Fmr. Irish President Mary Robinson Heads Panel Faulting "War on Terror" for Eroding Human Rights

The panel includes 60 senior jurists from around the world. The report studies counter-terrorism practices in 40 countries but concentrates on the United States, asking President Obama to “immediately and publicly renounce” the characterization of counterterrorism as a war and to investigate human rights abuses against terrorism suspects.

The report was headed up by Mary Robinson, the president of the International Commission of Jurists. She joins us now in the firehouse studio. Mary Robinson was President of Ireland between 1990 and 1997 and then was appointed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a post she held till 2002. Previously she was a Senator in Ireland for 20 years. She has been the honorary president of Oxfam international since 2002 and founded an NGO called “Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative.” In 2004 she received Amnesty International’s Ambassador of Conscience Award and in 2005 she was awarded the first “Outspoken” award from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission for her role in helping to decriminalize homosexuality in Ireland. She has also won the North-South Award, the Otto Hahn Peace Medal, and the Sydney Peace Prize.

Mary Robinson, world-renowned human rights lawyer and advocate. She is the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the former President of Ireland, the first woman to hold the office. She is currently the president of the International Commission of Jurists and the President of Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalization Initiative.