Human Rights Fieldwork, Law and Practice
Revised version – please note change in lecture dates
LW 547: 5 credit course, examined by means of an essay.
Professor Michael O’Flaherty
Human rights field work is a professional exercise engaging law, ethics and more or less settled
methodologies. This module will explore this developing area, with focus on such operational
contexts as human rights monitoring, analysis, reporting, advocacy, intervention and capacity
building. Attention will be made to the measurement of the impact of human rights work and of the
related indictors. An examination of the relationship of law, theory and practice will underpin all
module content. This module will assist students to relate the academic study of human rights with
field work.
Seminar 1: Friday 13th February 13.00 – 15.45
Human rights field operations, their development and typologies; the
professional identity of the human rights field worker.
Reading:
O’Flaherty, The Human Rights Field Operation, Ashgate, 2007, at chapter 1.
O’Flaherty and Ulrich, ‘The Professionalization of Human Rights Field Work’, Journal of
Human Rights Practice, (2010) 2 (1): 1-27, available at:
http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/content/2/1/1.full.pdf+html?sid=6f1adacb-69ac-4e38bc17-8a176dd5694d
OHCHR Annual Report 2013, chapter “OHCHR in the Field”, available at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/OHCHRReport2013/WEB_version/pages/ohchr_field.html
Seminar 2: Monday 23rd February 13:00-15:45
Exploring the concept of human rights protection; human rights indicators.
Reading:
Paul, ‘A Fresh View on Protection: The Human Rights Field Officer’s Perspective’, in
O’Flaherty and Ulrich, The Professional Identity of the Human Rights Field Officer,
Ashgate, 2010.
De Beco, ‘Human Rights Indicators: From Theoretical Debate to Practical Application’,
Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2013, available at:
http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2013/05/31/jhuman.hut003
Volkmann, ‘Evaluating the Impact of Human Rights Work: The Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Reduction of Extrajudicial Executions in
Colombia’, Journal of Human Rights Practice’, available at:
http://jhrp.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/3/396.abstract?sid=34278375-c51a-4c608136-db38790f8677
Seminar 3: Wednesday 25th February 10.00 – 13.00
Examination of the Guiding Principles for Human Rights Field Workers
Reading:
The Guiding Principles for Human Rights Field Workers, available at:
http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.se/sites/default/files/documents/6030.pdf
O’Neill, ‘The Guiding Principles: A Commentary’, in O’Flaherty and Ulrich, The
Professional Identity of the Human Rights Field Officer, Ashgate, 2010.
O’Flaherty, ‘Sierra Leone's Peace Process: The Role of the Human Rights Community’,
Human Rights Quarterly, Human Rights Quarterly 26.1 (2004) 29-62
Seminar 4: Friday 27th February 13:00-15:45
Ethics for Human Rights Field Work.
Reading:
Ulrich, ‘Towards an Ethical Base for the Work of Human Rights Field Operations’, in
O’Flaherty, The Human Rights Field Operation, Ashgate, 2007.
Ulrich, The Statement of Ethical Commitments of Human Rights Professionals: A
Commentary’, in O’Flaherty and Ulrich, The Professional Identity of the Human Rights
Field Officer, Ashgate, 2010.
Additional Reading
Mahoney and Nash, Influence on the Ground: Understanding and strengthening the
protection impact of United Nations human rights field presences, 2012, available at:
http://www.fieldviewsolutions.org/fv-publications/Influence_on_the_Ground.pdf
O’Flaherty and Ulrich, The Professional Identity of the Human Rights Field Officer,
Ashgate, 2010.
O’Flaherty, The Human Rights Field Operation, Ashgate, 2007.
*The last two books above should be available in the NUIG book shop in January