Lawyer Michael O’Flaherty, class of 1976, was elected human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, the first Irish person to hold the position.

Exerpt and link for Irish Times Article

The role is the most senior non-judicial post ever held by an Irish person in the Council of Europe, the Strasbourg body of 46 member states that was founded in the wake of World War Two to prevent abuses, including through the European Court of Human Rights.

The role of the human rights commissioner, a six-year non-renewable term that was instituted in 1999, involves being an international advocate for human rights who coordinates with national authorities and civil society, reporting and advising on how protections are upheld.

“The role of the commissioner is particularly important today, at a moment when we don’t just have human rights abuses, but we have a rejection of the system,” O’Flaherty told the Irish Times.

Full Article Here