Mary Lawlor is Adjunct Professor of Business and Human Rights in the School of Business of

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. An Irish national, she is currently the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, appointed for a three-year term from May 2020.Ms Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
OHCHR She is the founder and former Executive Director of

Front Line Defenders Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based human rights organisation founded in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uph ...

and former Director of the Irish branch of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

Background

Lawlor was born in 1952 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, the second-eldest of seven sisters, and grew up in

Kilmacud Kilmacud () is a suburban area of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland, at least partly contiguous with Stillorgan. Name ''Kilmacud'' is an anglicisation of the Irish name , "church of aintMochuda". The identity of the dedicatee ...

, a suburb of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. She holds a first degree in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, and postgraduate degrees in Montessori teaching and

personnel management Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

.Struggle to defend the defenders
Irish Independent, by Joe Jackson, February 11, 2007 She was married in 1969.

Career

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. She joined the Irish branch of

as a fundraiser, after meeting and being inspired by

Seán MacBride Seán MacBride (26 January 1904 – 15 January 1988) was an Irish Clann na Poblachta politician who served as Minister for External Affairs from 1948 to 1951, Leader of Clann na Poblachta from 1946 to 1965 and Chief of Staff of the IRA from 193 ...

. 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. The following year, she founded

, which actively protects those who work non-violently to uphold the human rights of others, as outlined in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

. She was the organisation's Executive Director from 2001–2016. She helped draw up the ''EU Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders'', adopted by the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

in June 2004. In March 2020, Lawlor was appointed

Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, for a three-year term from 1 May 2020, succeeding

Michel Forst Michel Forst is a French national actively involved in the defence of human rights. Former Secretary General of the French national human rights institution, he was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders ...

Other roles and awards

Lawlor currently serves on the boards of the

Irish Council for Civil Liberties The Irish Council for Civil Liberties ( ga, An Chomhairle um Chearta Daonna) is an Irish non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting the civil liberties and human rights of people in Ireland. History Founded in 1976 by future President Mary R ...

, the University College Dublin Centre for Ethics in Public Life, and the

Norwegian Human Rights Fund Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. In 2014, she was awarded the Insignia of Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

, for her human rights work. In 2016 she was awarded the Franco-German Award for Human Rights and the Rule of Law.Mary Lawlor (biography)
Trinity Business School

References

External links

United Nations Special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defendersAmnesty InternationalFront Line Defenders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Mary United Nations special rapporteurs Living people Irish officials of the United Nations Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Amnesty International people 1952 births Irish human rights activists