Scholar

Rory O’Connell

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H-index: 11
Political science 56%
Law 26%
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by Jane McAdam — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

profjmcadam.bsky.social
'States have a shared responsibility to protect those fleeing for their lives. Sovereignty and the right to seek asylum are not incompatible. They are complementary.' Read the full speech by UN High Commissioner for Refugees here @unhcr.org www.unhcr.org/news/speeche...
High Commissioner’s Opening Statement to the 76th plenary session of the Executive Committee of the High Commissioner’s Programme | UNHCR
(As delivered)Mr. Chairman, Señor Presidente, Distinguished Delegates, Dear colleagues,
www.unhcr.org
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by Rory O’Connell

rjjoconnell.bsky.social
My week finished with a trip to Vancouver and the opportunity to visit, and meet students and staff, at Brentwood College School and St. Michaels University School in Victoria and Stratford High School and Mulgrave High School in Vancouver. @ulsteruni.bsky.social @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social
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by Rory O’Connell

rjjoconnell.bsky.social
A highlight of my visit to Toronto last week was the chance to visit (HTS) Holy Trinity School on Orange T-Shirt Day, part of National Truth and Reconciliation Week. @ulsteruni.bsky.social @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social
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by Rory O’Connell

rjjoconnell.bsky.social
It was a pleasure to go to Toronto on behalf of @ulsteruni.bsky.social & @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social to visit Lakefield College School, Lauremont School, and Upper Canada College.
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by Colin Murray — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Aoife O’Donoghue

colinmurray.bsky.social
Like most apologias, the Wolfson report isn't supposed to be read, it's just supposed to exist to provide cover. But this is really pretty limited cover. If anyone is bothered, note the utter lack of any references re the GFA.

It's all just vibes:

www.conservatives.com/wolfson-fina...
Wolfson Final Report | Conservatives
Wolfson Final Report
www.conservatives.com
2 6 20

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Dina Zoë Belluigi

scholarsatrisk.bsky.social
SAR’s #Free2Think2025 report is here! As violent threats to #highered in authoritarian contexts persist, recent years have seen increases in attacks on historically liberal contexts—incl. in the #UnitedStates. Read the report’s pressing findings now: www.scholarsatrisk.org/resources/fr...
Free to Think 2025 | Scholars at Risk
Free to Think 2025 is the eleventh installment of an annual report by SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project, and analyzes 395 attacks on higher education communities around the world.
www.scholarsatrisk.org
1 7 11

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Jonathan Portes, Lesley A. Hall , and 2 more

scholarsatrisk.bsky.social
Scholars at Risk is now active on Bluesky! SAR is an international network of institutions and individuals working to protect scholars and promote academic freedom. Keep an eye out for our upcoming #Free2Think2025 report, documenting global attacks on #highered! Learn more: scholarsatrisk.org
Scholars at Risk | Protecting scholars and the freedom to think, question, and share ideas
scholarsatrisk.org
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by Laurent Pech — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

profpech.bsky.social
"Megaphone diplomacy via open letters, and speeches talking loosely of “reform”, seek to exculpate national political actors and scapegoat the ECtHR for domestic discontent around immigration, often inflamed by the very national actors that now seek to externalise responsibility to Strasbourg" 🎯
verfassungsblog.de
Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 9d
Starting this Sunday, the UK Conservatives will hold their annual party conference and possibly adopt a new flagship policy: withdrawal from the ECHR.

That would legitimise the playbook of the far-right, warns ALICE DONALD (@alicedonald.bsky.social).

verfassungsblog.de/badge-of-dishonour/
Quote from our post by Alice Donald: “Pushback against the ECtHR over immigration is neither new nor confined to the UK. But what once sounded like fringe rhetoric is now being echoed at the very centre of British Politics.”
2 7

by Jonathan Portes — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Alison Phipps, Maria Sobolewska , and 1 more

jdportes.bsky.social
Apart from the unnecessary hardship this will inflict on individuals, this will be bad for integration and social cohesion, bad for the economy, and will increase irregular migration.

[And, as @robfordmancs.bsky.social has shown, it's hugely unpopular and out of step with the British public]
paulbrand.bsky.social
Paul Brand @paulbrand.bsky.social · 8d
Mahmood says she will introduce new conditions for indefinite leave to remain:

Lived here 10 years not 5
Being in work
Not taking a penny in benefits
No criminal record
Giving back to community eg volunteering
28 140 420

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Laurent Pech

verfassungsblog.de
Starting this Sunday, the UK Conservatives will hold their annual party conference and possibly adopt a new flagship policy: withdrawal from the ECHR.

That would legitimise the playbook of the far-right, warns ALICE DONALD (@alicedonald.bsky.social).

verfassungsblog.de/badge-of-dishonour/
Quote from our post by Alice Donald: “Pushback against the ECtHR over immigration is neither new nor confined to the UK. But what once sounded like fringe rhetoric is now being echoed at the very centre of British Politics.”
5 9

by Rory O’Connell

rjjoconnell.bsky.social
Pop along at the Study In Fair in Toronto to meet Isabella Salem and myself and learn about Northern Ireland, Ulster University and our Ulster University School of Law! www.ulster.ac.uk

by Rory O’Connell

rjjoconnell.bsky.social
Arrived in Toronto yesterday (a pleasant 24 degrees) and looking forward to the Study in the UK Fair today in the Hyatt Regency! Come along to the @ulsteruni.bsky.social stand and learn more about the University and @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social! gostudyin.com/canada/study...
Man sitting in train
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Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

justsecurity.org
(1/3) Catch up on our recent analysis:

• U.S. strikes / Venezuela
• Israel-Hamas War
• Trump executive actions
• U.S. military
• United States / Immigration
• Nuclear weapons testing
• Extremism

www.justsecurity.org/121135/diges...
Digest of Recent Articles on Just Security (Sept. 22-26, 2025)
U.S. strikes / Venezuela • Israel-Hamas War • Trump executive actions • U.S. military • United States / Immigration • Nuclear weapons testing • Extremism
www.justsecurity.org
1 17 31

by Robert B. Reich — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Timothy Snyder, Richard E. Lenski , and 30 more

rbreich.bsky.social
The richest man on earth owns X.

The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.

The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.

See the problem here?
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Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

cajni.bsky.social
CAJ Director, Daniel Holder, attended this morning's press conference following the publication of the McCullough Review findings.

"It should not have taken McCullough to get to the bottom of PSNI surveillance"

Full statement with @amnestyuk.bsky.social 👉 caj.org.uk/latest/mccul...
A screenshot from the BBC news website showing a photo of CAJ Director Daniel Holder. The text in the article reads: Daniel Holder, Director of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), says it should not have taken the McCullough Review "to get to the bottom of PSNI surveillance". "There is a current oversight mechanism the UK Investigatory Powers Commissioners Office (IPCO) that missed this," he says. "This was not the mechanism that was supposed to be in place on the back of the Good Friday Agreement." Mr Holder suggests the PSNI fell short of what was envisaged by the Patten Commission which was set up during the peace process to reform policing in Northern Ireland. "The Patten Commission had recommended a specific 'Commissioner for Covert Law Enforcement in Northern Ireland' to ensure covert policing techniques were being used within the law," the CAJ director says. "This unimplemented commitment should now be taken forward."
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Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

andrewcutting.coe.int
The European Court of #HumanRights has ruled against Italy for not doing enough to tackle #DomesticViolence.

Here are several more examples of how the #ECHR system has helped shift the needle on #ViolenceAgainstWomen👇

🔗 go.coe.int/e9Pqg

#EndViolenceAgainstWomen #EndVAW
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Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

aclu.org
BREAKING: A court ruled that the federal government can't pick and choose among viewpoints when deciding who gets a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

We took the Trump administration to court to fight artistic censorship — and won.
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Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Colin Murray, Colm O’Cinneíde

georgeperetzkc.bsky.social
No substitute for reading the Murray/O’Donoghue paper, but this is my way of summarising some key flaws in the PE paper. open.substack.com/pub/societyo...
2 13 25

by Colin Murray — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Steve Peers, Tobias Lock , and 9 more

colinmurray.bsky.social
A new Explainer out from @aoifemod.bsky.social and me detailing the UK's ECHR commitments under the 1998 Agreement in response to recent speculation. It is short, because there is very little to say - the UK's obligations are evident on the B/GFA's plain text:

caj.org.uk/wp-content/u...
2 70 120

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Steve Peers, Colin Murray , and 4 more

janinadill.bsky.social
The three most damning paras in the UN Report alleging that Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza: Siege starvation, attacks on health care, direct targeting of children as patterns that cannot be explained except if group destruction is one animating purpose.
3 130 190

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

nytopinion.nytimes.com
“Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This finding is based on investigations and extensive evidence,” writes Navi Pillay, the head of a U.N. commission. “It has been corroborated by multiple sources.”
Opinion | My U.N. Commission’s Finding: Israel Is Committing Genocide
The chief judge of the Rwandan genocide tribunal has concluded that Israel is guilty of the “crime of crimes” in Gaza.
nyti.ms
1 13 25

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Steve Peers, Jonathan Hopkin , and 2 more

davidallengreen.bsky.social
Why what is happening in the United States shows the need for the United Kingdom to repair its own constitution

Our polity is there for the taking

Substack emptycity.substack.com/p/the-pointl...

Personal blog davidallengreen.com/2025/09/the-...
Why what is happening in the United States shows the need for the United Kingdom to repair its own constitution
Our polity is there for the taking
emptycity.substack.com
15 130 340

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

andrewcutting.coe.int
Have you heard the one about a foreign criminal who couldn’t be deported, under the #ECHR, because his son didn’t like #ChickenNuggets abroad?

It’s not actually true, believe it or not.

🔗 observer.co.uk/news/nationa... via @theobserveruk.bsky.social
Misinformation and myth: the UK’s phoney war over human r...
The debate over the future of the European Convention on Human Rights will shape conference season and beyond
observer.co.uk
11 21

by Colin Murray — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Jim Kelly, Patrick O’Brien , and 3 more

colinmurray.bsky.social
A lovely tribute from Áras an Uachtaráin to mark Professor Conor Gearty's passing:

president.ie/en/media-lib...
19 51

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Shadd Maruna

alangreene.bsky.social
Conor Gearty was, without hesitation, the best academic writer I’ve read. He was also a thoroughly decent and kind human being who fearlessly used his position speak truth to power.
Conor did law, politics and academia the right way and he will be sorely missed.
Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann.
5 20 100

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Richard S.J. Tol, Martin O’Neill , and 10 more

robfordmancs.bsky.social
5 parties on more than 12%, winner gains seat with under 30%. Results like this used to be rare, freak outliers. Now they are routine (there was a second just like this yesterday). Electoral chaos.
electionmaps.uk
Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 26d
Newmarket East (West Suffolk) Council By-Election Result:

➡️ RFM: 29.7% (New)
🌳 CON: 25.0% (+4.1)
🔶 LDM: 17.2% (-3.1)
🌹 LAB: 15.3% (-8.3)
🌍 GRN: 12.8% (New)

No WSI (-19.2) or Ind (-16.1) as previous.

Reform GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2023.
44 110 330

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Jonathan Portes, Steve Peers , and 5 more

joellegrogan.bsky.social
Correcting the reports.

UK withdrawal from the ECHR absolutely breaches the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/t...
The European Convention on Human Rights and the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement - UK in a changing Europe
This explainer examines the relationship between the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the European Convention on Human Rights. It explores the role that...
ukandeu.ac.uk
8 150 320

by Fionnuala Ní Aoláin — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

niaolainf.bsky.social
It was not a boarding with Coast Guard legal authority. It was a strike—ordered from Washington, executed in international waters, and justified with little more than “trust us.”

www.defenseone.com/ideas/2025/0...
A killing at sea marks America’s descent into lawless power
The peremptory strike on a speedboat is a warning to all who serve. Remember your oath.
www.defenseone.com
3 6

by Ryan Goodman — Reposted by: Rory O’Connell

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
I really appreciated speaking in depth with @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social about Venezuelan boat strike, what the law allows, and what comes next.

Important for concerns about Forever Wars, those who care about deportation without due process and killing suspects without a trial.
billkristolbulwark.bsky.social
Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · Sep 7
Really excellent explanation by Ryan Goodman of the legal justifications (or rather the lack thereof) of Trump’s boat strike, and of some the (chilling) further implications. An important conversation, I thought, if not a cheering one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1V...
Did Trump Just Order A Murder at Sea? | Bulwark on Sunday
YouTube video by The Bulwark
www.youtube.com
8 76 260

Reposted by: Rory O’Connell, Stephen M. Walt, Anna O. Law , and 28 more

mjsdc.bsky.social
BREAKING: By an apparent 6–3 vote, the Supreme Court halts an injunction that had prevented immigration agents from racially profiling Latinos in central California.

Sotomayor, dissenting, says the decision is "unconscionably irreconcilable with our nation's constitutional guarantees."
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26085894-25a169-order/
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