Mary Robinson served as the second UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for five years from 1997, serving
through the Kosovo War, the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, the second Chechnyan war, the second Intifada, the
civil war in Somalia, independence in East Timor, and then came September 11, and
George Bush's 'War on Terror'. In 2007, Mary became one of The Elders...ten eminent leaders brought together by
Nelson Mandela to progress world peace and human rights.
In 2009, she was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom. And she has set up the Mary Robinson
Foundation, focused on what she describes as 'climate justice'.
Source: www.abc.net.au
In 1988, Mary Robinson and
her husband founded the Irish
Centre for European Law at
Trinity College. Ten years later,
she was elected Chancellor of
the University.
The recipient of numerous
honours and awards
throughout the world including
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom from President
Obama, Mary serves on
several boards including the
European Climate Foundation,
the Mo Ibrahim Foundation,
and is a member of the
Royal Irish Academy and
the American Philosophical
Society.
Source: www.mrfcj.org
She said it…
"A culture is not an abstract thing. It is a living, evolving
process. The aim is to push beyond standardsetting and
asserting human rights to make those standards a living
reality for people everywhere."
"The aim of human rights, if I may borrow a term from
engineering, is to move beyond the design and drawingboard phase, to move beyond thinking and talking about
the foundation stones - to laying those foundation stones,
inch by inch, together."
"In a society where the rights and potential of women are
constrained, no man can be truly free. He may have power,
but he will not have freedom."
w
Born Mary Bourke, she became Mary Robinson when she married her fiancé, Nicolas Robinson, in
1970. Her marriage to a Protestant caused tension in her family – her parents would not even attend
her wedding ceremony due to issues with Nicolas' religion. Although her family tree featured some
Protestant branches, her parents considered themselves staunch Roman Catholics. In time, as the
couple raised three children together, the Bourke family grew to accept the situation. w
Source: www.irishcelticjewels.com
"I was elected by the women of
Ireland, who instead of rocking
the cradle, rocked the system."
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