Northern Ireland Alumni Recognized for Human Rights Role in Northern Ireland.

22 August 2011

U.S. Consul General Kamala Lakhdhir (left) pictured with outgoing Northern Ireland Human Rights Commissioner Monica McWilliams.

Professor Monica McWilliams, IVLP alumni and outgoing head of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, was acknowledged by the U.S. Government at an event in her honor.  McWilliams was Northern Ireland’s Human Rights Commissioner since 2005, where she handled human rights inquiries from all sections of the community.  She also advised the U.K. Government on a proposed Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, a project arising from the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. 

McWilliams participated in a Multi Regional Project on the Role of Women in U.S. in March 1997, one year after she established the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, a non-sectarian political party that helped endorse the Good Friday Agreement.  McWilliams has been an Associate Researcher with the University of Ulster where she is returning on a full-time capacity.