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The Irish Centre for Human Rights runs the first in its Spring seminar series with a seminar on 'A critical assessment of the protection of Minority Rights and the role of the UN system' with UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Professor Fernand de Varennes. This seminar will address the thematic focus of the Special Rapporteur’s next report to the UN Human Rights Council, to be presented in March 2023. Further information on the topics to be addressed is at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/calls-for-input/2022/thematic-report-52nd-session-human-rights-council-march-2023

The seminar takes place at 9.15am, Tuesday, 31st January 2023, on Zoom. All are welcome to attend. Please contact the Human Rights Administration for Zoom links.

Fernand de Varennes is Visiting Professor at the Université Catholique de Lyon (France), Vytautas Magnus University, Kaunas (Lithuania) and the University of Galway. He was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues by the Human Rights Council and assumed his functions on 1 August 2017.

Fernand de Varennes’ work and commitment focusses on the human rights of minorities, as well as the prevention of ethnic conflicts, the rights of migrants, the relationship between ethnicity, human rights and democracies, and the use of federalism and other forms of autonomy arrangements to balance competing cultural interests. His contributions on these topics in many parts of the world, including as a professor for almost 20 years at Murdoch University in Australia, and as a guest professor at the following institutions in Africa, Asia and Europe: Åbo Academy, Dato Bunka University, Ethiopian Civil Service University, Gakushuin University, Peking University, Seikei University, Universitas Pelita Harapan, Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Université de la Réunion, University of Hong Kong, University of Pretoria, and Vytautas Magnus University. He has more than 250 publications globally in some 30 languages.

Fernand de Varennes holds degrees from the Université de Moncton (LLB, 1988), the London School of Economics and Political Science (LLM, 1992), and the Rijksuniversiteit Limburg (becoming in 1996 the University of Maastricht, Dr Juris, 1996).