Seminar with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, on Europe’s Human Rights Challenges
The UCD Centre for Human Rights, together with the Sutherland School of Law hosted a high-level seminar with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O'Flaherty, on Wednesday, 29 October 2025. Michael O’Flaherty is also UCD Law Adjunct Full Professor.
In his captivating talk, the Commissioner spoke about Europe’s numerous human rights challenges and the role of the Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner in addressing them.
He outlined the grave crisis of human rights and well-being that Europe is facing today: From the horrors of war and the undermining of the rule of law to the grave and growing inequality among people; from the threats posed by new technologies to the impact of the triple planetary crisis. To address these, he recalled the continued importance of the well-established protection of human rights deeply enshrined as common standards in European and international human rights law by which all member states of the Council of Europe are bound and have firmly committed to. Incremental but consistent steps are taken by the Commissioner to uphold the law in difficult times. Among them are steps towards ensuring renewed protection of minorities like Roma and LGTBQIA+communities; towards integrating human rights firmly into a peace process in Ukraine; towards regulating new technologies in compliance with the human rights to privacy and freedom of expression and opinion; and towards protecting the space for independent civil society organisations to thrive, exercising freedom of assembly and association rights as well as enabling people to actively take part and shape the political life of their communities.
Numerous students as well as academic and professional staff joined the lively and open discussions with the Commissioner after his talk.