Chief Commissioner, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Ireland
Professor Michael O'Flaherty is Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and holds the Chair in Applied Human Rights in the Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham. He is Vice Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Committee. O'Flaherty was Rapporteur for the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of Human Rights in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (2007). Until December 2003, O'Flaherty served in a number of senior positions with the United Nations in the field and at headquarters. From 2000 to 2002 he chaired the UN reference group on human rights and humanitarian action.
Recent Publications: Human Rights Diplomacy: Contemporary Perspectives (ed. with others, Martinus Nijhof, 2011), The Professional Identity of the Human Rights Field Officer (ed., with G. Ulrich, Ashgate, 2010), Human Rights Field Operations, Law, Theory and Practice (ed., Ashgate, 2007).