,
Hebrew University, Israel (2001), and Visiting
Lecturer, Department of International
Relations, Boston University, Massachusetts,
USA (Summer 1998) and, most recently, was
awarded a Fellowship at the Centre for SocioLegal Studies, University of Oxford (2006-7).
From 2004-2006, she served as Graduate
Studies Director, and, since 2002, has been the
director of the internship programme.
Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh
political violence, applicable human rights
laws in entrenched/states of emergency and
the laws of belligerent occupation (IHL).
Here current research project Violence and
the Liberal State investigates the repressiondissent nexus. With regard to community
service and activities outside the University,
she is currently Chair of the Executive
Committee of Amnesty International
(Ireland) and a member of the International
Policy Committee of Amnesty International.
As a consultant, she has undertaken numerous
missions on behalf of Amnesty International
including to Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine
and more recently, to Iraq (where she focussed
on the conduct of the occupying powers
with relation to detention and security). She
has conducted trainings for governmental
as well as non-governmental organisations
throughout the Middle East (Yemen, Jordan,
Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Israel/Occupied
Territories, Lebanon, and Sudan), India, and
the Republic of Ireland.
Michael D. Higgins, TD, Adjunct Professor at the Irish
Centre for Human Rights
Michael D. Higgins, T.D., was appointed
Adjunct Professor affiliated to the Irish
Centre for Human Rights in 2006. Deputy
Higgins, a well-known and frequent visitor
to the Centre and a graduate of NUI
Galway, is Labour Party President and
Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, and is a
current sitting deputy for Galway West.
Deputy Higgins is renowned for his
consistent campaigning on human rights
issues. His dedication to the promotion
of human rights was recognised
internationally in 1992 when he became
the first recipient of the Sean McBride
Peace Prize.
Dr. Iognáid (Iggy) Ó Muircheartaigh,
was President of NUI Galway from August
2000 until March 2008. As Adjunct
Professor in Human Rights, he continues
to undertake research in his field of
Statistics, with applications in Human
Rights, Economics, and Medicine.
Dr. Elvira Domínguez Redondo is an
Adjunct Lecturer of the Irish Centre for
Human Rights and a Senior Lecturer in
Law at Middlesex University, London.
Dr. Terry O’Neill is a former Colonel in
the Irish Defence Forces. He co-teaches
the course in International Peace Support
Operations with Dr Ray Murphy.
Her publications and current research agenda,
academic interests and specialisation includes:
the study of nationalism, ethnic conflict,
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Structure and Personnel
VISITING LECTURERS
Professor Anita Ramasastry is a faculty
member at the University of Washington Law
School in Seattle, Washington, USA. She is a
recipient of a Fulbright Award, which spent
at National University of Ireland, Galway for
the period January-June 2008. She is an expert
on the role of businesses in conflict and weak
governance zones.
Prof. Ramasastry’s research examines
emerging movements to hold business
entities morally and legally accountable for
their potential role in aiding human rights
violations committed by others. Her teaching
provided students with an in-depth look at
current debates over the role of corporations
as transnational actors, their role in foreign
investment, and the role of law in poverty
alleviation and the promotion of economic
and social rights.
Aoife Daly lectures on the International
Law on Children’s Rights for the LL.M. in
International Human Rights Law course at
the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Aoife is a
PhD Candidate at the School of Law at Trinity
College Dublin. Her thesis is entitled ‘State
Implementation of Children’s International
Legal Right to be heard in Proceedings
that affect them’. She previously taught
international law at Dublin City University
and also holds the position of Vice Chair
of the Executive Committee of Amnesty
International, Irish Section.
Peter Fitzmaurice lectures on Refugee Law
for the LL.M. in International Human Rights
Law course at the Irish Centre for Human
Rights. From 2004-2007, Mr. Fitzmaurice
was Project Manager at the Centre, where
he was responsible for a portfolio of projects
that tackle particular human rights issues,
including the Refugee and Asylum Support
Unit and the Ireland-China Academic
Exchange. Peter is currently pursuing a
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PROJECT STAFF
Doctoral Degree in Human Rights Law at the
Irish Centre for Human Rights.
Dr. Sawsan Mohammad was awarded a
Bank of Ireland fellowship at the Irish Centre
for Human Rights in 2008. Her academic
interests are concentrated on issues of
Democracy, American Strategy towards the
Middle East, International relations, Human
Rights, Iraqi Woman. Her forthcoming book
is entitled The Rights of Iraqi Woman: between
the American Strategy of Creative Chaos
and the Internal Struggles. In this book she
discusses the overall effects of the Occupation
on Iraqi Woman (socially, politically and
economically) and what resistance their will
offered against this occupation.
Dr. Mohammad holds a B.A. in Political
Science from the University of Baghdad
(1997), an M.Sc. in International Relations,
University of Baghdad (2001) and a Ph.D.
in Strategic Studies, Political Science, from
the University of Baghdad (2005) and was
awarded a Post of Doctoral Fellowship in
Anthropological Studies by the University of
London (London School of Economic and
Political science) LSE, in 2007. She worked
as a Researcher and lecturer at Centre for
International Studies and also lectured at
the College of the Political Science, Uni. of
Baghdad. She was appointed consultant for
the Human Rights Department, at the Iraqi
Centre for Strategic Studies (Amman). She
was visiting lecturer in ICFPS, International
Centre for the future of Political and Strategic
Studies (Cairo). Between April and September
2008 she was awarded Senior Fellowship
at LSE (Uni. Of London) and she was also
a Visiting Fellow at Centre for Gender
Studies & Cultures at the School of Oriental
and African Studies (SOAS), University of
London (2008). She is a founding member
of the International Committee for Solidarity
with Iraqi Academics (Qatar).
Nancie Prud’homme is project manager
for the EU-China Human Rights Network at
the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National
University of Ireland, Galway. Prior to this she
was senior project officer and researcher on
the human rights situation of the Rohingyas
of Western Burma/Myanmar. She is also a
doctoral candidate at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights researching the interplay
between human rights and humanitarian law.
In 2006-2007, Nancie was a visiting Research
Associate at Minerva Center for Human
Rights in Jerusalem. She has been a doctoral
fellow at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
for 3 years. Nancie has been a facilitator
and lectured for the Pearson International
Peacekeeping Centre in Bulgaria and Canada.
She is a lawyer, member of the Quebec Bar.
As part of her legal training she worked at the
International Criminal Tribunal for Former
Yugoslavia in the Office of the Prosecutor for
6 months.
Annabel Egan is Research Associate with the
EU-China Human Rights Network. She is
also a doctoral candidate at the Irish Centre
for Human Rights, conducting research on
the EU’s human rights policy on China. Prior
to returning to Ireland in 2006, Annabel lived
in China for 5 years, working as freelance
journalist, an editor with the Beijing bureau
of the South China Morning Post and as
spokesperson for the European Commission
Delegation to China. From 1997-2000
she worked as a broadcast journalist with
RTE having gained a masters degree with
distinction in Economics and Politics from the
University of St. Andrews, Scotland.
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Programmes
LL.M. PROGRAMMES
From 2008, the Faculty of Arts has offered
seven new denominated B.A. degree
programmes, each offering students a
different specialism: Human Rights, Film
Studies, Childhood Studies, Irish Studies,
Women’s Studies, Theatre and Performance,
Creative Writing.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights offers
LL.M. programmes in International Human
Rights Law, International Criminal Law,
International Peace Support Operations and,
since September 2009, Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights. It is also proud to run
a Cross-Border Programme in Human Rights
Law (LL.M.) and Human Rights and Criminal
Justice (MSSc/LL.M.), in conjunction with
Queens University, Belfast. In addition, the
Centre participates in the European Masters
in Human Rights and Democratisation, an EU
initiative, and the University of Malta’s Master
of Arts in Human Rights and Democratisation
Programme. Students come from all over the
world, adding a rich cultural diversity to the
Centre and facilitating a sharing of experiences
and perspectives.
The B.A. with Human Rights, now in its
second year, is open to a small number
of students who have dedicated contact
with an expert programme director who
mentors students’ progress, organises oncampus seminars and facilitates off-campus
learning opportunities. Students have
distinctive opportunities to engage with
society and community; to work with others
who share their particular commitments; and
to achieve a high level of confidence in oral
and written communication.
During their third year, students will
combine periods within the university with
learning opportunities outside the university.
These opportunities may include: projectbased work, educational placement in the
community, portfolio preparation, a period
of study abroad at an international university,
service learning, or placement within NonGovernmental Organisations. Third year
students will also work closely with NUI
Galway’s Community Knowledge Initiative
(CKI), International Affairs Office, and
Careers Service.
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Programmes
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMME
These new programmes require four years of
study and offer students, in addition to their
core subject choices, carefully structured
opportunities to engage with a specialism
of their choice. The programmes respond
to individual student interests and create a
small-group identity around those interests.
Students engage in intensive writing exercises,
active learning, and task-based projects. All
examination is by continuous assessment.
Irish Centre For Human Rights
surrounding areas and arrived back to the
hotel carried on the air of personal tales and
stories that were shared for the first time by
members of the class.
Irish Centre for Human Rights students on the steps of the Peace Palace, home of the International Court of Justice
in The Hague
Annual Class Trip to The Hague:
A Personal Account
Pauline Farrelly, 2nd year B.A. Connect
(Human Rights) student
On the morning of Tuesday, 12 May 2009
the flustered faces of the BA Connect class
emerged from the bustling Dublin Airport
crowds and huddled at the departure gate
eager for our visit to the judicial capital of the
United Nations, The Hague. After a smooth
trip we arrived at the Best Western Hotel
Petit, situated in the fashionable Embassy
neighbourhood between The Hague city
centre and Scheveningen. We found our
bearings and made our way out for dinner; a
group unified in the search for world peace
but on this occasion a nice meal and a glass
of wine. On our return to the hotel the first
learning curve of our trip was identified.
As we passed the quaint Dutch houses it
was noted by class members that human
rights professionals may reside there. The
introduction of The Hague was an example
of a working environment where our studies
may one day be put into practice. Being
immersed in the neighbourhood evoked the
thoughts of one day living and working in
such a scene.
As we explored the social element of
the local area our anticipation to see the
professional side of this world grew.
After talk of global conflicts over Corn
Flakes, we arrived at 10.30am the following
morning to the International Criminal Court
(ICC). There we met the LLM group and
passed through security into the colossal
concrete building of the court. We were
briefed on the Lubanga trial, which had just
begun that very week. The experience of
being metres from the live deliberations in
Courtroom 1 breathed life into the countless
cases that we had read for our course
literature throughout the year. That evening
we rejoined the LLMs for dinner and passed
the remainder of the evening exploring the
On Thursday the 14th, we rose with the
effect of the previous night’s discussions
lingering in our vocal cords but these were
quickly cleared with the anticipation and
talk of our visit to the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
We received talks from defense counsel,
a member of the Prosecution team at the
ICTY. This offered us an insight into the
working of the courts. As we took a break
and sat in the fresh summer sun outside the
court, the interest seemed to revolve around
the talk from the defence lawyer on the
Perišić case. When he first entered the room
there were questions in the minds of the
BA connect class about how anyone could
defend the violators of rights. However,
after his brief opening lines our minds were
exposed and expanded to a real life example
of the nature of absolute rights.
Our trip was pleasantly ended with a tour
of The Peace Palace and a talk with Judge
Kenneth Keith. This fine establishment
stood to us as the epitome of international
law and truly embodied our various
inspirations. The collection of nation’s
contributions to the architecture and
décor illustrated to our class the intense
level of global involvement in this entire
organisation. The gratitude dawned on us,
not only for the opportunity to visit The
Hague but to be involved, no matter how
small a part, in the fine infrastructure that
supported what we had experienced for the
previous three days.
The Masters of Law in International Human
Rights is the Irish Centre for Human Rights
flagship postgraduate programme which
has been running since September 2000. It
aims to prepare graduates for work in the
field of international human rights, with
international organisations, non-governmental
organisations and as individual advocates.
The course work begins with a general
introduction to the systems and documents of
international human rights law, and proceeds
to a series of specialised courses in such areas
as minority rights law, regional human rights
systems such as the European Convention
on Human Rights, criminal prosecution
by international tribunals of human rights
violations, gender & child rights, refugees
and asylum seekers and international
humanitarian law.
The course emphasises the communication,
analysis and critique of international human
rights law and legal regimes. While the
emphasis of the course is legal it accepts
suitably qualified candidates from other
backgrounds in the firm belief that human
rights itself is multi-disciplinary.
The Masters of Law in International Peace
Support Operations was launched in 2002
and draws upon the resources of the LL.M.
in International Human Rights Law, but
adds specialised courses on peacekeepingrelated matters. The course work begins
with a general introduction to international
peacekeeping and peace support operations,
and continues with a series of specialized
courses in such areas as international relations
and international organizations, international
humanitarian law, refugee law, conflict and
post conflict studies, and international
criminal law.
The programme recognizes the experience
of candidates who have participated in
peacekeeping activities in various parts of
the world. Thus the programme provides
credit for a full semester course in exchange
for submission of a written assignment of
appropriate length, reviewing field experience
and lessons learned.
The Masters of Law in International
Criminal Law was launched at the Irish
Centre for Human Rights in September
2008. Its aim is to provide students with
an advanced understanding of the history
and institutional structures of the various
international criminal tribunals and the
International Criminal Court.
The programme equips students with an
in-depth knowledge of the principles of
international criminal law and its component
crimes and procedural issues, while also
allowing them to develop a critical approach
to the alternatives in international criminal
justice, such as truth commissions. It is
delivered by a range of experts unrivalled in
the field.
15
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Programmes
Programmes
LL.M. Students participate in Jessop Moot Court Competition
The Masters of Law in Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights is run by Dr. Vinodh
Jaichand and is currently in its first year of
operation. It aims to build specific and general
skills with respect to the modern regime of
human rights protection, and knowledge of
the philosophies and theories that underpin
them. The course provides students with the
requisites enabling them to contribute to the
advancement of human rights globally, both in
their individual capacities and in association
with institutions that have such a focus.
The programme draws upon the resources
of the LL.M. in International Human Rights,
with the addition of specialised courses such
as Right to Development, Right to Food and
How to Argue with an Economist.
16
Irish Centre For Human Rights
The Cross Border LL.M. in Human Rights
Law and the LL.M./MSSc in Human
Rights and Criminal Justice are offered in
conjunction with Queens University, Belfast.
Students spend the first semester in Belfast
and the second semester in Galway. Over the
summer months, they write a dissertation
under the supervision of a faculty member
in one or other of the two institutions. Two
scholarships to the value of €20,000 each are
available to students participating in one of
the Cross-Border Programmes, or to students
coming from Northern Ireland to the Republic
of Ireland intending to undertake an LL.M.
course in the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
INTER-UNIVERSITY
MASTERS PROGRAMMES
INTERNSHIPS
PROGRAMME
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is
one of 39 universities participating in the
European Masters Degree in Human
Rights and Democratisation (E.MA), coordinated by the European Inter-University
Centre for Human Rights (EIUC) in
Venice, Italy. The E.MA Programme,
sponsored by the European Commission, is
divided into two semesters. During the first
semester, students are taught by European
and international academic experts and
professionals at EIUC in Venice. During
the second semester, students study at one
of the participating universities, where they
also finalise their Masters thesis. The ICHR
hosts and supervises around five students
each year during their second semester of
the E.MA Programme.
The internship programme allows
students to engage with human rights
organisations as well as law firms affiliated
with locally-based human rights groups.
The underpinning of this project is
twofold: the project allows students to
put into practice some of the foundational
work provided by the LLM programmes,
as well as to provide much needed
assistance to both local and international
groups working on pressing human
rights issues. The results of research
undertaken by students have served as
the basis for reports for NGOs and also
the basis for dissertations.
In addition, the Centre is one of 19
partners of the Mediterranean Masters
in Human Rights and Democratisation,
an inter-disciplinary programme
co-ordinated by the Faculty of Law,
University of Malta. The structure of
this programme is similar to the E.MA
Programme. The first semester is held at
the University of Malta and the second
semester, devoted to individual research,
is undertaken at one of the participating
institutions/universities, one of which is
the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
Students have availed of internships
with a variety of organisations including:
the International Bar Association in
The Hague; Social Accountability
International in New York; UN
Internships in East Timor; Al Haq in the
West Bank; the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY) in The Netherlands; Association
des droits de l’homme et l’univers carceral
(ADHUC) in the Congo; the Court of
Bosnia and Herzegovinia, War Crimes
Section in Sarajevo; Informal Sector
Service Centre (INSEC) in Nepal, and
Public Interest Lawyers in Birmingham
(working on the Baha Mousa Inquiry).
DOCTORAL
PROGRAMMES
Doctoral Students of the Irish Centre for Human Rights socialise (L-r): Katrina Mansson, Sean Goggin,
Kjell Anderson, Niamh Hayes
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is
at the forefront of doctoral research on
international human rights law in Europe.
candidates to deliver lunchtime seminars
on their specific topics and to gain valuable
teaching experience both on an off campus.
The doctoral programme is unique not
only because of the exceptional standard
of research and level of publication but
also because of the environment in which
doctoral students work. A thriving research
community exists at the Centre with
around 50 doctoral candidates enrolled
on the programme. Students from a range
of academic backgrounds are engaged in
research on a broad spectrum of issues
related to international human rights law,
international criminal law, international
humanitarian law and international relations.
For the benefit of doctoral candidates, the
Centre organises a week-long doctoral seminar
which features a distinguished panel of visiting
academics in the field of human rights. During
the seminar, candidates are invited to present
and defend the findings of their research.
Participation in the activities of the Irish
Centre for Human Rights, including
attendance at lectures and seminars delivered
by visitors to the Centre, is encouraged.
Doctoral candidates are invited to audit
seminars that are offered by the Centre
as part of the post-graduate teaching
programmes and to contribute to research
projects carried out at the Centre. In
addition, opportunities exist for doctoral
Throughout the academic year, doctoral
candidates also meet with the Centre’s
director on a monthly basis to discuss recent
developments and case-law of mutual interest
as part of their regular study programme.
Over the years, the achievements of the
Centre’s doctoral graduates have paid great
tribute to quality of the Ph.D. programme.
Most of our graduates have taken up
permanent teaching positions at prestigious
institutions and the vast majority have
published, or are in the course of publishing,
their doctoral theses. A small number are
also working at a high level for various
inter-governmental and non-governmental
organisations. Dr. Shane Darcy is Director of
the Ph.D Programme at the Centre.
17
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Programmes
Programmes
RECENT GRADUATES
SCHOLARS AT RISK
PROGRAMME
Dr. Hitomi Takemura graduated with a PhD
in June 2008. The title of her Ph.D. thesis is:
“International Human Right to Conscientious
Objection to Military Service and Individual
Duties to Disobey Manifestly Illegal Orders”.
Currently she is Assistant Professor of
International Law at Kyushu International
University (Fukuoka, Japan).
Aimee Griffin LL.M. and Sarah Breslin LL.M., Class of
2008
Dr. Carlo Tiribelli was one of six students
to receive a doctorate degree from the Irish
Centre for Human Rights in 2008. The title
of his thesis was ‘Surrender, Not Extradition:
Transferring Offenders in a New International
Context’, and Dr. Tiribelli currently works as a
lawyer in Brussels.
Dr. Katarina Månsson graduated in April
2008. Her thesis, entitled “A Communicative
Act: Integration of Human Rights in UN
Peace Operations. Dialogues from Kosovo
and Congo”, was based on field research in
Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and at UN Headquarters. Dr. Månsson
is presently Human Rights Officer with the
UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights in Kampala, Uganda.
Dr. Noelle Higgins, who is now a lecturer in
Dublin City University, also graduated in 2008
with her thesis, “Regulating the Use of Force
in Wars of National Liberation, the Need for a
New Regime: A Study of the South Moluccas
and Aceh”.
Dr. Roja Fazaeli successfully defended her
thesis, entitled “The Fifth Generation of
Islamic Feminists: Rights, Interpretations
and Activisms” in June 2008. Dr. Fazaeli
currently lectures in Islamic Studies in Trinity
College, Dublin.
Dr. Seán Goggin graduated in December
2008. His thesis explored the protection of
cultural diversity in international law.
Dr. Jeroen Temperman graduated in
February 2009. His PhD thesis was entitled
“State-Religion Relationships and Human
Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously
Neutral Governance”. He is currently a lecturer
in human rights and public international law at
the University of Amsterdam.
Dr. Chris McDermott also graduated in
2009. His thesis was entitled ‘Trafficking
in Women and Children for the Purpose
of Sexual Exploitation in Europe’. Dr.
McDermott currently lectures in Athlone
Institute of Technology.
Dr. Edel Hughes graduated with her thesis
on EU accession and human rights in 2009.
Her book Turkey’s Accession to the European
Union: The Politics of Exclusion? is scheduled
for publication with Routledge-Cavendish in
August 2010.
18
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Dr. Shirin Ebadi
The Irish Centre for Human Rights,
NUI Galway, is currently the Chair of
Scholars at Risk, Ireland.
The Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network is an
international network of higher education
institutions working to defend the human
rights of scholars around the world. Nine
Irish universities are members of the
network. Irish membership is coordinated
by Universities Ireland, the ‘umbrella’
body which promotes co-operation
and collaboration among universities
in Northern Ireland and the Republic
of Ireland. NUI, Galway is one of the
participating members of the Scholars at
Risk Network. The launch of the SAR
network in Ireland was marked by 2003
Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dr. Shirin
Ebadi, who provided an inaugural
lecture at Trinity College, Dublin in
September 2009.
SUMMER SCHOOLS
Scholars at Risk is dedicated to raising
awareness, understanding of, and
respect for the principles of academic
freedom and its constituent freedoms of
expression, opinion, thought, association
and travel. Among its core activities,
Scholars at Risk arranges temporary
academic positions at institutions
participating in the network for scholars
whose lives and careers are threatened
in their home countries. In the last seven
years, Scholars at Risk has received
over1000 requests for assistance from
individuals in over 100 countries, and
has assisted more than 150 scholars,
including arranging visits to institutions
in more than 18 countries.
In conjunction with Scholar at Risk
project, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights provides a studentship of
between 3 months and one year to a
scholar working in a related field who
is considered by the Scholar at Risk
programme to be at risk. The time
period is dependent on the visitor’s
proposal to the Centre and the funding
s/he has to live in Ireland. Currently,
the ICHR is hosting a Scholar at Risk
from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The hosting of both our current and
our previous Scholar at Risk, Dr Sawsan
Mohammed was made possible
through the generous funding of the
Bank of Ireland.
Each year, the Irish Centre for Human Rights
offers two highly acclaimed summer school
programmes on the International Criminal
Court and on Minority Rights.
The week-long summer school programmes
offer participants a unique chance to immerse
themselves in two increasingly important
areas of international criminal law and
international human rights law, and to benefit
from the knowledge of an unrivalled panel of
experts. Each of the intensive programmes
also includes a variety of social activities
that allow participants to network with each
other and the panel in a relaxed and friendly
environment, ensuring the programmes are
instructive and enjoyable.
In June 2009, the ICHR summer schools ran
consecutively, commencing with the Minority
Rights, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights
Law summer school from 14-19 June, followed
by the International Criminal Court summer
school from 20-25 June.
The annual Minority Rights Summer
School focuses on the rights of minorities and
indigenous peoples. The aim of the course is
to provide participants with an overview of
the legal, political and philosophical issues
pertaining to international human rights law
and its relationship to minority rights and the
rights of indigenous peoples.
During the course participants seek to
understand, assimilate and critically evaluate
legal arguments with respect to the international
minority rights regime and how it pertains to
minorities and indigenous peoples. In addition
they are encouraged to analyse the underlying
philosophical basis within the discourse and to
become familiar with current debates and cases
with a special focus on issues such as the right
to land, affirmative action policies, and effective
political participation and restitution.
Faculty in the 2008 and 2009 Summer Schools
included Irish Centre for Human Rights
staff and adjunct professors, Prof. Joshua
Castellino, Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh and Dr.
Elvira Dominguez Redondo, and graduates Dr.
Kamran Hashemi, Dr. Michael Kearney and
Dr. Jeremie Gilbert. They were joined by Prof.
Michael O’Flaherty, University of Nottingham,
who was the first Irish member of the UN
Human Rights Committee; United Nations
Human Rights Council Independent Expert on
Extreme Poverty, Dr. Magdalena Sepulveda; Dr.
Benjamin White, University of Edinburgh and
Princeton University, Dr Alexandra Xanthaki,
Brunel University and Joshua Cooper,
University of Hawaii.
The International Criminal Court Summer
School offered by the Irish Centre for Human
Rights is widely acknowledged to be the
premier programme of its kind. During the five
days of intensive lectures, delivered by leading
specialists in the field, students are provided
with a detailed knowledge of the establishment
of the Court, its applicable law, its structures
and its operations. Lectures also speak to
related issues in international criminal law,
including universal jurisdiction and immunities.
Faculty in the 2008 and 2009 Summer
Schools included Irish Centre for Human
Rights staff Prof. William Schabas and Dr. Ray
Murphy who were joined by International
Criminal Court Judges Nesereko and Prost
and President Song; Prof. David Scheffer of
Northwestern University School of Law in
Chicago; Prof. Diane Marie Amann, UC Davis
School of Law; Dr. Fabricio Guariglia. Office of
the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court;
Daryl A. Mundis, Office of the Prosecutor,
International Criminal Tribunal for the former
Yugoslavia, and Mr. Guénaël Mettraux, Defence
Counsel, ICTY.
19
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Research and Publications
Staff and students of the Irish Centre for
Human Rights are committed to publishing
high-quality academia. Below is a selection of
publications from the 2008 - 2009 period.
BOOKS & MONOGRAPHS
EDITED VOLUMES
• Bernaz, Nadia, Le droit international et la
peine de mort, Documentation Française,
2008
• Darcy, Shane and Powderly, Joe (eds.),
Judicial Creativity at the International
Criminal Tribunals [forthcoming 2010,
Oxford University Press]
• Cavanaugh, Kathleen, Minority Rights in
the Middle East, Oxford University Press,
(forthcoming, exp. 2009) (with Joshua
Castellino)
• Lubell, Noam, Extraterritorial Force Against
Non-State Actors, Oxford University Press
(forthcoming, 2009)
• Mohammed, Sawsan, New American
Military Thinking and the International
Stability (Beirut, April 2008)
• Schabas, William A., War Crimes and
Human Rights: Essays on the Death Penalty,
Justice and Accountability, Cameron May
Publishers, 2008
• Schabas, William A., Genocide in
International Law, 2nd ed., Cambridge
University Press, 2009.
• Schabas, William A., The Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court: A
Commentary, Oxford University Press
(forthcoming, 2009).
• Jaichand, Vinodh, 60 Years of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in
Europe, Intersentia Publishers, 2008
(with Markku Suksi)
• Murphy, Ray, Edited Special Edition United Nations Peace Operations and Human
Rights, Taylor and Francis/Routledge, 2008
(with Katrina Mansson)
ARTICLES, CHAPTERS
AND REPORTS
• Cavanaugh, Kathleen, ‘Irlanda del Norte:
Reconsideracion de un Metaconflicto’
[Northern Ireland: A Metaconflict
Revisted] in Memorias del Seminario de
Terrorismo y Derechos Humanos, Universidad
Iberoamericana. Mexico. (2008).
• Daly, Aoife, ‘The Implementation of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child
into Irish Law’, in Paulo de Stefani (ed),
1989-2009: 20 Years of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in the EU Countries, EU
Inter-University Centre for Human Rights
and Discrimination: Florence (2009) (with
Roisín Fegan)
• Daly, Aoife, ‘Considered or Merely Heard?
The Views of Young Children in Hague
Convention Cases in Ireland’, 12(1) Irish
Journal of Family Law 16 (2009)
• Daly, Aoife, ‘Children’s recovery after
early adversity: Lessons from intercountry
adoption’, 14 Child Care in Practice (2008),
75-82 (with Sheila Greene, Ruth Kelly, Liz
Nixon, Zosia Borska & Greg Kelly)
• Darcy, Shane, ‘Bridging the Gaps in the
Laws of Armed Conflict? International
Criminal Tribunals and the Development
of Humanitarian Law’, in Noelle Quenivet
and Shilan Shah-Davis, International Law
and Armed Conflict, T.M.C. Asser Press
[forthcoming 2010].
• Darcy, Shane, ‘Prosecuting the War
Crime of Collective Punishment; Time to
amend the Rome Statute?’, 8(1) Journal
of International Criminal Justice, (2010)
[forthcoming].
• Darcy, Shane, ‘Business and Development:
A two-way street? Corporations, Human
Rights and the Accountability challenge’,
Trócaire Development Review (2009), 21-35.
20
21
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Research and Publications
• Darcy, Shane, ‘Imputed Criminal Liability
and the Goals of International Justice’,
20(2) Leiden Journal of International Law
(2007) 377-404.
• Darcy, Shane, ‘Human Rights Protection
during the ‘War on Terror’; Two Steps Back,
One Step Forward’, 16(2) Minnesota Journal
of International Law (2007) 353-370.
• Donlon, Fidelma, ‘Justice: From the
International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia to the War Crimes
Chamber of Bosnia’ in Dina Haynes (ed),
Deconstructing the Reconstruction of Bosnia
(Ashgate Publishing, 2008).
• Donlon, Fidelma, Combating Serious Crimes
in Post Conflict Societies – A handbook for
Policymakers and Practitioners, Colette
Rausch (ed), (United States Institute of
Peace Press, 2006). ( Joint contributor)
• Duffy, Aoife, ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Land
Rights: Developing a Sui Generis Approach
to Ownership and Restitution’, 15(4)
International Journal on Minority and Group
Rights (2008)
• Duffy, Aoife, ‘Expulsion to Face Torture?
Non-refoulement in International Law’,
20(3) International Journal of Refugee
Law (2008)
• Duffy, Aoife, ‘A Truth Commission for
Northern Ireland’, International Journal of
Transitional Justice (2009, forthcoming).
• Gannon, Declan, Israel’s Gross Violations
of International Law in the Occupied Syrian
Golan, (Majdal Shams: Al-Marsad, 2008)
(with Ray Murphy)
• Jaichand, Vinodh, ‘The Right to Water,
Privatised Water and Access to Justice:
Tackling United Kingdom Water
Companies’ Practices in Developing
Countries’, 23 South African Journal on
Human (2007) (with Damon Barrett)
22
• Lubell, Noam, ‘Still Waiting for the Goods
to Arrive: The Delivery of Human Rights
to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict’ Book
Chapter in Hampson, Gilbert, Sandoval
(eds.) The Delivery of Human Rights
(Forthcoming, Routledge Press)
• McDermott, Yvonne, ‘Victims and
International Law: Remedies in the
Courtroom?’ 8 Hague Justice Journal (2009)
• McDermott, Yvonne, ‘Some are more equal
than others: Victim Participation in the
International Criminal Court’ 5(1) Eyes on
the ICC (2008-2009)
• Murphy, Ray, ‘Whither UN Peacekeeping in
Lebanon ‘, Irish Yearbook of International Law
2007, Hart Publishers, (2009), pp. 31-46.
• Murphy, Ray, ‘Lessons from Kosovo: The
Use of Force by UN Mandated Forces,
Defence Forces Review 2008, 2008, pp. 81-95.
• Murphy, Ray, ‘An Assessment of UN Efforts
to address Sexual Misconduct of UN
Personnel’, Peace Operations and Human
Rights, Taylor and Francis/Routledge, 2008,
pp. 75-90.
• Murphy, Ray, ‘Perspectives on Peace
Operations and Human Rights’, Peace
Operations and Human Rights, Taylor and
Francis/Routledge, 2008, pp. 1-6 (with
Katrina Mansson)
• Murphy, Ray, ‘UN Peacekeeping in
Lebanon: A Case Study’, 2008 International
Relations and Security Network, Center
for Security Studies (CSS), Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), July
2008, 15 pp.
• Murphy, Ray, ‘The European Union and
Developments in Crisis Management
Operations and Peacekeeping’, Connections
– The Quarterly Journal, Vol. VIII (1),
December 2008, pp.58-91.
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Research and Publications
• Reynolds, John, Occupation, Colonialism,
Apartheid? A Re-assessment of Israel’s
Practices in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories under International Law (Cape
Town: HSRC, May 2009)
• Rhea, Harry, ‘The United States and
International Criminal Tribunals: An
Historical Analysis’, ILSA Journal of
International and Comparative Law 16,
no. 1 (2009)
• Rhea, Harry, ‘An International Criminal
Tribunal for Iraq after the First Gulf War:
What Should Have Been’, International
Criminal Justice Review 19, no. 3 (2009)
• Rhea, Harry, ‘The Nuremberg Effect on
Contemporary International Criminal
Justice’, Criminal Justice Studies 21, no. 4
(2008)
• Rhea, Harry, ‘War Crimes’, in V. N. Parrillo
(ed.) Encyclopedia of Social Problems,
(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
2008)
• Schabas, William A., ‘The Crime of Torture
and the International Criminal Tribunals’,
in Andrea Bianchi, ed., Non-State Actors
and International Law, Farnham, UK:
Ashgate (2009)
• Schabas, William A., ‘« Die
verabscheuungswürdige Geissel »
:Völkermord, 60 Jahre Danach’, in Gerd
Hankel, ed., Die Macht und das Recht,
Beiträge zum Völkerrecht und Völkerstrafrecht
am Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts, Hamburg:
Hamburger Edition, 2008, pp. 189-228.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Prosecuting
Genocide’, in Dan Stone, ed., The
Historiography of Genocide, London;
Palgrave MacMillan, 2008, pp. 253-270.
• Schabas, William A., ‘The International
Criminal Court and Treaty Bodies as Quasijudicial Organs’, in Alice Marangopoulos,
ed., Droits de l’homme et politique
anticriminelle, Athens: Sakkoulas and
Brussels: Bruylant, 2008, pp. 205-230.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Crimes Against
Humanity: The State Plan or Policy
Element’, in Leila Nadya Sadat & Michael
P. Scharf, eds., The Theory and Practice of
International Criminal law, Leiden: Martinus
Nijhoff Publishers, 2008, pp. 347-364.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Complicity Before
the International Criminal Tribunals and
Jurisdiction over Iraq’, in Phil Shiner and
Andrew Williams, eds., The Iraq War and
International Law, Oxford: Hart, 2008,
pp. 145-160.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Complementarity in
Practice: Creative Solutions or a Trap for
the Court?’, in Mauro Politi and Federica
Gioia, eds., The International Criminal Court
and National Jurisdictions, Aldershot, UK:
Ashgate Publishing, 2008, pp. 25-48.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Bosnia and
Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro’. in R.
Woflrum, ed., The Max Planck Encyclopedia
of Public International Law, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008, online edition
[www.mpepil.com].
• Schabas, William A., ‘Article 6’, in Otto
Triffterer, ed., Commentary on the Rome
Statute of the International Criminal Court,
Observers’ Notes, Article by Article, 2nd
ed., Munich: C.H. Beck, Hart Publishing,
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 2008,
pp. 143-158,
• Schabas, William A., ‘International
Sentencing: From Leipzig (1923) ro
Arusha (1996)’, in M. Cherif Bassiouni, ed..,
International Criminal Law, 3rd ed., Vol. III,
Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2008, pp. 613-634.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Article 12’, in ibid., pp.
547-562 (with Sharon Williams); Article
13, in ibid., pp. 563-574 (with Sharon
Williams); ‘Article 17’, in ibid., pp. 605-626;
‘Article 23’, in ibid., pp. 731-734; ‘Article
29’, in ibid., pp. 845-848; ‘Article 61’, in ibid.
(with Kuniji Shaibahara); ‘Article 63’, in
ibid., pp. 1191-1198; ‘Article 66’, in ibid., pp.
1233-1246; ‘Article 67’, in ibid., pp. 12471274; ‘Article 76’, in ibid., pp. 1413-1418;
‘Article 108’, in ibid., pp. 1671-1676; ‘Article
109’, in ibid., pp. 1677-1682..
• Schabas, William A., ‘Genocide’, in R.
Woflrum, ed., The Max Planck Encyclopedia
of Public International Law, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2008, online edition
[www.mpepil.com].
• Schabas, William A., ‘La place de la
coutume dans les travaux des Commissions
Vérité, Justice et Réconciliation: le cas de
la Sierra Leone’, in Paul Tavernier and JeanMarie Henckaerts, eds., Droit international
humanitaire coutumier: enjeux et défis
contemporains, Brussels : Bruylant, 2008,
pp. 149-160.
• Schabas, William A., ‘The United Nations
and Abolition of the Death Penalty’, in
Jon Yorke, ed.., Against the Death Penalty,
Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2008, pp. 9-42.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Application of
the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Case (Bosnia v. Herzegovina v. Serbia and
Montenegro)’, in R. Woflrum, ed., The Max
Planck Encyclopedia of Public International
Law, Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2008, online edition [www.mpepil.com].
• Schabas, William A., ‘Developments
Relating to Minorities in the Law on
Genocide’, in Kristin Henrard and Robert
Dunbar, eds., Synergies in Minority
Protection, European and International
Law Perspectives, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2008, pp. 189-212.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Prosecutorial
Discretion and Gravity’, in Carsten Stahn
and Göran Sluiter, eds., The Emerging
Practice of the International Criminal Court,
Leiden: Brill, 2009, pp. 229-246.
• Schabas, William A., ‘International
Crimes’, in David Armstrong, ed., Routledge
Handbook of International Law, London &
New York: Routledge, 2009, pp. 268-280.
• Schabas, William A., ‘The Abolition of
Capital Punishment from an International
Law Perspective’, in Vijay N. Ghormade,
ed., Death Sentence, A Struggle for Abolition,
Essays in Honour of Padma Bhushan Dr. L.H.
Hiranandani, Pune, India: Hyderabad Sind
National Collegiate Board and Hind Law
House, 2008, pp. 79-104.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Genocide Law in a
Time of Transition: Recent Developments’,
in Felipe Gomez Isa and Koen de Feyter,
eds., International Human Rights Law in
a Global Context, Bilbao: University of
Deusto, 2009, pp. 319-350.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Post-Genocide
Justice in Rwanda: A Spectrum of Options’,
in Phil Clark and Zachary D. Kaufman, eds.,
After Genocide, Transitional Justice, PostConflict Reconstruction and Reconciliation in
Rwanda and Beyond, London: Hurst, 2008,
pp. 207-228.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Truth Commissions,
Accountability and the International
Criminal Court’, in Willem J.M. van
Genugten, Michael P. Scharf and Sasha E.
Radin, eds., Criminal Jurisdiction 100 Years
After the 1907 Hague Peace Conference,
The Hague, TMC Asser Press, 2009,
pp. 126-137.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Death Penalty’,
in Antonio Cassese, ed., The Oxford
Companion to International Criminal Justice,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, p.
291; ‘Enforcement of Sentences’, in ibid., pp.
310-311; ‘ICC (Structure and Financing’,
in ibid., pp. 350-352; ‘Penalties’, in ibid., pp.
452 453.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Canada’s
Contribution to International Law’, in
Robert Bothwell and Jean Daudelin,
eds., 100 Years of Canadian Foreign Policy,
Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s
University Press, 2009, pp. 142-158.
23
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Research and Publications
• Schabas, William A., ‘International Human
Rights and the Canadian Charter’, (2009)
45 Supreme Court Law Review 297-322.
• Schabas, William A., ‘In Absentia
Proceedings before International Criminal
Courts’, in Göran Sluiter & Sergey Vasiliev,
International Criminal Procedure: Towards a
Coherent Body of Law, London: Cameron
May, 2009, pp. 335-380.
• Schabas, William A., ‘The Special
Tribunal for Lebanon: Is a ‘Tribunal of an
International Character’ Equivalent to an
‘International Criminal Court’?, (2008) 21
Leiden Journal of International Law 513-528.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Crimes Against
Humanity’, in Samuel Totten & Paul R.
Bartrop, The Genocide Studies Reader, New
York & London: Routledge, 2009, pp. 78- 86.
• Schabas, William A., ‘International
Law, the United States of America and
Capital Punishment’, (2008) 31 Suffoilk
Transnational Law Review 377-418.
• Schabas, William A., ‘The European
Union and the Death Penalty’, in Wolfgang
Benedek et al., European Yearbook on
Human Rights, 09, Antwerp/Berlin/
Vienna/Graz/Zurich, European Academic
Press, 2009, pp. 133-146.
• Schabas, William A., ‘International Criminal
Tribunals: A Review of 2007’, (2008) 6
Northwestern Journal of International Human
Rights 382-414.
• Schabas, William A., International
Tribunals’, in Catarine Krause and Martin
Scheinin, International Protection of Human
Rights: A Textbook, Turki/Abo: Abo
Akademi University Institute for Human
Rights, 2009, pp. 637-663.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Customary Law or
‘Judge-Made’ Law: Judicial Creativity at
the UN Criminal Tribunals’, in José Doria,
Hans-Peter Gasser and M. Cherif Bassiouni,
eds., The Legal Regime of the International
Criminal Court, Essays in Honour of Professor
Igor Blishchenko, Leiden/Boston: Martinus
Nijhoff, 2009, pp. 77-101.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Origins of the
Genocide Convention: From Nuremberg
to Paris’, (2008) 40 Case Western Reserve
Journal of International Law 35-55
• Schabas, William A., ‘Should active
recruitment of health workers from
sub-Saharan Africa be viewed as a crime?’,
(2008) 371 The Lancet 687-690 (with
Edward J. Mills, Jimmy Volmink, Roderick
Walker, Nathan Ford, Elly Katabira,
Aranka Anema, Michel Joffres, Pedro Cahn
& Julio Montaner).
24
• Schabas, William A., ‘Complementarity
in Practice’: Some Uncomplimentary
Thoughts’, (2008) 19 Criminal Law Forum
5-33.
• Schabas, William A., ‘State Policy as an
Element of International Crimes’, (2008)
98 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology
953-982.
• Schabas, William A., ‘Prosecutorial
Discretion vs. Judicial Activism at the
International Criminal Court’, (2008) 6
Journal of International Criminal Justice
731-761.
• Tobin, Brendan, ‘Setting Protection of
TK to Rights – Placing Human Rights
and Customary Law at the Heart of TK
Governance’, in E. C. Kamau & G. Winter
(Eds.) Genetic Resources, Traditional
Knowledge and the Law: Solutions for Access
and Benefit Sharing, Earthscan, UK and
USA 2009
• Tobin, Brendan, ‘The Role of Customary
Law and Practice in the Protection
of Traditional Knowledge Related to
Biological Diversity’, in C. Antons (Ed.)
Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural
Expressions and Intellectual Property Law
in the Asia-Pacific Region, Kluwer Law
Internatiional, the Netherlands, 2009
• Tobin, Brendan, ‘Certificates of Origin
Come of Age: The role of Certification in
International ABS and TK Governance’,
Anuario Andino de Derechos Intelectuales,
Año IV, N.° 4. Palestra, Lima, 2008
• Tobin Brendan, ‘Monitoring Compliance
under an International ABS Regime:
The role of an International Certificate
Scheme’, Asian Biotechnology and
Development Review, Vol. 10, No.3, July,
RIS, New Delhi, 2008
• Schabas, William A., ‘Legal Aspects of the
Lubanga Case’, (2008) 19 Crimiinal Law
Forum 431- 434 (with Carsten Stahn)
• Schabas, William A., ‘‘O Brave New
World.’ The Role of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court’, (2008)
83(4) Die Friedens-Warte 11-31.
• Smith, Tara, ‘The Work of the International
Criminal Court in 2008’ German Yearbook
of International Law (2008) (with Clemens
Muller)
• Timmerman, Wibke, ‘Counteracting Hate
Speech as a Way of Preventing Genocidal
Violence’, (2008) 3 Genocide Studies and
Prevention 353.
25
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Conferences
The Centre was proud to host a wide variety of world-class conferences
over the past two years. We express our sincere thanks to our partners
in each of these conferences, and look forward to further collaborations
in the years ahead.
(l-r) Prof. Sue Black, University of Dundee, State Pathologist Dr. Marie Cassidy and Ms. Éadaoin O'Brien,
Irish Centre for Human Rights at the conference on Human Rights and Forensic Science, April 2009
CONFERENCE ON THE
RESPONSIBILITY TO
PROTECT
EXPERT MEETING ON THE
RIGHT TO ENJOY THE
BENEFITS OF SCIENTIFIC
PROGRESS AND ITS
APPLICATIONS
The Irish Centre for Human Rights co-hosted
with STAND and Amnesty International
a conference on the “Responsibility to
Protect” in Galway, Ireland on 4-5 April
2008. The conference had a dual nature in
which the first part of the conference focused
on educating participants about genocide,
the responsibility to protect doctrine, and
mechanisms for responding. The second part
focused on establishing a STAND network
and developing campaigns to respond.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights together
with UNESCO and the Amsterdam Center
of International Law organised and hosted
an Experts’ Meeting on the Right to Enjoy
the Benefits of Scientific Progress and
its Applications (REBSP), from 22 to 24
November 2008, in Galway, Ireland. The
purpose of the meeting was to further clarify
the state obligations emanating from article
15§ 1(b) of the International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(lCESCR) by looking at the tripartite
typology of obligations, the 4 .A-scheme,
as well as the obligations that may emerge
in relation to the REBSP from other
human rights. It also further developed the
work undertaken at a previous meeting in
Amsterdam ( June 2007).
26
CONFERENCE ON FORENSIC
SCIENCE AND HUMAN
RIGHTS
CONFERENCE ON
ALTERNATIVES TO PRISON:
PUSHING FOR POLICY
CHANGE
ROUNDTABLE ON
HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE
NATURAL AND CULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT: A NEW
FRONTIER OF PROTECTION
CONFERENCE ON GLOBAL
AND LOCAL PERSPECTIVES
ON ABORTION
The Irish Centre for Human Rights, in
partnership with the Centre for Anatomy and
Human Identification, University of Dundee,
hosted a conference on Human Rights and
Forensic Science in NUI Galway on 24-25
April 2009.
The MA in Public Advocacy & Activism at
the Huston School of Film & Digital Media
co-hosted with The Irish Centre for Human
Rights a conference on the current prison
system and alternatives to prison took place in
NUI Galway on 1 May, 2009.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights held a
roundtable on ’Human Rights and the Natural
and Cultural Environment: A New Frontier
of Protection?’ on 13 June 2009. The event
was graciously hosted by Tim and Mairead
Robinson at their home, Folding Landscapes,
in Roundstone, Co. Galway.
On 5 November 2009, the Irish Centre for
Human Rights and the Irish Family Planning
Association co-hosted a conference entitled
“Global and Local Perspectives on Abortion”,
which featured speakers from institutions in
Europe, Canada and Africa.
The conference explored current and
potential future application of forensic science
disciplines in the field of human rights and
discussed issues of both a practical and
theoretical nature.
This one day conference explored the
potential for alternatives to the current
system of incarceration in Ireland, in line
with the Concluding Observations of the
UN Human Rights Committee on Ireland
in 2008. Alternatives to the current trends
towards increasing incarceration are necessary,
especially in the current economic climate,
which increases the relevance of pursuing
progressive alternatives in this sphere today.
The Centre for Human Rights hosted a
number of distinguished international
speakers, drawn from a number of disciplines
including law, sociology, medicine and
forensic anthropology. The synergy between
these different disciplines in the context of the
advancement of human rights was explored
throughout each thematic session. The
conference was opened by State Pathologist,
Dr. Marie Cassidy.
The roundtable was an opportunity to
explore the continued development and
expansion of international human rights law
and its relevance for the protection of the
environment and cultural heritage. Particular
attention was devoted to certain activities
currently underway in Ireland that have given
rise to environmental and cultural heritage
concerns, namely the construction of the
M3 motorway in Tara, Co. Meath and the
building of the onshore gas pipeline and
refinery in Erris, Co. Mayo. Much discussion
focused on the extent to which human rights
law could assist campaigners or litigants
with regards to these campaigns, particularly
where such activities have had a direct impact
on local residents.
Dr. Diarmuid Griffin at the “Alternatives to Prison:
Pushing for Policy Change” Conference, May 2009
27
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
SEMINAR SERIES:
Judges As Law-Makers? The Ad Hoc Tribunals For Rwanda And Yugoslavia And The Development Of
International Criminal Law
During the academic year 2008-200, the Irish
Centre for Human Rights hosted an exciting
international criminal law project entitled
Judges as Law-Makers? The Ad Hoc Tribunals
for Rwanda and Yugoslavia and the Development
of International Criminal Law. The project was
co-coordinated by Dr. Shane Darcy, a lecturer
at the Centre, and Joseph Powderly, a Ph.D
candidate and Government of Ireland Scholar,
and involved an exploration and assessment
of the significant juridicial contribution made
by the international criminal tribunals to the
progressive development of international
criminal law. As these institutions enter the
final phase of their work, it is an appropriate
time to reflect and critique the practice
and jurisprudence of the Tribunals that is
responsible for the evolution of contemporary
international criminal law. As the caseload of
the International Criminal Court grows, it is
essential that we take stock of the achievements,
impact and potential legacy of the judgments of
the Rwanda and Yugoslav tribunals.
The project was comprised of two core
activities: the compilation and publication
of an edited collection of essays and the
hosting of selected contributors as part of
the Judges as Law-Makers? Lecture Series
2008-2009 at the Irish Centre for Human
Rights. The research explores and critiques
the key areas where the tribunals have
advanced the understanding of particular
concepts and principles and contributed to
a change in the law. Fifteen leading scholars
in the field have contributed to the edited
collection and publication is expected in
2010. Several of the contributor participated
in the highly successful lecture series. In
October 2008 Professor William A. Schabas,
the Director of the Centre delivered the
28
Other lectures in the series included:
12 March 2009
Dr. Mia Swart, University of the
Witwatersrand, ‘Judicial Lawmaking at
the Ad Hoc Tribunals’ (Respondent: and
Joseph Powderly, a Ph.D candidate and
Government of Ireland Scholar)
2 April 2009
Dr. Fabián Raimondo, ‘The development
of international criminal law by resort to
general principles of law: The ICTY’s and
the ICTR’s input’
Judge Schomburg
inaugural lecture entitled ‘The Development
of the Law of Genocide by the Ad Hoc
Tribunals’ and a response was provided by
Dr. Abou Abass, the Bank of Ireland fellow
at the Centre. In February 2009, the Centre
co-hosted the second lecture in the series
with the Irish Branch of the International
Law Association - Dr. Göran Sluiter of the
University of Amsterdam gave a lecture
entitled ‘Procedural Lawmaking by Judges
at the ICTY and ICTR’ and Fergal Gaynor,
former counsel at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia acted
as respondent.
14 January 2009
Professor Robert Cryer, Law School,
University of Birmingham, ‘Superior
Responsibility in the case-law of the Ad
Hoc Tribunals’ (Respondent: Dr. Shane
Darcy, Irish Centre for Human Rights).
12 October 2009
Judge Wolfgang Schomburg, former
Judge at the ICTY and ICTR, ‘Joint
Criminal Enterprise’.
29
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
EU LECTURE SERIES
SEMINAR SERIES: Challenges
Of International Justice
The Irish Centre for Human Rights hosted
an EU lecture series, The European Union
as a Force for the Promotion of Human
Rights – In Europe and Abroad which ran
throughout 2008. The series’ focus was the
commemoration of the Treaty of Rome
and assessment of the growing importance
of human rights issues within European
Union activities since the Treaty of Rome.
The series was initiated with a lecture on
February 25 by Mr Paul Hardy, Former Desk
Officer for Human Rights in East and South
East Asia, DG External Relations, European
Commission, on the topic of The EU-China
Human Rights Dialogue - who benefits more?
In 2008, the Irish Centre for Human Rights
hosted the University of Washington’s
Program on “The Challenges of International
Justice”. This program provided a first hand
study of the major international tribunals. The
series examined the history of international
justice, and how the international community
works to promote justice and accountability
for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against
humanity. It followed the history and recent
developments at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
and the International Criminal Tribunal for
Rwanda (ICTR.) The series also explored
the so-called “hybrid courts” in Sierra Leone,
East Timor and Cambodia, and the unique
challenges facing those courts today.
The second lecture in the series was held
that same week, with a very informative talk
on Strasbourg, the European Convention and
the EU delivered on 29 February by Ms.
Nuala Mole, the Founder and Director of
the AIRE (Advice on Individual Rights in
Europe) Centre.
The Centre is London-based NGO which
provides information and advice and
representation on all aspects on the rights of
individuals in Europe under international law.
Professor William Schabas, the Director of
the Irish Centre for Human Rights, delivered
a lecture on 31 March 2008 on The EU and
its Campaign for International Abolition of the
Death Penalty.
On 12 April 2008, Geoffrey Harris, Head of
the Human Rights Unit within the Secretariat
General of the European Parliament,
delivered a lunch time lecture entitled The
Promotion of Human Rights by the EU: The
Parliamentary Dimension.
30
The 2008 series was completed by a final
lecture on World Human Rights Day, 10
December, by Dr. George Christou entitled,
The European Union and the Cyprus Conflict:
Towards Open Frontiers? Dr. Christou
examined the role of the EU as an actor in
conflict resolution, with a specific focus on
the Cyprus conflict.
COMMEMORATION OF
THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY
OF UDHR
The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI
Galway commemorated the 60th anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
on 10 December, 2008 with a series of events
on campus. Film screenings, a public lecture,
a photography exhibition and a concert,
marked the signing in 1948 of one of the
most prominent and enduring foundational
documents of international human rights law.
COMMEMORATION OF
15TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
RWANDAN GENOCIDE
On 27 April 2009, Prof. William Schabas
gave a lecture in commemoration of the
15th Anniversary of the Rwandan genocide.
Alfred Mwenedata, a Rwandan Ph.D.
candidate at the Irish Centre for Human
Rights, was the respondent.
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
LUNCHTIME SEMINARS
in his car by South African security agents.
After the bombing, he devoted himself to the
preparations for a new democratic constitution
for South Africa. He returned to South Africa
and served as a member of the Constitutional
Committee and the National Executive of the
African National Congress.
Judge Albie Sachs (right) with Prof. William Schabas
JUSTICE ALBIE SACHS
Justice Albie Sachs presented a talk entitled,
‘Paved with More than Good Intentions: From
Port Elizabeth via Modderklip to 51 Olivia
Street’ - A discussion of Historic Cases from
the Constitutional Court of South Africa’, on
2 November 2009.
Justice Albie Sachs, of the Constitutional Court
of South Africa, was appointed to the court by
Nelson Mandela in 1994. Justice Sachs recently
gained international attention in 2005 as the
author of the Court’s holding in the case of
Minister of Home Affairs v. Fourie, in which
the Court overthrew South Africa’s statute
defining marriage to be between one man and
one woman as a violation of the Constitution’s
general mandate for equal protection for all
and its specific mandate against discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation. Justice Sachs
is also recognized for the development of the
differentiation between constitutional rights
in three different degrees or generations of
rights. As a young Jewish man in South Africa,
he worked as an attorney, defending people
charged under racist statutes and repressive
security laws under South African Apartheid.
After being seized by the police and placed
in solitary confinement for his work in the
freedom movement, Albie Sachs went into exile
in England and then Mozambique. In Maputo,
Mozambique in 1988, he lost his arm and
his sight in one eye when a bomb was placed
In 1991 he won the Alan Paton Award for his
book Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter.
The book chronicles his response to the 1988
car bombing. He is also the author of Justice
in South Africa (1974), The Jail Diary of Albie
Sachs (1966), Sexism and the Law (1979),
The Free Diary of Albie Sachs (2004), and The
Strange Alchemy of Life and Law (2009).
PROFESSOR BEN KIERNAN
At the invitation of the Irish Centre for Human
Rights, Professor Ben Kiernan presented a talk
entitled ‘Researching the History of Genocide’
on 22 October 2009.
Prof. Kiernan is a Whitney Griswold Professor
of History, Professor of International & Area
Studies and Director of the Genocide Studies
Program at Yale University. Professor Kiernan
obtained his Ph.D. from Monash University,
Australia, in 1983. He is the author of Blood
and Soil: A World History of Genocide and
Extermination from Sparta to Darfur (2007),
which won the 2008 gold medal for the best
book in History awarded by the Independent
Publishers association. He has authored
numerous books on genocide, including
The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in
Historical Perspective (2003).
DR. JOHANNES VAN AGGELEN
In a lunchtime seminar co-hosted by the Irish
Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway
and the International Law Association’s Irish
Branch, Dr.Johannes Van Aggelen presented
a paper on ‘The Overpolitization of the UN
Human Rights Agenda’ on 21 May 2009.
Dr. Van Aggelen was awarded a BA in
Education and a Docteur en Droit, from the
University of Nijmegen in 1976, NIJMEGEN,
and a DCL from McGill University, Montreal
in 1989. He has worked for the UN Human
Rights Department from 1980-2007. His over
150 publications include 2 books, 150 articles
and book reviews; he has lectured in Canada,
the US, England, Portugal and Brazil.
GARETH SWEENEY
On 3 October 2008, Gareth Sweeney of the
International Service for Human Rights,
Geneva gave a talk entitled ‘The Universal
Periodic Review: Practice and Prospects’. The
talk looked at the workings of the Universal
Periodic Review, the recently established
mechanism whereby the human rights record
of every State is examined by members of the
Human Rights Council.
Gareth Sweeney is a graduate of the Irish
Centre for Human Rights and his work in
Geneva for the past number of years has
included observation of the various human
rights bodies.
RICK LINES AND DAMON BARRETT
In a joint seminar delivered on 13 October
2009, Rick Lines and Damon Barrett presented
a paper entitled ‘Human Rights and the “War
on Drugs”’.
In many countries around the world, drug
control efforts result in serious human rights
abuses, including torture and ill-treatment by
police, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention,
execution, denial of essential medicines and
basic health services. These abuses continue
unabated and yet UN agencies have provided
little guidance – or incentive - to countries to
address problematic drug control practices.
UN drug control agencies pay little attention to
whether drug control activities are conducted
consistent with human rights protections.
31
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
UN human rights bodies likewise do not
pay sufficient attention to international drug
control efforts.
Rick Lines is the Senior Policy Advisor
with the International Harm Reduction
Association in London, where he leads their
HR2 – Harm Reduction & Human Rights
programme. Rick received his LL.M. from the
Irish Centre for Human Rights in 2006, and is
currently a PhD candidate. Damon Barrett is
the Human Rights Analyst the International
Harm Reduction Association in London,
where he is a member of the HR2 – Harm
Reduction & Human Rights programme.
Damon received his LL.M. from the Irish
Centre for Human Rights in 2006.
PROFESSOR MARK OSIEL
Prof. Mark Osiel delivered a paper entitled
‘Reciprocity in Humanitarian Law: Acceptance
and Repudiation’ in the Irish Centre for Human
Rights on 3 November 2008.
Professor Osiel is Director of International
Criminal and Humanitarian Law at the
T.M.C. Asser Institute, The Hague, part of
the University of Amsterdam. He lectures
widely on humanitarian law, both abroad and
at the U.S. war colleges. He has spoken at
the International Criminal Tribunal for the
former Yugoslavia and served as consultant
to prosecutors of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and
of perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide.
He regularly consults to international
organizations and governments in postconflict societies on issues of transitional
justice. His articles have appeared in the
Harvard Law Review, Columbia Law Review,
California Law Review, Pennsylvania Law
Review, Human Rights Quarterly, Law &
Social Inquiry, and Representations, among
others. His books include Mass Atrocity,
Collective Memory & the Law (1997),
32
Obeying Orders: Atrocity, Military Discipline,
and the Law of War (1999), Mass Atrocity,
Ordinary Evil, and Hannah Arendt: Criminal
Consciousness in Argentina’s Dirty War (Yale
Univ. Press, 2002), Trying Tyrants: Making
Sense of Mass Atrocity (Cambridge Univ.
Press, 2008). His latest book, entitled The
End of Reciprocity: Terror, Torture & the Law of
War, was published by Cambridge University
Press in 2009.
SAHAR FRANCIS
The Irish Centre for Human Rights was pleased
to host Sahar Francis on 12 November 2008,
who delivered a talk entitled, ‘Administrative
Detention and the Law in Israel-Occupied
Palestinian Territories’.
Sahar Francis is a Palestinian-Israeli lawyer
and human rights advocate in the Occupied
Palestinian Territories. She holds a law degree
from Haifa University and a Masters degree in
International Studies from Birzeit University.
In 1994 she began her work on human
rights issues at St Ives Institution focusing
on the subject of housing rights, land issues
and house demolitions. From 1998 – 2000
she worked with Badil Resource Center for
Palestinian Residency and Refugees’ Rights.
Since 2006 Francis has been the director of
Addameer Prisoners’ Support and Human
Rights Association.
ADDAMEER (Arabic for conscience)
Prisoners Support and Human Rights
Association is a Palestinian non-governmental,
civil institution which focuses on human
rights issues. Established in 1992 by a group
of activists interested in human rights, the
center’s activities focus on offering support for
Palestinian prisoners, advocating the rights of
political prisoners, and working to end torture
through monitoring, legal procedures and
solidarity campaigns.
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Lecture Series, Special Events and Lunchtime Seminars
LUNCHTIME SEMINAR:
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ANNUAL DOCTORAL
SEMINARS
On 8 December 2008, Dr. Niamh Reilly and
Dr. Nata Duvvury from the Global Women’s
Studies Programme in NUI, Galway along
with Helen Mortimer, an independent
consultant/researcher on women’s human
rights presented a lunchtime seminar called,
‘Violence against Women and Human
Rights: Global and local perspectives’. This
seminar was part of the Global 16 Days of
Action opposing Violence against Women, an
international event which began in 1991 and
now has over 2,000 organisations from 130
countries participating.
The doctoral seminar is an important week
in the life of the Irish Centre for Human
Rights. PhD students are provided with an
opportunity to present their work in progress,
ideas and research developments to their peers
and receive feedback and suggestions from a
range of experts.
The 8th annual Irish Centre for Human Rights
PhD Seminar took place from 4-8 May 2009.
Speakers included Professor Douglass Cassel,
Professor Francoise Hampson, Professor
Louis Wolcher, and Dr. Michael Kearney. The
program included presentations by the expert
speakers, as well as presentations by Doctoral
Candidates on their current research.
Doctoral students take a walk to the Doolin caves on their annual Doctoral Seminar, 2008
The Irish Centre for Human Rights held
its seventh annual doctoral seminar from
31 March - 4 April 2008. The invited
experts to the seminar were Prof. Anita
Ramasastry (Associate Professor, University
of Washington School of Law; formerly
Fulbright Fellow at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights), Professor Alfred De
Zayas (Geneva School of Diplomacy and
International Relations) and Professor Semih
Gemalmaz (University of Istanbul).
Students take a welcome rest at the 2008 Doctoral Seminar’s tour of the Burren
33
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Projects at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
Irish Centre for Human Rights Researchers
Conduct Fact-Finding Mission
EU-CHINA HUMAN RIGHTS
NETWORK
In March 2009, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights, NUI Galway launched the activities of
the new EU-China Human Rights Network.
The three-year EU-funded project provides a
grant of 1.5 million Euro to the Irish Centre for
Human Rights to develop and lead an unrivalled
network of human rights specialists from across
the EU and China. The 30 European and 20
Chinese institutions involved in the Network
will collaborate with non-governmental
organizations to analyse human rights practices
through the EU-China Human Rights Seminar
process and associated activities.
In August 2008, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights received funding from Irish Aid to
launch a project on the human rights situation
of the Rohingyas of Rakhine State in Western
Burma/Myanmar. As part of the project the
Burma research unit was established at the
Irish Centre for Human Rights with a view to
carrying out open source research and a factfinding mission, culminating in the drafting
of a report under the supervision of Prof.
William Schabas.
In February 2009, Nancie Prud’homme
and Joseph Powderly (project researchers)
undertook a 4-week fact-finding mission
to gather more detailed, first-hand and
new information about the situation of the
Rohingyas in Western Burma/Myanmar.
As part of their mission Nancie and Joseph
first visited Thailand. They organized meetings
on a range of issues relating to the Rohingyas,
including the situation of the Rohingya
“Boat people” - refugees who were pushed
out to sea off the coast of southern Thailand
in early 2009 - and regional responses to the
ongoing and rapidly deteriorating status of
this ethnic minority.
34
As part of the fact-finding mission the
researchers also spent two weeks in
Bangladesh visiting refugee camps and
interviewing Rohingya refugees and
human rights and humanitarian workers.
The researchers were joined in Bangladesh
by Mr. John Ralston, Executive Director
of the International Institution for
Criminal Investigation and former Chief of
Investigations at the International Criminal
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and for
the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry
for Darfur. The team interviewed over 60
refugees. The mission in Bangladesh provided
detailed information on the causes for flight
to Bangladesh and the current situation in
Western Burma/Myanmar.
The report of the Rohingya project is due
to be launched in January 2009 and will be
available on the Irish Centre for Human
Rights’ website.
From 2009-2012, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights, along with the lead Chinese institution
the Chinese Academy of Social Science
(CASS), will direct the strategic development
of the EU-China Human Rights Seminar
process, placing NUI Galway in a central role
in the development of human rights practices
in China.
The EU-China Human Rights Network will
build upon and deepen the exchanges and
debates of the official EU-China Human
Rights Dialogue and, in so doing, will add
a more concrete and practical dimension to
the process. The Network’s activities will aim
to foster a sense of common understanding
and will encourage free and constructive
exchanges between European and Chinese
academics, legislators, policy makers and civil
society organisations on human rights topics
and their implementation in the field. As such,
the activities of the Network have the capacity
to inform and influence political opinion
in China by providing Chinese experts and
reform-minded officials with the arguments
they need to press for change.
The overall objective of the EU-China Human
Rights Network is to strengthen the realisation
of human rights in China in line with the
35
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Projects at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
Projects at the Irish Centre for Human Rights
Project: ‘Ireland’s participation in International Human Rights Law
and Institutions’
EU’s Human Rights policy and to help China
in its effort to align its Human Rights policy
with international norms. The project closely
mirrors the 2002-2005 EU-funded Human
Rights Network, also led by the Irish Centre
for Human Rights.
‘China has entered a critical period in terms
of its human rights practices,’ said Professor
William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre
for Human Rights. ‘With the decline in the
global economy the authorities must face the
threat of social unrest without rowing back
on the positive changes we have witnessed
in previous years. At the same time, further
progress must be ensured on on ever present
issues such as the use of the death penalty,
freedom of expression and religion, the ‘reeducation through labour’ and the rights of
minorities in the autonomous regions of Tibet
and Xinjiang,’ he said.
In May 2009, the Irish Centre for Human
Rights led the organisation of the first
EU-China Human Rights Seminar to take
place under the new contract. The Seminar,
which launched the activities of the new
project in Prague, focused on the issues of
Access to Justice and the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities. In mid-November 2009 a
second Seminar took place in Beijing again
with a focus on various aspects of Access
to Justice as well as Human Rights and
the Global Economic Crisis. Two further
Seminars are envisaged for 2010, taking
place in Spain in the first half of the year and
Beijing in the second.
The project is managed by Nancie
Prud’homme. Annabel Egan is Research
Associate with the project and Dang Heping is
the project’s Doctoral Research Fellow.
36
‘Ireland’s participation in International Human
Rights Law and Institutions’ commenced
in March 2005 and has been funded by the
Irish Research Council for Humanities and
Social Sciences until March 2008. The Project
Director is Professor William Schabas and the
principal Researcher is PhD student, Aisling
O’Sullivan. Its objective is to document
and analyse Irish foreign policy towards the
development and evolution of International
Human Rights Law during its formative
stage. The project sub-divides into an analysis
of Ireland’s involvement in human rights
law-making and Ireland’s engagement in
international human rights institutions.
Initially, the project sought to examine
Ireland’s role in the development of
international human rights law within the
Council of Europe and the United Nations
from 1949-1978 and 1955-1978 respectively.
In light of the material collected on Ireland’s
involvement in the Council of Europe, the
final monograph will be primarily a behindthe-scenes narrative of Ireland’s involvement
in one of the most significant cases in
international human rights law, the case of
Ireland v. United Kingdom (1978).
In examining Ireland’s involvement,
the research concentrated on the Irish
Government papers housed in the National
Archives of Ireland, in conjunction with
interviews of some of the key actors involved
in the proceedings on behalf of the Irish
Government, such as former Taoiseach and
Minister for Foreign Affairs Garret Fitzgerald,
former Attorney General Declan Costello,
former Legal Adviser Mahon Hayes and
former Irish Ambassador to the US, Sean
Donlon. However, significant material from
the British National Archives has also been
collected and analyzed. Additionally, Aisling
O’Sullivan has collected all the inadmissible
applications against Ireland submitted to the
European Commission of Human Rights, with
the kind and helpful assistance of the Archives
of the European Court of Human Rights.
Aside from the research proper, a website
was created in July 2006 to provide a detailed
outline of the research. The content and
layout was drafted by Aisling O’Sullivan and
the web-design by Mr. Michael Coyne. The
website is located at http//:www.nuigalway.
ie/human_rights/Projects/ireland_project/
index.html. From the beginning of the project,
an archive of documents from the Irish
government papers has been organized into
a searchable archive database. The archive
encompasses a large section of the documents
collected from the Irish State papers. From
May to December 2007, Melissa Ruggiero,
a former student on the Cross-border LLM
in Human Rights and Criminal Justice
processed this work by scanning, organizing
and providing keyword terms for each of the
documents within the archive.
During the life-time of the project, the
following research papers have been
published: a book chapter by Professor
William Schabas entitled ‘Ireland, the
European Convention of Human Rights and
the personal contribution of Sean MacBride’
in John Morison, Kieran McEvoy and Gordon
Anthony (ed.), Judges, Transition and Human
Rights (Oxford, Oxford University Press
2007) and an academic paper by Professor
William Schabas and Aisling O’Sullivan
entitled ‘Politics and Poor Weather: How the
Ireland sued the United Kingdom under the
European Convention on Human Rights’,
(2007) 2 Irish Yearbook of International Law.
Regarding further research outputs, the
final monograph is at write up stage and
is projected to be completed in 2010.
Furthermore, a separate PhD student project
was developed by Aisling O’Sullivan in
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Project: Oxford Reports on International Criminal Law
International Criminal Law
2007, whereby contributors to a co-edited
monograph by Aisling O’Sullivan and
Professor Schabas have researched issues in
human rights and criminal justice from the
perspective of Irish, British and US policy
using material from State Archives.
The monograph consists of the following
chapters: The emerging ‘right of selfdetermination of peoples’ and the case of Cyprus
(Vasilki Germanakou [NUIG]), Ireland’s
Relationship to the United Nations Regarding
the Rights of Women (Roja Fazaeli [TCD] and
Melanie Hoewer [UCD]), Ireland and the
United Nations Declaration against Torture:
Principles and Politics (Michelle Farrell
[NUIG]), Ireland and the Drafting of the Geneva
Conventions of the 1949: Issues, Insights and
Controversies (Joseph Powderly [NUIG]),
On the Development of Irish Relations with
Israel: Reflections on the Role of Human Rights
in Foreign Policy (Andrea Breslin [NUIG] and
Anthony Cullen [U of Cambridge]), United
States Foreign Policy and International Criminal
Tribunals (Harry Rae [La Salle, Penn. US]),
Ireland and the Abolition of Capital Punishment:
History, Politics and Missed Opportunities
(Niamh Hayes [NUIG]), Accounting, murky
extradition law and poor human rights treaty
acceptance: Ireland’s journey of accession to the
Genocide Convention of 1948 (Aisling O’Sullivan
[NUIG]). This monograph is in its final stages
and will shortly be sent for peer review.
In September 2008, Oxford University
Press launched the Oxford Reports on
International Criminal Law, which is one
component within its broader venture
entitled Oxford Reports on International
Law. The Oxford Reports on International
Criminal Law are produced here in Galway,
by a team composed of Joe Powderly,
Niamh Hayes, Yvonne McDermott and Prof.
William Schabas, with some additional guest
contributors on occasion. Students at the
Irish Centre for Human Rights have access to
the Reports through their regular university
account, at http://oxfordlawreports.com.
The reports consist of case summaries and
indexes of leading international criminal law
cases, together with the decisions themselves.
Previously, research in the case law of
international criminal tribunals involved
rather tedious combing through the websites
of the various tribunals. Even then, as a general
rule the tribunal websites do not allow for
keyword searches and they are not indexed.
The International Law Reports respond to the
problem, but they cover only a very limited
number of cases. Hundreds of cases are
already on line, and we will be continuing to
add more.
Irish Centre for Human Rights staff, students and graduates attending a conference in Iran, 2009
37
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Advocacy and Other Professional Activities
In 2008, Ph.D. student Fidelma Donlon was
an expert advisor to Special Court for Sierra
Leone. The Court was created in 2002 and
has jurisdiction to ‘prosecute persons who
bear the greatest responsibility for serious
violations of international humanitarian
law and Sierra Leonean law’ committed in
the country since 30 November 1996. The
current completion strategy of the Special
Court estimates that judicial activities will
be completed after the trial of the former
Liberian President Charles Taylor ends in
2011. To maintain international standards
and fulfilment of the Courts mandate there
are a number of legal obligations that will not
cease after the completion of trials. The term
‘residual functions’, is broadly used to describe
the obligations.
Fidelma’s work entailed research in the areas
of Public International Law, International
Criminal Law, International Human Rights
Law and Sierra Leonean Law. She coordinated
with the Government of Sierra Leone,
representatives of the ICTY, the ICTR, the
ICC, the UN Office of Legal Affairs, the
ICRC and international non-governmental
organisations. Fidelma is author of the 2008
advisory report on the ‘Residual Functions
and Residual Institution Options of the
Special Court for Sierra Leone.’ Her report
analyzes and presents the critical ‘residual
functions’ of the Special Court including
matters related to the possible review of
convictions, the provision of assistance to
national Prosecution authorities, options
related to the trial of the fugitive Johnny Paul
Koroma, ongoing witness protection issues
and the future management of the archives of
the Special Court.
Fidelma examined the workload and resources
involved in supporting the residual functions,
the timeframe for implementation of the
obligations and the legality of the transfer
or delegation of the functions to the Sierra
Leonean authorities, the International
Criminal Court or the international tribunals
38
for the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda.
She has recommended that the residual
functions must be managed in accordance
with international standards to ensure the
ongoing protection of the human rights of
the accused and convicted persons as well as
victims and witnesses. To achieve this goal,
Fidelma designed and presented in her report
a successor institution of the Special Court for
Sierra Leone. She advised the Management
Committee of the Special Court on all aspects
of her report.
at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and
Damon Barrett, an LL.M. graduate. The
Centre on Human Rights and Drug Policy
is dedicated to developing and promoting
innovative and high quality legal and human
rights scholarship on issues related to drug
laws, policy and enforcement, and seeks
to expand the current body of research
and analysis on drug policy issues as they
intersect with international human rights law,
international humanitarian law, international
criminal law and public international law.
In 2009, Professor William Schabas was
appointed President of the International
Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS).
IAGS is a global, interdisciplinary, nonpartisan organization that seeks to further
research and teaching about the nature,
causes, and consequences of genocide, and
advance policy studies on prevention of
genocide. The Association, founded in 1994,
meets to consider comparative research,
important new work, case studies, the links
between genocide and other human rights
violations, and prevention and punishment
of genocide. A central aim of the Association
is to draw academics, activists, artists,
genocide survivors, journalists, jurists, public
policy makers, and other colleagues into the
interdisciplinary study of genocide, with the
goal of prevention.
The Centre pursues this mandate by
publishing original, peer-reviewed research
via its journal, the International Yearbook on
Human Rights and Drug Policy, the first and
only international peer-reviewed law journal
focusing exclusively on human rights and
drug policy. The Centre also fosters research
on drug policy issues among postgraduate
law and human rights students through its
engagement with universities and colleges
around the world. Prof William A Schabas
of the Irish Centre for Human Rights sits
on the new project’s International Advisory
Committee as well as the Editorial Board for
the Yearbook.
Ph.D. candidate Brendan Tobin attended the
9th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Bonn, May 2008 on behalf of the Irish Centre
for Human Rights and presented the findings
of a policy report on the use of certifiction
schemes as a means for bringing equity and
fairness to the trade in genetic resources
and traditional knowledge, at a side event
organised by the United Nations University
Insitute of Advanced Studies.
In December 2009, the International Centre
on Human Rights and Drug Policy was
established by Rick Lines, a Ph.D. student
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is
collaborating with the Centre on Human
Rights and Drug Policy in establishing a
research new cluster on drug policy issues, and
is currently offering a Doctoral Studentship in
Human Rights and Drug Policy for 2010.
Further information can be found at
www.humanrightsanddrugs.org
The summer of 2008 marked the 41st.
anniversary of Israel’s occupation of the Syrian
Golan. At this time, Dr. Ray Murphy and
LL.M. graduate Declan Gannon published
a report which examines the background to
this occupation and the consequences for
the local population. The report, entitled
Israel’s Gross Violations of International Law
in the Occupied Syrian Golan, examines the
39
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Advocacy and Other Professional Activities
action of the Israeli authorities and argues that
certain practices by the Israeli Defence Forces
constitute war crimes, which in some cases,
may amount to grave breaches of the Fourth
Geneva Convention governing the protection
of civilians.
The area known as the Golan Heights is a
mountainous region and plateau in southwest
Syria that borders Lebanon to the north,
Jordan to the south, and Israel to the west. The
overall landmass of the Golan Heights is 1,860
square kilometres, which is approximately
one percent of the total landmass of Syria.
Since 1967, reference to the area called Golan
Heights has typically described the portion of
the Golan Heights that was occupied by Israel
beginning in 1967. This area encompasses
approximately 1,500 square kilometres of the
Golan Heights region and is referred to as the
Syrian Golan or Occupied Golan throughout
this paper.
Successive Israeli governments adopted
numerous policies to control and contain
the Syrian population since Israel began
its occupation of the Syrian Golan. They
have destroyed numerous villages, driven
thousands from their homes, expropriated
private and public property, prevented the
remaining Arab villages from expanding
and actively stopped the free movement of
people. In 1981, Israel enacted legislation that
purported to annex the territory. This move
was widely condemned by the international
community and from the perspective of
international law; the Syrian Golan remains
an occupied territory to which the laws of
occupation apply.
Dr. Noam Lubell was a member of the
“Meeting of Experts on Use of Force during
Occupation”, convened by the International
Committee of the Red Cross in October 2009
and a participant in a Roundtable Discussion
of Customary International Humanitarian
Law, organised by The Lauterpacht Centre
for International Law, The British Red Cross
Society and the International Committee of
the Red Cross in May 2009.
A number of staff and students made media
appearances in the 2008-2009 periods. Prof.
William Schabas appeared on a number
of radio shows on Radio Netherlands,
RTÉ Radio One, and other stations. Ph.D.
student Éadaoin O’Brien was featured on
RTÉ 1’s Crimecall programme, giving an
expert analysis on the facts surrounding
an unidentified body found in the Galway
area last year. Yvonne McDermott, a Ph.D.
candidate at the Centre, gave an interview on
Radio na Gaeltachta on the 60th Anniversary
of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
and was also featured in a CD recording
released by the Franciscans entitled, The
Human Cost of Climate Change. Dr. Ray
Murphy lent a legal analysis to the dedicated
show on the Gaza crisis in January 2009
which was part of Radio 1’s Spirit Moves series,
while LL.M. graduate and Director of NGO
Mafiwasta, Nick McGeehan, was interviewed
for a feature on Channel 4 news about migrant
workers in Dubai.
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Forthcoming Events
FORGOTTEN RIGHTS,
FORGOTTEN CONCEPTS:
ICHR ANNIVERSARY
CONFERENCE
The Irish Centre for Human Rights welcomed
its first LLM students in September 2000
and we will soon be celebrating the 10th
anniversary of the Centre’s establishment.
We are currently planning a number of events
for 2010 to celebrate ten years of the Centre’s
work, including seminars, lectures, exhibitions
and concerts.
The main event will be the hosting of a major
academic conference by the Irish Centre for
Human Rights, on the theme of “ Forgotten
Rights, Forgotten Concepts”. This conference
is to take place 19-20 November 2010 and its
theme is intended to encompass a number
of original human rights issues across a
broad spectrum which the speakers feel have
fallen out of favour or been overlooked. It is
hoped to be forward-looking rather than a
retrospective criticism of the failure to deal
with a given issue.
CORPORATIONS, CONFLICT
AND HUMANITARIAN LAW
The Irish Centre for Human Rights and
The Geneva Academy of International
Humanitarian Law and Human Rights are
co hosting a conference addressing the
intersection of corporations, conflicts and
human rights in April 2010. The aim of
the conference is to explore the extent to
which International Human Rights Law and
Humanitarian Law are adequate to deal with
the role of business in conflict, given existing
gaps in the law, current norms and attempts
to hold private sector actors accountable.
While there has been much discussion about
the topic of business and human rights,
the issue of business in conflict zones and
international humanitarian law in particular,
has been less explored.
Dr. Kathleen Cavanaugh is the Chair of
Amnesty International’s Irish Branch and
Aoife Daly, a visiting lecturer at the Irish
Centre for Human Rights, is the Vice-Chair.
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Irish Centre For Human Rights
Activity Report 2008-2009
Activity Report 2008-2009
Irish Centre For Human Rights
Acknowledgements
The Irish Centre for Human Rights would
like to thank the following organisations for
their support over the past year:
Atlantic Philanthropies
Bank of Ireland
Border Action – Pobal and Combat Poverty
European Commission
Ireland Aid Civil Society Fund
Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Open Society Initiative
United States Institute of Peace
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43
Irish Centre for Human Rights
National University of Ireland, Galway
Telephone: +353 91 750464
Fax: +353 91 750575
Email: humanrights@nuigalway.ie
Website: www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights/