June 2003 Bank of Ireland Fellowship in International Human Rights Law

Bank of Ireland Fellowship in International Human Rights Law to be established in honour of Nelson Mandela's visit to Galway

Bank of Ireland has announced the establishment of a fellowship to be awarded to a distinguished scholar from a developing country studying at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway. The fellowship will be established to commemorate the visit of Nelson Mandela to the University to receive an honorary degree on June 20th.

Hundreds of applicants are expected to apply for this prestigious fellowship. Applications will be considered by a special academic panel chaired by Professor William A. Schabas, Director of the Irish Centre for Human Rights.

"This important fellowship will make a most significant contribution to the academic research capacity of the Irish Centre for Human Rights", said Professor Schabas. "Since the Centre began activities in early 2000, it has quickly become the Irish think tank with respect to issues on the cutting edge of international human rights law. The fellowship will strengthen its international reputation for excellence and innovation." Professor Schabas went on to say that the requirement that the fellow comes from a developing country is particularly important. "Research from developing countries suffers from inadequate resources, and we believe a fellowship like this can help in a modest way to correct the imbalance," he said.

Mike O Grady, Regional Manager Area Office West at Bank of Ireland said, "Nelson Mandela is a towering figure in human rights. We were glad to be able to recognise his historic visit to Galway by establishing a fellowship for a scholar from a developing country."

Ends