The free event on Tuesday 24 October will hear from speakers including investigative journalists Barry McCaffrey and Trevor Birney, Northern Ireland’s former police ombudsman Baroness Nuala O’Loan, and former UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion David Kaye.

The keynote plenary will discuss the human impact of covert surveillance and the lack of international legal regulation on the matter, while panel discussions will explore issues such as facial recognition technology, covert surveillance and policing oversight.

Organisers said: “The conference aims to bring together stakeholders to discuss the current and future landscape of covert policing on the island of Ireland, through the lens of human rights.

“This event is the second in a series of events co-hosted by ICCL and CAJ, each with the aim of discussing a different thematic aspect of policing.

The timing of this conference is particularly apt as generational police reforms in the Republic following recommendations by the Commission on the Future of Policing are entering a critical phase, with legislation on the restructured oversight mechanisms and expanded police powers to track and monitor people’s movements and use surveillance devices and systems such as drones and facial recognition technology, currently moving forward through the Oireachtas.

“Meanwhile, in the North, there have been concerns regarding the rollback of human rights-based policing, including public order and Covid-19 policing, and legacy cases.”

More information and registration is available via Eventbrite.