June 2008 Summer School Puts Minority Rights Centre Stage

The Irish Centre for Human Rights at NUI Galway will host its 8th annual 'Minority Rights, Indigenous People and Human Rights Law Summer School' from 15-20 June, 2008. Almost 50 attendees will travel to Galway for the summer school from 15 countries to receive an overview of the legal, political and philosophical issues pertaining to international human rights law. Relationships between those issues, minority rights, and the rights of indigenous peoples, will then be explored and debated during the course of the five days. Attendees of the school will be addressed by a host of notable speakers led by Professor Joshua Castellino, Professor of Law and Head of the Law Department at London's Middlesex University, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights. Professor Patrick Thornberry, a member of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, will also teach at the school. Commenting on the upcoming event, Dr. Ray Murphy, of the Irish Centre for Human Rights said, "This summer school has grown in reputation over the years to become an important annual event for those interested in global affairs and human rights. This year we look forward to learning from each others experiences, whether it's that of Travellers in Ireland, aboriginal Canadians, or indigenous peoples in Chile." Other prominent lecturers include Martin Collins, who is a member of the Irish Human Rights Committee and a founding member and current Assistant Director of Pavee Point Travellers Centre. Two speakers will travel from South America specifically to join the faculty of the summer school, Dr. César Rodríguez Garavito from Colombia, and Dr. Nicolas Espejo from Chile, both of whose participation is being funded by the Latin American European American Human Rights Network (LAEHR). The Irish Centre of Human Rights at NUI Galway supports the study and promotion of human rights and humanitarian law at undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral level. Since its establishment in January 2000, the Centre has developed a global reputation for excellence in the field of human rights teaching, research and advocacy. -ends-