Irish candidate leading election for European human rights post
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Dr Michael O'Flaherty
Irish candidate Dr Michael O’Flaherty is leading the vote for the Council of Europe’s next human rights commissioner and could be elected to the post today.
A first round of voting at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), with representatives from all 46 nations, saw him receive 97 votes, well ahead of Bulgarian nominee Megleva Kuneva on 78 and Austrian candidate Manfred Nowak on 75.
As no candidate received more than 50 per cent of the vote yesterday, a second round of voting is taking place today. A result is expected around 7pm this evening.
Dr O’Flaherty has led the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) since 2015 and previously served as chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC).
An alumnus of University College Dublin, he was previously a professor of human rights law and director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway. He recently joined UCD Sutherland School of Law as an adjunct professor.
Earlier this week, outgoing human rights commissioner Dunja Mijatović told PACE that 2023 had seen an “intensification of challenges to the protection of human rights”.
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