Commissioner for Human Rights

Valuable meeting with Jeremy Godfrey, Executive Chairperson of the @CNaM_ie, and his team on the importance of ensuring a safe online environment for children (#EUKidsAct) through company compliance and better complementarity of EU and national level regulation and enforcement. We also discussed the need for multi-stakeholder approaches to media literacy against disinformation and other methods to promote a human-centred development and oversight of #AI for the benefit of people’s wellbeing and the flourishing of humanity.

Valuable meeting with Patricia Carey, Special Advocate for Survivors of Institutional Abuse, during which we discussed the many issues that remain to be addressed in the Mother and Baby Homes Redress Scheme, especially regarding preservation and access to records.

The escalation of Russian attacks in Ukraine brings a devastating human toll measured in shattered lives. I strongly condemn the latest attack on Komyshuvakha, which killed at least 43 people, with many more still missing.
With a harsh winter looming and millions already lacking heating, water, and housing in Ukraine, Council of Europe member states must sustain solidarity, step up urgent assistance, support displaced people and accelerate accountability mechanisms.
We cannot allow the suffering of civilians to become normalised.
#Ukraine #StandWithUkraine
@coe @CoE_Ukraine
Read my statement👇[link in comments]

Addressing the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee on tackling antigypsyism across Europe, I shared with MEPs how, having spent much of the past two years visiting Roma and Traveller communities across Europe, I have witnessed both their resilience and the leadership potential of young people. I also spoke of the scale of antigypsyism as well as the denial of human rights of housing, education, healthcare, access to work. I expressed concerns about the policing of entire communities.
If we are to effect change, we need:
🔹Strong political leadership both in Brussels and at home, including at the local level
🔹Calling out racism and antigypsyism and addressing the related discrimination
🔹Sustained, intergenerational investment, including funding for strategic litigation
🔹Empowering young Roma and women leaders
🔹Celebrating the cultural identity of Roma and Traveller communities and the diversity they bring to our societies.
Most importantly: we must never work for Roma and Traveller communities without working with them, especially young people and women.
#RomaRights #Equality
@EP_Justice @Europarl_EN @CoEinBrussels @coe

I was honoured to receive the Hibernian Law Medal, upon my arrival in Dublin yesterday.
To accept this award alongside Dr. Maeve O'Rourke - and to follow in the footsteps of previous recipients who have been true champions of the rule of law - is a profound privilege. My heartfelt thanks to the Hibernian Law Journal, its editorial board, and the Law Society for this recognition.
Reflecting on over forty years in the legal profession - from Sierra Leone to Northern Ireland and from the UN to the Council of Europe - I have witnessed firsthand how legal norms save lives, transform societies, and protect the vulnerable.
Yet, we find ourselves in a historically fragile moment:
Liberal democracy and fundamental human rights are under strain.
Universal legal standards are too often treated as optional.
The foundational principle of inalienable human rights is being questioned.
As lawyers, we are not just officers of the court - we are officers of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We have a collective responsibility to protect what has been built:
1️⃣Be indignant at the danger of losing our irreplaceable human rights system.
2️⃣Stand in vocal defence of threatened institutions like the ECtHR and ICC.
3️⃣Embed human rights deeply within legal education.
4️⃣Remain stubborn and brave in defending a system that inevitably challenges power.
5️⃣Inspired by leaders like former UN High Commissioner and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Navi Pillay, we must remain vigilant, courageous, and steadfast in ensuring the rule of law endures through this change of era.
6️⃣ #HumanRights #RuleOfLaw #HibernianLawMedal Irish #LawSociety #InternationalLaw
@HibernianLaw @coe