The last decade has been scarred by terrorism and a 'war on terror' which has left hundreds of thousands of civilians dead, thousands locked up without trial and hundreds tortured in prisons around the world. The next decade must be...

War is over, if you want it. Or so John and Yoko told us. Sadly, there are some in Northern Ireland who appear to want it to continue. Last night a man suffered terrible gunshot wounds in an attack in west Belfast, apparently carried...

My essay topic for my Human Rights 1 class in my master's course is how the law on derogations balances human rights and security when it comes to terrorism in international human rights law. Working on it, I find myself increasingly...

This blog has previously visited the issue of the vast extent of child abuse perpetrated and covered up by representatives of the Catholic Church in Ireland. More of the truth – of widespread rape of children and a subsequent blanket...

What does 'freedom of expression' really mean? Does it mean, as held by the European Court of Human Rights, that while a person is guaranteed the freedom to say whatever they like, without discrimination, they are not entitled to a...

I hope to get along to the Slugger Awards tomorrow evening in Belfast. This is the (second) annual gathering of Northern Ireland's political bloggers, politicians, campaigners and journalists to celebrate the sometimes uneasy coming...

I know that many of you will have heard of the infamous School of the Americas , the US military training camp located in Fort Benning, Georgia, which specialises in training officers from Latin American countries. Since its creation...

It's nearing the end of Remembrance Day. I'm going to take the opportunity to remember some people who are normally forgotten: the refuseniks, the conscientious objectors, those who refuse to fight and kill. These are the people, as...

This is the last installment in the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture.Comments welcome on this...

Continuing the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ---------------------------------------------...

Continuing the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ---------------------------------------------...

Continuing the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ---------------------------------------------...

Continuing the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ---------------------------------------------...

Continuing the review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ---------------------------------------------...

Continuing my review ( link to the complete series ) of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. Here he reflects on the campaign to secure a...

Continuing review of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ------------------------------------------------- O'Brien has harsh words about...

Continuing review of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. ------------------------------------------------- Ten years on from the Commission...

Continuing review of Martin O'Brien's speech on 'Human rights and the Agreement: how far have we come? ', the 2009 Stephen Livingstone memorial lecture. To what extent have the lessons of developing peace and justice in Northern...

I previously previewed Martin O'Brien 's delivery of the Stephen Livingstone annual memorial lecture, delivered two weeks ago at Queen's University Belfast. It was a hugely impressive speech, ranging over an array of issues of current...

Nearly eleven months on from the handover of the NI Human Rights Commission advice on the Bill to the Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward has still failed to carry out any consultation with the public on the Bill, Via Tuesday’s debate...