February 2008 Bank of Ireland Scholar Joins Irish Centre for Human Rights

The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway has officially welcomed this year's Bank of Ireland Fellowship Scholar, Dr. Abou Abass from Mauritania. Since 2001, the Fellowship has allowed the Centre to host scholars from developing countries. The aim of the fellowship is to support academically gifted individuals, providing them with an environment in which they can undertake research and increase their knowledge in the field of Human Rights and International Criminal law.

At the Irish Centre for Human Rights, Dr. Abass will pursue research on the subject of Africa and the International Criminal Court, while lecturing a course on Gender and Human Rights. Dr. Abou Abass holds a PhD in Law from the University of Paul Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence, France. Prior to taking office as Bank of Ireland fellow, Dr. Abass has spent six months at the Hague, the Netherlands, working as a Law Clerk at the Legal Advisory Section of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

According to Kathleen Cavanaugh of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway, "Since 2001 the Bank of Ireland Fellowship Scholar scheme has supported five scholars from countries such as Mauritania, Nigeria, Ghana and Bangladesh. Through this support, uniquely talented and gifted people have benefited from working with the Irish Centre for Human Rights in Galway. In equal part, we have gained much from the scholarship programme and look forward to working this year with Dr. Abass."

The Irish Centre for Human Rights is one of the world's premier university-based institutions for the study and promotion of human rights and humanitarian law. Since its establishment in January 2000, the NUI Galway Centre has developed a global reputation for excellence in the field of human rights teaching, research and advocacy, which has enabled the institution to attract high quality students to its acclaimed Masters programmes and to build a thriving community of doctoral researchers.

The Irish Centre for Human Rights presently offers LL.M. programmes in International Human Rights Law, and International Peace Support Operations and has a Cross-Border Programme in Human Rights Law (LL.M.) and Human Rights and Criminal Justice (MSSc/LL.M.), in conjunction with Queens University of Belfast. This year the Irish Centre for Human Rights offers a new LL.M. programme in International Criminal Law.

-ends-