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Mary Robinson, U.N. Commissioner and former president of Ireland, is being awarded the Medal of Freedom by Obama. Well, isn’t that just dandy. Who is Mary Robinson? You may remember her role in presiding over the infamous Durban I Conference. At the time she joined Rashid Khalidi at Columbia University (no, you can’t make this up), this report summarized the objections to her hiring, given her record in overseeing the infamous Israel-bashing event: Columbia has “become a hotbed of anti-Israel haters,” said the president of the Zionist Organization of America, Morton Klein. “It’s especially astonishing that a school with such...

Washington's "war on terror" after the September 11 attacks has eroded human rights worldwide, creating lingering cynicism that the United Nations must now combat, international law experts said on Monday. Mary Robinson, who was the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights when al Qaeda militants flew hijacked planes into the World Trade Centre and Pentagon in 2001, said the United States caused harm with some of the ways it responded. "Seven years after 9/11 it is time to take stock and repeal abusive laws and policies," the former Irish president said, warning that harsh U.S. detentions and interrogations in Iraq,...

Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson arrived at the Hanover Inn on Sunday afternoon ready to answer the questions of 20 lucky students. The first female president of Ireland, Robinson served from 1990-1997 and is one of the three 2007-2008 Montgomery Fellows. At the luncheon, students' questions ranged from her personal background to her politics. Article continues on TheDartmouth.com at: http://thedartmouth.com/2007/10/08/news/montf/ ?> Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson arrived at the Hanover Inn on Sunday afternoon ready to answer the questions of 20 lucky students. The first female president of Ireland, Robinson served from 1990-1997 and is one of the...

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 20, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - World famous opponent of South African apartheid, Nelson Mandela, celebrated his 89th birthday last Wednesday by announcing the formation of a Global council of elders, known simply as "The Elders."So far The Elders includes Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Mary Robinson, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Muhammad Yunus, Ela Bhatt, Graca Machel, and, of course, Nelson Mandela.  The group of high-profile international leaders is intended to be an independent body of "wise" men and women that will use their combined experience to solve any of the host of problems currently...

As the United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson presided over the 2001 World Conference against Racism that was hijacked by anti-Zionists who demonized Israel, bullied Jewish delegates and distributed crude anti-Semitic images. When McGill University announced it will grant an honourary doctorate to Mary Robinson, a "human rights leader," my first instinct was to be silent. I have no wish to politicize commencement… But in a world of ever-coarsening anti-Semitism and despicable rationalizations for suicide bombings, in a city which just endured the burning of a Jewish children's school library, at a university in which vandals scratched...

<p>Mary Lou Robinson heard the doctor's words. Until this moment, this day in September 1996, she didn't believe they could be true.</p> <p>"I'm sorry to inform you, you are HIV positive."</p> <p>The day before, the same doctor had recommended Robinson be tested for the virus that causes AIDS. She had had mysterious symptoms for two years that doctors and tests could not explain. But HIV never entered the realm of possibilities of what Robinson thought was making her sick.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's reference to foreign law in a ruling last month that overturned state anti-sodomy statutes stood out as if it were in bold print and capital letters.</p> <p>Writing for the majority in a landmark decision supporting gay civil rights, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that the European Court of Human Rights and other foreign courts have affirmed the ''rights of homosexual adults to engage in intimate, consensual conduct.''</p>

<p>WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court's reference to foreign law in a ruling last month that overturned state anti-sodomy statutes stood out as if it were in bold print and capital letters.</p> <p>Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cited foreign law in the landmark case involving gay civil rights.</p>

NewsMax.com's Fr. Michael Reilly says there may be more than meets the eye behind the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week in the Texas sodomy case. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Texas' sodomy law continues to generate controversy, Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute reveals a disturbing new element. The high court used foreign precedents in formulating their decision. In the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy referred to a "Friend of the Court" brief submitted by former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson. "This Court should not decide in a...

Mary Robinson ... brought a more outspoken style to the job.   In the final days of her five years in office, Mary Robinson, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has sharply criticised the United States for eroding civil liberties at home and human rights standards around the world since the September11 attacks."The United States could be a leader in combating terrorism while upholding human rights," Mrs Robinson said."Instead, it has sought to put all the emphasis on combating terrorism and has not been fully upholding human rights standards. And that's having a ripple effect on other...

BEIJING -- UN Human Rights Chief Mary Robinson stressed Tuesday it was "extremely important" that developed countries, not just poorer ones, are condemned if they violate freedoms. Speaking on her final mission to China, the world's largest developing nation, Robinson defended her practice of criticizing Western countries such as the United States, AFP reported. "I do believe that it is extremely important the human rights message is conveyed to either developed or developing countries," Robinson told reporters. "I'm aware that there has been resistance in some developed countries in relation to criticisms that have been made." Robinson noted that when...

Indigenous peoples need higher profile in mainstream media, UN panel told 14 May – Indigenous issues and indigenous people must be ensured a “fair shake” in the mainstream media, experts told a panel discussion held this afternoon at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The panel of indigenous journalists and writers on indigenous topics stressed that commercial media outlets generally only report on indigenous issues in the context of negative news, according to Barbara Pyle, a filmmaker and former Vice President of Environmental Policy for Turner Broadcasting Network, who moderated the event. The solutions panelists had proposed was, “you have...

U.N. Raps U.S. for Rejecting International Court Tue May 7, 8:15 AM ET By Andrew Cawthorne LONDON (Reuters) - U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson Tuesday criticized Washington's abandonment of a new international court for the world's worst crimes, calling it regrettable and worrying. Joining a chorus of international condemnation, she said however that even though the U.S. stance on the International Criminal Court set a bad precedent, the new institution should survive without backing from the world's only superpower. "I believe it has been a remarkable success story...the International Criminal Court will go forward strongly and will...

UN human rights mission contacts Israel seeking cooperation for visit9 April – A high-level United Nations delegation of human rights experts set to visit the Middle East, sought today the cooperation of the Israeli Government, which said it would study the request. The three members of the mission - to be led by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson - received a communication from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN in Geneva that their request for the country's cooperation had been forwarded to its Government and would be given careful consideration in light of the unfolding...

A Palestinian mother bids farewell for her son before 'martyrdom'Palestine-Israel, Politics, 3/15/2002 " I wish I had 100 sons like Muhammad ( her son) so as I will sacrifice all of them for the sake of God," said the Palestinian woman Mariam Farhat and was heard by thousands of viewers of the US "Fox News" network while she was eulogizing her son. This was however, the first time a "Palestinian martyr" appears in a TV tape with his family before the execution of the operation. Hours after that and within 15 minutes, last Thursday, Muhammad emptied his bullets and 6...

Afghan Truth Commission Requested Sun Mar 10, 8:51 AM ETKABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - U.N. human rights chief Mary Robinson on Sunday said a proposed truth commission in Afghanistan (news - web sites) must investigate atrocities committed by all factions, not just the ousted Taliban. Photos AP Photo Audio/Video (AP) quot;It's not acceptable in the context of Afghanistan to look at a partial truth,quot; Robinson told reporters in the Afghan capital of Kabul.On Saturday, she and Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai endorsed the idea of a truth commission to uncover atrocities committed over two decades of war.But Karzai's government may be...