Yale Bulletin and Calendar

October 4, 2002|Volume 31, Number 5

Ireland's Mary Robinson on 'ethical globalization'

Mary Robinson
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Mary Robinson, former U.N. high commissioner for human rights and former president of Ireland, will present the 10th annual Coca-Cola World Fund at Yale Lecture on Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the Levinson Auditorium at the Law School, 127 Wall St.

Robinson, who received an honorary degree from Yale in 1997, will speak on "Building an Ethical Globalization" at 4 p.m. Sponsored by the Center for International and Area Studies, the Law School and the Yale School of Management, the event is free and open to the public. A reception will follow.

Robinson will also speak at noon that day in the Law School faculty lounge as a guest of the Orville H. Schell Jr. Center for International Rights. That talk is open only to the Yale community.

Robinson was in the news recently for criticizing the United States for eroding civil liberties at home and neglecting human rights globally since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "The United States could be a leader in combating terrorism while upholding human rights," Robinson said in a Sept. 11, 2002 interview in The New York Times. "Instead it has sought to put all the emphasis on combating terrorism and has not been fully upholding human rights standards. And that's having a ripple effect on other less democratic countries."

Robinson was appointed as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights in June 1997. She was president of Ireland 1990-1997, making her the first female head of state there. As president, she represented her county internationally, developing a new sense of Ireland's economic, political and cultural links with other countries and cultures. She placed special emphasis on the needs of developing countries and focused on Africa, becoming the first head of state to visit Somalia during the 1992 famine and Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. She also visited the International Criminal Tribune which was handling cases on the former Yugoslavia.

Robinson began her career as a lawyer in Dublin. She led a successful fight for the right of Irish women to obtain contraceptive devices in the 1970s. She also worked in the area of human rights, especially constitutional and European human rights law.

The Coca-Cola World Fund at Yale was established in 1992 to support endeavors among specialists in the intersection between international relations, international law and the management of international enterprises and organizations.

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Ireland's Mary Robinson on 'ethical globalization'

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Reunion events will explore the intersection of law and the arts

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Campus Notes