Mary Robinson talks on human rights and global obligation issues

By Kate Becker and Roger Segelken

Mary Robinson, former president of Ireland and international advocate for human rights, spoke at the Alice Statler Auditorium April 21 as part of her two-day visit to Cornell, sponsored by the Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship. The visit also included meetings with students and faculty from the departments of economics, law and public policy, ethics and city and regional planning.

Mary Robinson

Robinson served as the U.N. high commissioner for human rights between 1997 and 2002, following seven years as the president of Ireland. As president, Robinson was noted for her commitment to developing nations and nations in crisis. She was both the first head of state to visit Rwanda in 1994 and the first to travel to Somalia in 1992.

In her lecture, titled "Human Rights and Ethical Globalization," Robinson spoke about how to make globalization "work for all the world's people," using both pragmatism and conscience. Proposing a "values-led globalization" sensitive to human rights as well as to the market, Robinson discussed the challenges of setting and enforcing international human rights standards in a volatile world.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks brought human rights dilemmas into sharp focus in the United States, Robinson noted. But she questioned the instinct to sacrifice civil rights for personal safety, arguing that the two are not mutually exclusive, but inseparable expressions of the same concern for human rights. Robinson noted that the U.N. has laid out standard procedures for enacting national emergency measures. The United States' disregard for these procedures, she said, sets a worrying example for other nations.

An effective response to terrorism must address the "deeper divides ... that breed a sense of anger, hopelessness and frustration," Robinson said, noting that television brings to even the most impoverished areas a "window on the other world," which fosters anger and resentment.

Robinson also introduced her audience to a new word: meitheal (pronounced meh-hill), an Irish word that translates roughly as "connection with neighbor." Struck by meitheal in both the farming communities of rural Ireland and in developing counties, Robinson argued that community cooperation is vital for both individuals and neighborhoods to thrive. "Everybody can make a difference," she said. "You just have to work out how you're going to do it."

The talk was followed by a question-and-answer session in which Robinson fielded questions from students, faculty and community members on topics including the conflict in the Middle East, the healing of post-genocidal nations, and the IMF and World Bank.

Earlier in the day, during an afternoon news conference in Statler Hotel, Robinson faced questions on topics ranging from the United States' role in rebuilding Iraq to Cornell students' role in global affairs.

Assuming the best -- that the Bush administration's "doctrine of pre-emptive strikes and overwhelming military force ... is justified in human rights terms" -- Robinson said this country now must convince a skeptical international community, "by focusing on what is best for [the Iraqi] people. If the United States puts concerns of the people of Iraq in the forefront, it is more likely that the right decisions will be made."

Robinson advised law students, including those she had addressed earlier in the day, to consider careers in the international arena. "There are so many opportunities for lawyers; human rights is a 'growth area,'" she said. Students interested in trade law might even find work in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which Robinson said is woefully lacking in expertise "to help small, developing countries play in the big arena."

Robinson's visit was sponsored by Cornell and the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. The Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellowship was established by Henry and Nancy Horton Bartels '48 in 1985 to bring prominent international leaders to Cornell. Previous fellows have included Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama of Tibet.