Mary Lawlor | |
---|---|
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders | |
Assumed office 2020 | |
Executive Director of Front Line Defenders | |
In office 2001–2016 | |
Director of the Irish branch of Amnesty International | |
In office 1988–2000 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1952 Ireland |
Alma mater | University College Dublin |
Mary Lawlor is Adjunct Professor of Business and Human Rights in the School of Business of Trinity College Dublin. An Irish national,she is currently the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders,appointed in May 2020. [1] She is the founder and former Executive Director of Front Line Defenders and former director of the Irish branch of Amnesty International.
Lawlor was born in 1952 in Ireland,the second-eldest of seven sisters,and grew up in Kilmacud,a suburb of Dublin. She holds a first degree in philosophy and psychology,from University College Dublin,and postgraduate degrees in Montessori teaching and personnel management. [2] [3]
She was married in 1979. [2]
The focus of Lawlor's career has been the protection of human rights defenders,after a few early years selling encyclopaedias in Canada,and teaching at kindergarten. [2]
She joined the Irish branch of Amnesty International as a fundraiser,after meeting and being inspired by Seán MacBride. In 1975 she became a member of its Board and for four years from 1983 was national chair. From 1988 to 2000,she led the organisation as its director. [4]
The following year,she founded Front Line Defenders,which actively protects those who work non-violently to uphold the human rights of others,as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She was the organisation's Executive Director from 2001 to 2016. [4] [5]
She helped draw up the EU Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,adopted by the Council of the European Union in June 2004. [5] [6]
In March 2020,Lawlor was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders,for a three-year term from 1 May 2020,succeeding Michel Forst. [1] She was one of the many UN experts who spoke out against the sale of arms to Israel in June 2024 as a result of the conflict in Gaza. The experts cautioned arms suppliers and finance companies that they would be implicated in human rights violations. The signatories to the warning included special reporteurs Paula Gaviria Betancur,Tlaleng Mofokeng,Margaret Satterthwaite and Francesca Albanese. [7]
Lawlor currently serves on the boards of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties,the University College Dublin Centre for Ethics in Public Life,and the Norwegian Human Rights Fund. [4]
In 2014,she was awarded the Insignia of Knight of the Legion of Honour,for her human rights work. [8]
In 2016 she was awarded the Franco-German Award for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. [4]
The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. The headquarters of the Council are at the United Nations Office at Geneva in Switzerland.
Special rapporteur is the title given to independent human rights experts whose expertise is called upon by the United Nations (UN) to report or advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective.
A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who,individually or with others,acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists,environmentalists,whistleblowers,trade unionists,lawyers,teachers,housing campaigners,participants in direct action,or just individuals acting alone. They can defend rights as part of their jobs or in a voluntary capacity. As a result of their activities,human rights defenders (HRDs) are often subjected to reprisals including smears,surveillance,harassment,false charges,arbitrary detention,restrictions on the right to freedom of association,physical attack,and even murder. In 2020,at least 331 HRDs were murdered in 25 countries. The international community and some national governments have attempted to respond to this violence through various protections,but violence against HRDs continues to rise. Women human rights defenders and environmental human rights defenders face greater repression and risks than human rights defenders working on other issues.
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Theodoor Cornelis (Theo) van Boven is a Dutch jurist and professor emeritus in international law.
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The government of Belarus is criticized for its human rights violations and persecution of non-governmental organisations,independent journalists,national minorities,and opposition politicians. In a testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations,former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice labeled Belarus as one of the world's six "outposts of tyranny". In response,the Belarusian government called the assessment "quite far from reality". During 2020 Belarusian presidential election and protests,the number of political prisoners recognized by Viasna Human Rights Centre rose dramatically to 1062 as of 16 February 2022. Several people died after the use of unlawful and abusive force by law enforcement officials during 2020 protests. According to Amnesty International,the authorities did not investigate violations during protests,but instead harassed those who challenged their version of events. In July 2021,the authorities launched a campaign against the remaining non-governmental organizations,liquidating at least 270 of them by October,including all previously registered human rights organizations in the country.
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Agnès Callamard is a French human rights activist who is the Secretary General of Amnesty International. She was previously the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,summary,or arbitrary executions appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council,and the former Director of the Columbia University Global Freedom of Expression project.
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Seán Binder is a German-born Irish human rights activist and certified rescue diver who has spent most of his life in Ireland. The son of a refugee father from Vietnam and a German mother,he grew up in Ireland and later studied at universities in Dublin and London. From 2017 to 2018,he volunteered with a humanitarian non-governmental organization on Lesbos island,Greece,assisting refugees arriving in small boats from the nearby Turkish coast.
Reem Alsalem is a Jordanian independent consultant and former civil servant. Since August 2021 she has served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. She is gender-critical,and has been accused of being anti-trans.
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