2000 - HONORARY PhD IN BIOETHICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Prof. Dr. Mary Robinson
Since
her
appointment
as
United
Nations
High
Commissioner
for
Human
Rights
by
UN
Secretary
General
Kofi
Annan
in
June
1997,
Mary
Robinson
has
taken
on
the
difficult
challenges
of
her
office
without
hesitation
and
has
consistently
stressed
the
need
for
action
in
the
struggle
to
extend
the
full
range
of
human
rights
to
all
citizens.
Born
in
Ballina,
County
Mayo,
Ireland
on
May
21,
1944,
Mary
Robinson
was
educated
at
Trinity
College,
Dublin,
where
she
received
a
Master
of
Arts
degree
in
1970.
She
also
earned
a
Barrister-at-Law
degree
from
the
King’s
Inns,
Dublin,
and
a
Master
of
Laws
degree
from
Harvard
University.
At
the
age
of
25,
Mrs.
Robinson
was
appointed
Reid
Professor
of
Constitutional
and
Criminal
Law
at
Trinity
College,
where
she
also
served
as
lecturer
in
European
community
law.
With
her
husband
Nicholas,
Mrs.
Robinson
founded
the
Irish
Centre
for
European
Law
in
1988.
From
1969
to
1989,
Mary
Robinson
was
a
member
of
Seanad
Éireann,
the
Upper
House
of
Parliament.
She
has
also
served
on
the
Dublin
City
Council
and
the
International
Commission
of
Jurists.
In
December
1990,
Mrs.
Robinson
was
inaugurated
as
the
seventh
president
of
Ireland.
As
president,
she
represented
her
country
internationally,
developing
a
new
sense
of
Ireland’s
economic,
political,
and
cultural
ties
to
other
countries
and
cultures.
Linking
the
history
of
the
Great
Irish
Famine
to
today’s
nutrition,
poverty,
and
policy
issues,
she
articulated
a
special
relationship
between
Ireland
and
developing
countries.
The
Robinson
presidency
was
characterized
by
inclusiveness
and
a
concerted
effort
to
use
the
office
not
only
to
improve
the
situations
of
marginalized
groups
within
Ireland
but
also
to
draw
attention
to
global
crises.
Mrs.
Robinson
was
the
first
head
of
state
to
visit
famine-stricken
Somalia
in
1992
and
also
the
first
to
go
to
Rwanda
in
the
aftermath
of
the
genocide
there.
In
recognition
of
her
efforts
in
Somalia,
Mrs.
Robinson
received
the
Special
CARE
Humanitarian
Award
in
1993.
Her
humanitarian
work
as
president,
her
background
in
human
rights
law,
and
her
uncompromising
pursuit
of
justice
and
equality
made
her
a
prime
candidate
for
the
position
of
United
Nations
High
Commissioner
for
Human
Rights.
As
High
Commissioner,
Mrs.
Robinson
is
responsible
for
overseeing
the
human
rights
activities
of
the
United
Nations,
including
promoting
universal
enjoyment
of
human
rights,
responding
to
human
rights
violations,
undertaking
preventive
human
rights
action,
and
providing
education
and
assistance
in
the
field
of
human
rights.
Taking
every
opportunity
to
speak
out
on
human
rights
abuses
as
they
occur,
she
has
recently
expressed
urgent
concern
about
conflicts
in
East
Timor,
Kosovo,
and
Sierra
Leone,
among
others.