V o lu m e 4 , I s su e 1
BULLETIN
Irish Centre for Human Rights
D e c e m be r 2 0 0 3
Irish Centre for
Human Rights
Coming Events:
Conference
22-24 January 2004
Paris
‘Towards the Abolition of
the Death Penalty:
A Commemoration of the
Life of Sean McBride’
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
T W O I M P O R TA N T A P P O I N T M E N T S
ANNOUNCED AT THE
IRISH CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is most
pleased to announce two recent staff appointments. Dr. Vinodh Jaichand, who
joined the teaching staff at the Centre earlier
this year, has been appointed as DeputyDirector of the Irish Centre for Human
Rights. Dr. Ray Murphy, who has been at
the Centre since its inception, lecturing in
humanitarian law and coordinating the LL.
M in Peace Support Operations, now joins
the Centre on a full-time basis, having been
a senior lecturer with the Faculty of Law at
NUI, Galway for a number of years.
“Vinodh and Ray are tremendous assets to
the Irish Centre for Human Rights. We
congratulate them both on their new appointments and wish them every future success”, said Professor William Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
Vinodh Jaichand completed his Doctorate in
Juridical Science at the University of Notre
Dame Law School in 1996 and holds an
LL.M (magna cum laude) from the
University of Notre Dame and an LL.M
Pictured (l-r): Professor William Schabas, Director
and Dr. Vinodh Jaichand, recently appointed DeputyDirector of the Irish Centre for Human Rights.
from the University of Miami. Ray Murphy
is a graduate of University College Galway,
and holds a masters degree in law from Dublin University (Trinity College). He holds a
PhD in international law from the University
of Nottingham.
EU-China Human Rights Project
continues to move human rights dialogue forward
Summer Schools 2004
Minority Rights:
Special Focus on
Minorities in Asia
12-19 June 2004
International Criminal
Court
10-14 July 2004
Throughout the second half of 2003 the EUChina Human Rights Network, of which the
Irish Centre for Human Rights is the coordinating institution, has continued to stage
events in Europe and in China on a variety of
human rights issues.
In September NUI, Galway was host to the
third Network Seminar, with the topic of
Freedom of Association discussed by experts
representing eleven countries and 16 human
rights institutions in all. Valuable insight on
the growth and current state of civil society
in China was provided by Chinese experts,
with detailed discussion on issues, ranging
from China’s reservation to article 8 of the
ICESCR to extreme restrictions on freedom
of association and trade union rights.
During November, two events focusing on
Minority Rights were held in China – a Network Seminar in Beijing, and a Training
Session for lawyers, judges, prosecutors and
law students in Kunming, Yunnan Province.
Professor William Schabas led the European
Delegation at this event, with assistance
from Dr. Joshua Castellino, Dr. Vinodh Jaichand and Dr. Kwadwo Appiagyei-Atua.
The next event scheduled for 2003 is the official EU-China Human Rights Dialogue
Seminar on Judicial Guarantees of Human
Rights, and Capacity Building of NGOs.
This Seminar will be held in Venice from
15-16 December.
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V o l u m e 4 , I ss u e 1
Irish Centre for Human Rights to co-sponsor
Sean McBride Commemoration Conference in Paris
Participating speakers
include Senator Robert
Badinter, former French
Minister of Justice and
Maurice Manning, head
of the Irish Human Rights
Commission
The Irish Centre for Human Rights is coorganising a conference with the Irish Cultural Centre and the Human Rights Centre
of the Université de Paris II, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of
Sean McBride. Towards the Abolition of
the Death Penalty will be held at the Irish
Cultural Centre in Paris from 22-24 January
2004. Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and
head of Amnesty International in its formative years, Sean McBride is one of Ireland's
most distinguished human rights personali-
ties. The conference will consist include a
one-day session on the abolition of capital
punishment (McBride's own father was
executed for his participation in the Easter
Rebellion), and a Saturday morning session
on McBride, his contribution to human
rights and his legacy. Distinguished speakers include Senator Robert Badinter, who
was minister of justice in France when it
abolished capital punishment in 1981 and
Maurice Manning, President of the Irish
Human Rights Commission.
Report on Ireland’s
Asylum Appeal
Process Launched
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
October 2003 saw the release of Asylum in
Ireland: The Appeal Stage – A Report on the
Fairness and Sustainability of Refugee Determination at Appeal State. The report was
written and researched by Catherine Kenny,
a doctoral candidate at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights and the research director on
the project was Dr. Joshua Castellino. Commissioned by the Irish Refugee Council, the
report examined the asylum process in Ireland since the establishment of the Refugee
Appeals Tribunal in November 2000.
Among the key issues raised were the lack
of transparency of the appeals process, in
particular with regard to the appointment of
Members of the Refugee Appeals Tribunal,
the lack of independent scrutiny and the apparent lack of consistency between the decisions of Members of the Tribunal.
Pictured (l-r) Dr. Joshua Castellino, Lecturer and
Catherine Kenny, Irish Centre for Human Rights.
A number of strong recommendations were
made, including, calls for the publication of
all Tribunal decisions, for allowing sufficient time for applicants to prepare for appeals and for the provision of professionally
trained interpreters at hearings.
The report is available from the Irish Refugee Council website:
www.irishrefugeecouncil.ie/pub03/appealsreport.doc
Tr a n s i t i o n a l J u s t i c e :
Progress of the Applicable Law Project
‘...an essential
instrument that will be
of immense use in
the promotion of
the rule of law and
respect for human
rights as societies
emerge from conflict’
Following the success of the conference held
last June in Geneva by the Irish Centre for
Human Rights and the United States Institute
of Peace, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
work continues on the “Model Codes Initiative”. The draft model codes - the Transitional Criminal Code, the Transitional Code
of Criminal Procedure and the Transitional
Detention Act - are still in the process of review and revision in light of the recommendations made by the eighty experts who assessed the codes in Geneva. It is expected
that work on the codes will culminate in
spring of next year, after which a series of
meetings will be held to present the codes
regionally.
Work also continues, as part of the “Model
Codes Initiative”, on issues relating to
post-conflict policing. It is expected that
the United States Institute of Peace and the
Irish Centre for Human Rights will co-host
an expert meeting at the Irish Centre for
Human Rights in early 2004, bringing together law and order experts from around
the world.
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Volume 4, Issue 1
Grant received for
Refugee Law Clinic
Information on the
EU-China Human
Rights Project is
available at
http://www.eu-chinahumanrights.org/
Professor Liu Hainian, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Professor William Schabas,
Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights at the
Third Network Seminar of the EU-China Network, NUI Galway, September 2003
At the beginning of December the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable Trust made a grant
award of €23,100 to the Irish Centre for Human Rights to allow for the establishment,
on a pilot basis, of a Refugee Law Clinic at
the Centre. The Clinic will provide university students with a framework in which
they can volunteer to work on refugee law
issues. Trust Secretary Stephen Pittam said
“we welcome the opportunity to support the
Irish Centre for Human Rights in creatively
engaging its students in support of the legal
representation process for asylum seekers”.
Activities will commence in early 2004.
Irish Centre for Human Rights hosts
Global Trade and Human Rights Conference
“...the enforcement of
economic and social
rights, the impact of
trade on development
in Africa, Ireland’s
part in the global arms
trade”
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
On Saturday 4th October 2003 the Irish Centre for Human Rights
hosted a highly successful conference on
the issue of global trade
and human rights. This
conference was organised by Human Rights
for Change, a Galwaybased human rights
group formed by a
number of the doctoral
students based at the
Centre. Mr. Michael D.
Higgins, T.D, delivered
the opening address.
Pictured at the Global Trade and Human Rights Conference, on a
panel discussing the arms trade and conflict were (l-r) Jim Loughran,
Amnesty International Irish Branch, Professor William Schabas, Director, Irish Centre for Human Rights, Michael D. Higgins, T.D. and
Angela Hegarty, University of Ulster.
The conference panels examined various
interrelated issues, including the enforcement of economic and social rights, the impact of trade on development in Africa, Ireland’s part in the global arms trade and the
threat to women’s rights in a globalised
world.
Professor William Schabas, Dr. Joshua Castellino and Daniel Aguirre of the Irish Centre for Human Rights each gave papers at
the conference. Angela Hegarty of the University of Ulster spoke passionately of local
efforts in Derry to oppose the presence of
an arms manufacturer there.
Irish Centre for Human Rights and Amnesty International
Ireland to run Human Rights Training Courses in 2004
The Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Irish Branch of Amnesty International are planning to hold a series of human rights training courses in Spring 2004. In the first of what is
hoped to be a number of collaborations between the Centre and Amnesty International, staff
and doctoral students from the Irish Centre for Human Rights will give a series of classes on
international human rights law.
The courses will be aimed at Irish civil society, at members of non-governmental organisations and advocacy groups working in Ireland who may be lacking in legal training, in order
that they may access human rights law and advance their core work. Subjects to be covered
will include the modern history and basis of human rights, international, regional and domestic human rights law mechanisms, human rights enforcement and advocacy.
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V o l u m e 4 , I ss u e 1
IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION HOLDS
DIALOGUE IN GALWAY
Recent Visitors to the
Irish Centre for Human
Rights:
Professor Howard Tolley,
University of Cincinnati
On 27 November 2003 the Irish Human
Rights Commission held an open discussion
at the Irish Centre for Human Rights on its
Plan of Action for 2003-2006. Students and
staff from the Centre were able to raise issues and concerns to the Commissioners,
who commended those present for the relevance and importance of the points raised.
Professor Joseph D. Diaz,
Southwest State University
Members of the Irish Human Rights Commission
(r-l): Mr. Michael Farrell, Dr. Alpha Connelly,
Chief Executive and Professor Robert Daly.
Irish Centre for Human Rights:
www.nuigalway.ie/
human_rights
E m a i l :
humanrights@nuigalway.ie
The Irish Centre for
Human Rights Bulletin is
compiled and edited by
Shane Darcy.
Centre’s Lunchtime
Seminar Series 2003-2004
gets underway
The Irish Centre for Human Rights’ Lunchtime Seminar Series 2003-2004 began in
October with lectures by two visiting academics from the United States. Dr. Howard
Tolley, Professor of Political Science and
Adjunct Professor of Law at the University
of Cincinnati, gave a seminar entitled Pax
Americana and Human Rights: U.S. Security
Strategy and the Rule of Law. Dr. Joseph D.
Diaz, author of The Execution of a Serial
Killer: One Man's Experience Witnessing
the Death Penalty and Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Southwest State
University, spoke of his experience as a witness to a recent execution in the United
States. Dr. Vinodh Jaichand of the Irish
Centre for Human Rights recently spoke
from both a personal and legal perspective
on the issue of the restitution land rights in
post-apartheid South Africa.
Amnesty USA Director launches new book in Galway
Dr. William Schultz, the Executive Director
of Amnesty International USA, launched his
new book, Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the
Ruin of Human Rights, in Galway in November. The book launch was held at
Kenny’s bookshop and was hosted by the
Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Galway branch of Amnesty International. Dr.
Schultz spoke of the imperative need for the
offensives against terrorism to be conducted
according to international human rights
standards. Security, he argued, can only be
properly guaranteed if there is respect for
human rights worldwide.
Dr. Bill Schultz (right) pictured with Des Kenny
of Kenny’s Bookshop, Galway, at the recent
launch of ‘Tainted Legacy’.
If you wish to sign up for any of the above activities or to receive information regarding the
work the Centre carries out, please to not hesitate to
contact us at:
Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway, Ireland.
Phone: +353-(0)91-750464,
Fax: +353-(0)91-750575,
Email: humanrights@nuigalway.ie
Website: www.nuigalway.ie/human_rights