UNIVERSITY COLLEGE DUBLIN
HONORARY CONFERRING
Tuesday, 4 September 2018 at 5.30 pm
TEXT OF THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR SUZANNE EGAN, School of Law on 4 September 2018, on the occasion of the conferring of the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa on MARY LAWLOR.
In an interview in 2007, Mary Lawlor said that having been conscious at a young age of the love and security she was given herself as a child, she was inspired by a ‘need to give something back”. She has spent a lifetime fulfilling that promise and in so doing has played an outstanding leadership role in advocating for the protection of human rights in Ireland and at the global level. Mary Lawlor’s name is synonymous with the organisation that she founded in 2001, Frontline Defenders – an organisation which is dedicated to supporting people throughout the world who are at risk because of their non-violent work in pursuit of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With patience, insight and integrity over the course of some 15 years, Mary Lawlor built Frontline Defenders to become a leading voice on the plight of human rights defenders globally, becoming a vital force in the development of Irish foreign policy, as well as at EU and UN level. This included the development of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders and becoming a primary partner in the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism. As Director, Mary Lawlor led missions to the field, managed and evaluated programmes, generated vital funding, spoke at countless international forums, UN events, EU Commission and Parliament hearings and at Universities in countries from China to Cóte D’Ivoire. She has met with governments in countries as diverse as Afghanistan and Algeria and participated as a speaker in government and intergovernmental events from Brazil to Brussels. In 2007, under her dynamic leadership, Frontline Defenders was awarded the King Baudouin International Development Prize for its outstanding work in combatting the isolation faced by human rights defenders around the world and for its continuing advocacy in favour of an international plan of action for human rights.
Prior to her leadership of Frontline Defenders, Mary Lawlor had previously been on the frontline of building civil society as a potent force in advocating for the protection of human rights in Ireland. She became a Board Member of the Irish Section of Amnesty International in 1975, was elected Chair of the organisation from 1983 – 1987 and from 1988 until she founded Frontline Defenders, Mary was Executive Director of Amnesty’s Irish branch. During that time, she and her board "turned it from a small group of people who didn't even have an office" to the "huge organisation" it is today.
Over her 40 years of human rights work, Mary Lawlor has been awarded a myriad of awards for her commitment to the cause of human rights:
- In 2008, she was awarded the Irish Life (Women Mean Business) Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
- In 2011, she received the Irish Tatler Woman of the Year Special Recognition Award.
- In 2014, she was awarded France’s highest honour for service to the State and humanity in general – the prestigious Order of Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
- And in 2016, she was awarded the Franco-German Award for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, presented in the Reichstag by the Foreign Ministers of both countries.
For her pioneering work in the field of human rights, Mary Lawlor has previously been the recipient of an honorary degree of Doctor in Laws from Trinity College and in 2015 was appointed Adjunct Professor on Business and Human Rights in the School of Business at Trinity. The award of Doctor of Laws is supremely fitting for an individual who has worked tirelessly to uphold rights for decades through a variety of legal mechanisms and bodies, including the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Procedures, the African Union, the European Union and the OSCE.
Paying tribute to individuals from around the world nominated for a Frontline Defenders Prize for their work in defending human rights in their country, Mary Lawlor once said:
“…we need to be reminded of the passion, the energy and the commitment of courageous people who see the world through a different lens – one that perhaps can show us how we can create societies which value notions such as dignity, equality and human rights, and where, maybe, finally, “everyone [will] be born free and equal in dignity and rights”.
Today, UCD is proud to confer upon Mary Lawlor the degree of Doctor of Laws for the distinguished work that she has done for the cause of human rights over many decades – for her energy, commitment, her courage and her leadership in making human rights central to improving our local and global society. We are all grateful for, humbled and inspired by her example.
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Praehonorabilis Praeses, totaque Universitas,
Praesento vobis hanc meam filiam, quam scio tam moribus quam doctrina habilem et idoneam esse quae admittatur, honoris causa, ad Gradum Doctoratus in utroque Jure, tam Civili quam Canonico; idque tibi fide mea testor ac spondeo, totique Academiae.