Joint Department of Foreign Affairs/NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights

Successive Governments have attached much importance to the role of the NGO community in the human rights area. In order to provide a formal framework for a regular exchange of views between the Department of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the NGO community, the Joint DFA/NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights was established in 1997.

The Committee comprises representatives of human rights NGOs and experts, who serve in a voluntary capacity, as well as officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs.  The Committee meets four times a year.  In addition to the Committee, an Annual Forum on Human Rights , to which all interested NGOs are invited, is held annually.

Membership of the Committee

The Committee is chaired by the Director of the Human Rights Unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs.  The committee currently has twelve NGO and seven expert members.  Details of the current membership of the committee are set out below.  On occasion, organisations or individuals are invited to participate in meetings of the Committee on an ad hoc basis.  

NGO Members

Amnesty International
Comhlámh
Concern
Disabled Peoples' International
Dóchas
Frontline
Irish Council of Civil Liberties
National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI)
Rehab Care
Trócaire
Burma Action Ireland

Individual Expert Members

Kevin Boyle
Chinedu Onyejelem
Brendan McNamara
Jerome Connolly
Attracta Ingram
Morrough Kavanagh
Karen Kenny
William Schabas
Anastasia Crickley

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