IRISH HUMAN RIGHTS lawyer Michael O’Flaherty has been elected as the next Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights.

He was elected this evening after he successfully won over 50% of the vote at the Council’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg, France, where he competed against Bulgaria’s Megleva Kuneva and Austria’s Manfred Nowak.

The appointment has been welcomed by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin and Minister of State for European Affairs Peter Burke.

O’Flaherty, a leading international human rights solicitor, previously served as Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights between 2015 to 2023.

Academically, O’Flaherty holds a Professorship of Human Rights Law from University of Nottingham and the National University of Ireland Galway. He also served as the Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the National University of Ireland.

This evening the Tánaiste said: “Professor O’Flaherty has served with great distinction in several high level positions in the field of human rights and his election as Commissioner is a mark of the high regard in which he is held.

Martin added that he believes O’Flaherty’s “extensive human rights expertise” and qualities of leadership, courage, integrity and resilience, are “qualities that will benefit him as he takes up his new role”.

 Among his years of work with the United Nations, he most notably was appointed as Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission between 2011 and 2013 and as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee between 2004 to 2012.

“The office of Commissioner is central to the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Never have these ideals and principles been more important,” Martin said.

Junior minister for Europe Peter Burke said: “His attachment to the values of the Council of Europe are undeniable and Ireland is proud to have supported his candidacy for the position.”

Earlier, before the vote took place, O’Flaherty was fixed for pole position after unsuccessful voting proved him as the lead contester for the position ahead of his Bulgarian and Austrian counterparts.

Despite the strong lead, O’Flaherty took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: “Regardless of today’s outcome I have the deepest respect for Meglena and Manfred, my competitors for the post. We are united in our commitment to uphold human rights in Europe.”

O’Flaherty has previously been a strong voice to criticise Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, stand up for migrants fleeing global conflicts and international women’s rights.

His TedTalk in Varese, Italy last year, about how the world should place “human rights at the heart of our actions”, spoke about how to renew the “centrality of human rights” amid war in Ukraine and in a post-pandemic landscape.

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