For 25 years, University of Galway has been a proponent of the crucial analysis and activism associated with human rights. As part of this effort, the University first established its position as a leader in human rights research in the year 2000. A quarter of a century later, Cois Coiribe is pleased to celebrate a great milestone of the lasting presence and impact of these programmes.
University of Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR) dedicates itself to the study of subjects pertaining to human rights. This includes peace and conflict, international criminal law and humanitarian law, international refugee and migration law, gender and human rights, and climate justice. After 25 years of progressive human rights programmes, the Centre has gained a global reputation for excellence in teaching, research, and advocacy. Host to a range of acclaimed Master’s and undergraduate programs, and home to an enthusiastic community of doctoral researchers, the Centre is a thriving nexus of diverse, thought-provoking conversation. Across programmes of conferences and other events, the Centre attracts high–level human rights policy makers, practitioners, and academic experts from the world over. ICHR graduates are high-calibre professionals and legal activists, leading development of international law, practice, and humanitarian action across the globe.
“No justice without human rights, no peace without justice. The future is for justice.”
– Shawan Rateb Abdallah Jabarin, General Director of Al Haq | ICHR Alumnus
The year 2013 saw the first archived news story for the ICHR. That same year, the 3rd Issue of the 12th Volume of the ICHR Bulletin was published. Its first story, Reflections of a Palestinian Human Rights Defender, explored Shawan Jabarin’s experiences as a leading human rights advocate in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 1987. As the bulletin states, “In 2006, Mr Jabarin became the General Director of Al Haq, which is an independent, Palestinian nongovernmental organisation based in Ramallah, West Bank. The organisation is affiliated with the International Commission of Jurists in Geneva and works closely with nongovernmental organisations across the national divide within Israel and the Occupied Territories, as well as internationally.” In the article, Mr Jabarin asserted, “No justice without human rights, no peace without justice. The future is for justice.”
The following year saw a Public Event on the Human Right to Same-Sex Marriage, as well as the Launch of The Galway Platform on Human Rights in Irish Foreign Policy. The year 2017 saw the appointment of Professor Siobhán Mullally as Director of the ICHR, a position which she still holds today.
“The Irish Centre for Human Rights at [University of Galway] is one of the world’s premier human rights centres, with an outstanding track record of research, post-graduate teaching and doctoral education in the field of human rights law.”
– Siobhán Mullally, Director of the ICHR at University of Galway
At the time of her appointment, she said: “The Irish Centre for Human Rights at [University of Galway] is one of the world’s premier human rights centres, with an outstanding track record of research, post-graduate teaching and doctoral education in the field of human rights law. Uniquely situated at the cross-roads of practice, policy and academia, the Centre brings together human rights practitioners and scholars from across the world in a dynamic intellectual environment. At this critical time for human rights globally, I look forward to working with colleagues at the Centre and School of Law, to contribute to informed policy debates on many pressing human rights challenges – from gender equality, women’s human rights and social justice, to refugee and migrant protection.”
Professor Mullally has worked as an adviser and consultant on human rights, migration and asylum law, and gender and justice sector reform for UN bodies and international organisations in many parts of the world, including in Ethiopia, Timor-Leste, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kosovo. In 2009, she was appointed by the International Bar Association to an inquiry team, examining the independence of the judiciary in Pakistan. As President and member of the Council of Europe anti-trafficking body (GRETA), she has been rapporteur for several country reports, including Hungary, France, Italy, UK and Sweden. Professor Mullally is the Irish member of the Odysseus European network of experts on Asylum and Migration Law.
Previously a Professor at the School of Law, UCC, where she also held the position of Vice-Head of the College of Business & Law, Professor Mullally held lecturing posts in the UK and Pakistan. She has held visiting positions at several leading universities, including at Harvard Law School, Cornell University, Sydney Law School, National Law School of India, Bangalore. In 2009-2010, she was a Fulbright Scholar and Senior Fellow in Residence at Columbia University, Gender, Sexuality and Law Centre, and in 2011-2012, she was awarded the prestigious Senior Fernand Braudel Fellowship at the European University Institute, Florence.
Over the years, a distinguished collection of passionate individuals has stepped through the doors of the ICHR. With an acclaimed collection of Master’s programmes, and equally impressive undergraduate courses, the ICHR acts as an introductory point for many, as well as a return to form for a variety of impressive practitioners who bring real-world experience into the classroom. A Centre with international appeal, the ICHR draws researchers from around the world, welcoming them as doctoral candidates. Alumni of these PhD programmes have gone on to lead impressive careers, from senior academics to public policy makers.
The study of Human Rights found a home at University of Galway with the appointment of Director William Schabas, author of more than 20 books and 300 journal articles, on such subjects as the abolition of capital punishment, genocide and the international criminal tribunals, at a newly established Centre.
The first group of students commenced the new and unique LLM in International Human Rights, and the Centre hosted its first annual Summer School on the International Criminal Court.
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, T.D., presented the Royal Irish Academy (RIA) Gold Medal to the international human rights scholar Professor William Schabas, former Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR).
In February 2011 a report from the ICHR on the incidence of racism in the Galway Taxi Industry was considered by the Geneva-based Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination as part of its consideration of Ireland’s third and fourth periodic reports.
Following on from the adoption of the UN Framework and Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the ICHR published a report on ‘Business and Human Rights in Ireland: Context, International Standards and Recommendations’ (April 2012).
The 22nd EU-China Human Rights Seminar was hosted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway between 30-31 October 2012.
On 18 March 18 2013, Professor Michael O’Flaherty delivered a lecture at the influential think-tank, the Brookings Institution, in Washington. Speaking in his capacity as Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, he addressed some of the human rights deficits that remain in the post-conflict landscape of Northern Ireland 15 years after the advent of the Good Friday Agreement / Belfast Agreement.
Towards the end of 2013, the ICHR brought together twenty-two of Ireland’s leading human rights groups to adopt a common vision for human rights in Irish Foreign Policy.
The Galway Platform on Human Rights in Irish Foreign Policy, launched in January 2014, sets out the basic human rights standards and practices by which Ireland should be held to account in its dealings with other countries, as well as in its activities at EU and UN levels.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights (ICHR), in close collaboration with project partner, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), won a major EU contract for Irish Law and Social Data Research in October 2014 to become Ireland’s new national focal point for the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA).
The Irish Centre for Human Rights hosted a public seminar examining Ireland’s long-awaited Gender Recognition Bill in February 2015.
For the first time, the Irish Centre for Human Rights participated in the International Criminal Court (ICC) Moot Competition.
The ICHR’s International Humanitarian Law (IHL) team participated for a second time in Corn Adomnáin National IHL competition this year. The competition was organised by the Irish Red Cross and took place on the 2nd of April in Dublin at the UCD Sutherland School of Law. The IHL team included: Bridget Quitter, Stefanie Fahlbusch and Amanda Poitras. The coaches were Dr Anita Ferrara, lecturer at the Irish Centre for Human Rights and Thamil V. Ananthavinayagan.
In March 2017, students from the LLM programmes at the Irish Centre for Human Rights took part in the annual class trip to the Hague.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights hosted a conference on the theme of ‘The Rights of Migrants and Refugees: exploring the role of courts and tribunals’ on 17-18 May 2018.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights co-hosted a Distinguished Lecture in April 2019 with the International Law Association (Irish Branch) on ‘Gendering Counter-Terrorism’ with Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism. The chair was the Hon. Ms. Justice Iseult O’Malley of the Supreme Court.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights started the Human Rights Podcast in September 2019.
The publication of Professor Shane Darcy’s new book, To Serve the Enemy: Informers, Collaborators and the Laws of Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press) was launched at an event co-hosted by the Irish Centre for Human Rights and the Irish Embassy in Japan in Tokyo on 9 January 2020.
LLM students Emily Williams, Fernanda Souza, Holly Hayes, James Spillane, Maria Tapias Serrano and Shauna Joyce, who have been working with Mary Harney as part of the Human Rights Clinic, have recently launched a 5 episode-series’ podcast titled ‘My Country is My Prison’.
The Irish Centre for Human Rights launched a new Queer Human Rights Seminar series in April 2022.
University of Galway Irish Centre for Human Rights hosted a public event titled ‘Advocating for Justice and Freedom for Palestine’ in May 2024 with Shawan Jabarin, the DirectorGeneral of Al-Haq, a leading Palestinian human rights organisation based in Ramallah and one of the oldest human rights organisations in the Middle East.
Dr Maeve O’Rourke covered key arguments from her recently published book, Human Rights and the Care of Older People: Dignity, Vulnerability, and the Anti-Torture Norm (Oxford University Press 2024), celebrating the monograph at a book launch in February 2025.
ICHR staff bring prestigious and prolific backgrounds to the table, offering an engaging and truly transformative environment for students and researchers alike. From international law to public policy and practice, the Centre explores crucial elements of legal systems and encourages critical thought on a wide range of pressing issues. Beyond the classroom, the Centre offers thought-provoking seminars, conferences, and summer schools that stimulate conversation, from advocacy to policy and beyond. At the forefront of many of the world’s human rights investigations, the ICHR has a long history of Research and Public Policy Engagement. It is home to the UN Palestine Database, the Human Rights Law Clinic, the Human Rights Podcast, and the ICHR Blog. There is also a dedicated platform for completed projects, current research, and the Transitional Justice and Peace Building Research Cluster (TJPR).
Taking place since 2002, the ICHR Annual Doctoral Seminar benefits from titillating discourse delivered by visiting experts, as well as research findings from PhD students. This yearly occasion grants and opportunity for valuable feedback from visitors, staff, and fellow students. Those curious about current events affiliated with the ICHR can stay up to date with the News and Events feed, which features an ever-evolving list of exciting and interesting gatherings open to students, staff, and the public.
Located in the School of Law, the ICHR works closely with the Centre for Disability Law and Policy, the Centre for Housing Law and Policy, and the Ryan Institute, particularly on topics pertaining to sustainable development and climate change.
