Irish Centre for Human Rights Blog

… I am your citizen: composed of

your fictions, your compromise, I am

a part of your story and its outcome.

And ready to record its contradictions.

The Harbour

 

Eavan Boland (1944 – 2020)

 

Welcome to the  blog of the Irish Centre for Human Rights, at the School of Law, National University of Ireland Galway. Through this blog, we hope to offer a new voice for academic commentary and creative work on the broad subject of human rights, locally and globally.  Located at Ireland’s leading human rights education institution, this blog is edited by Professor Siobhán Mullally and Dr Sandra Duffy, and will feature posts and comments from the staff, and researchers at the Centre, as well as guest contributions and symposia.

 

This post is being written in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, a time when human rights news is both vital and easy to overlook. The pandemic has exposed deep levels of inequality in our society, from overcrowded and unsafe reception conditions for asylum seekers and refugees, and in Traveller/Mincéir accommodation, to the precariousness of workers denied decent working conditions or regular migration status. It is, at times, hard to look away from the news relating to Covid-19: our fears for ourselves and our loved ones, our worries about society, the environment and the economy, can seem all-consuming. Covid-19 has become the backdrop to our lives; the pandemic and its exigencies the context in which we navigate the world.

 

However, beyond and despite the pandemic, life still continues. The posts on this blog will reflect the interests and expertise of the people who make up the Irish Centre for Human Rights, and our global network of alumni and friends. Although the world spins slightly off-kilter at the moment, our work continues, and our desire to highlight the areas in which we work and advocate for change, remains. From migrant and refugee rights, gender and sexuality law, critical race and postcolonial theories, rights of older persons, to international criminal justice, peace operations, transitional justice and business and human rights, the subjects covered in the ICHR’s work are diverse, fascinating, and important. They reflect our shared context, but also travel beyond it, casting light on unexplored areas of life and law.

 

As human rights lawyers and advocates, we write to advocate, to engage, and to communicate. We write to record and to seek to make an impact in the world. Through this blog, we hope to share with you the things we find meaningful and the critical issues we work on, as well as allowing you to see the workings of the Irish Centre for Human Rights and our educational and research programmes and projects. We hope you find it interesting and engaging.

 

Readers can contact the editors of this blog at ichrgalwayblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

 

Sandra Duffy and Siobhán Mullally

May 2020