As you may have already heard, Maria McCloskey recently became Executive Director at Irish Rule of Law International. Following her appointment last December, she kindly agreed to answer a few questions for us.
Maria McCloskey, IRLI's Executive Director.
While there have been so many advances in legal protections for people, particularly since the second world war, we have seen in recent years how quickly regressions can take place and how harshly those regressions are impacting those who are in minorities both at a local and a global level."
Could you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your law career so far?
My name is Maria McCloskey. I am a human rights lawyer, originally from a small village in County Derry and now living in Belfast. I qualified as a solicitor in 2007 and spent the earlier part of my career working, mostly in the litigation department, at Napier Solicitors in Belfast. I later went on to become Associate Director in the firm. In 2017, I completed a Master’s Degree in Human Rights Law at Queen’s University Belfast. The focus of my dissertation was the UK Government’s treatment of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children according to its obligations under national and international law. At the beginning of 2020, I then moved out of private practice to the Children’s Law Centre in Belfast, where I represented the unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in their asylum and trafficking claims. Having experienced the difficulties faced by individuals where there is a systemic issue or an unfairness in the process, I came to fully appreciate the importance and value of strategic litigation. When the role of Director/Solicitor at Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS) became available in 2022, it made sense as the next right move for me. There, I had the privilege of being involved, to varying degrees, in a wide range of human rights and equality issues impacting the lives of people living in Northern Ireland.
What inspired you to pursue a career in law?
I would say it was partly to do with seeing how the English language can be used and partly to do with my enjoyment of a good old debate around the kitchen table! I am fascinated by how one word (or comma!) can change the meaning of a sentence. I, like most lawyers, love using words to try and convince someone of a point of view. I was also a big fan of Ally McBeal, so I thought: maybe my career will be quite entertaining at the same time! On a serious note, while there is a debate about who created laws and why, I firmly believe that we have developed an area of law which is about people, and that everyone should and can be treated fairly if we use the law as our tool. While there have been so many advances in legal protections for people, particularly since the second world war, we have seen in recent years how quickly regressions can take place and how harshly those regressions are impacting those who are in minorities both at a local and a global level.
What drives you in your work?
Without meaning to sound righteous or ‘do-goody’, I have become increasingly more conscious of the privilege into which I was born. Having travelled to a few places around the world, and having met people from different cultures and backgrounds, I have seen how the thing that unites us (or at least the vast majority of people) is a desire to have a comfortable, safe, happy and healthy life. My own path has involved studying and gaining a professional legal qualification. I want to use the knowledge, skills and experience I’ve gained to contribute towards creating the circumstances whereby others - be that one person or a group of people - can achieve that shared common goal. I don’t ever feel like I am or that I ever even could do this on my own. What I’ve seen, especially in recent years, is that when I am surrounded by people who are similarly motivated, it doesn’t feel like the mammoth or unachievable goal that it might initially seem. So, I would say that I am also driven by the people around me who have a ‘can do’ attitude about helping others in less fortunate circumstances and making this world a better place.
I have a growing understanding of how the impacts of climate change are forcing thousands of people in different parts of the world to move. This is causing increasing pressure on asylum and refugee systems but there is little done to accommodate those who can simply no longer live where they were born and nowhere near enough being done to address the root cause which causes people to migrate in the first place."
What are your particular areas of interest?
Shortly after the summer of 2015, the worst year on record for deaths of refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean, I enrolled on my Master’s degree. I wanted to get a better understanding of what caused people to attempt this crossing when they knew the risk of death was so high. I also wanted to try and understand why those in positions of power were not intervening to save lives and, apparently, not complying with their international legal obligations. During that time, I travelled to Calais, where I volunteered with a refugee charity. I saw first hand how the French authorities carried out the work of policing the UK’s borders. It shocked me. And what I witnessed and experienced will stay with me for a very long time. So, through my studies and then my role as an Immigration Solicitor for some of the most vulnerable refugees, I became very passionate about this area of law. In the years thereafter, I became increasingly aware of the intersectionality of many human rights issues and abuses. In particular, I have a growing understanding of how the impacts of climate change are forcing thousands of people in different parts of the world to move. This is causing increasing pressure on asylum and refugee systems but there is little done to accommodate those who can simply no longer live where they were born and nowhere near enough being done to address the root cause which causes people to migrate in the first place. In my role at PILS, I got the opportunity to assist those who are working at a local level to protect our environment and to hold those in positions of authority to account for their legal obligations under climate change laws.
I'm also very keen to support the work of people and organisations who are dedicated to tackling gender-based violence (GBV). The problem is increasingly evident, no matter where I go. This may be due to better processes, encouraging more women and girls to report crimes and come forward about the violations they have suffered. But there certainly seems to be an increase in the levels of violent crime perpetrated by men against women and girls. It is very troubling. I'm very keen, therefore, to develop the work that IRLI is already doing in this area, supporting other jurisdictions to tackle GBV. I sincerely hope that we, as a society – from education in schools to justice sector actors and everything in between – can come together to tackle this issue and ensure that society really is a safe place for all genders.
Are there any grassroots or human rights organisations who you have been following in recent times and that you would like to platform here?
There are so many amazing organisations doing such great work locally and internationally. There are too many to mention and I don’t want to highlight any in particular simply because I’ll look back and regret leaving someone or some organisation out!
What in your view are the main challenges in this field at the current moment?
The main challenges, as I see it, are the increasing number of crises going on around the world. With that comes ever more stretched resources and reduced capacity to deal with everything going on. As a human rights lawyer, there can often be a tension between wanting to do something really well and wanting to help as many people as possible. There are also some challenges, when there are so many issues to deal with, in working in a truly collaborative way, ensuring that efforts are not duplicated and that the collective limited resources are managed so as to ensure the greatest impact. In times of crisis, this is even more difficult because really effective work takes careful thought and planning. This requires time and time is not in great supply. It can also be a challenge to address issues which intersect. When one organisation has an area of expertise in a particular area but not in another, but it takes collaboration, or an intersectional approach, to tackle the root cause, that can be difficult in the midst of running individual organisations, within pre-planned budgets, and with certain objectives in mind.
What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
I am looking forward to seeing IRLI grow and develop. From our humble beginnings, with just a few staff and volunteers in 2009, we’ve grown into a multi-jurisdictional organisation with a growing staff team working across the island of Ireland and a team of full-time staff in Malawi, more than half of whom are Malawian. I am also excited about strengthening the diversity of our organisation, both culturally and in terms of expertise, with new positions having been created in recent months. Finally, I am looking forward to telling our story to a wider audience and about increasing the visibility of IRLI, particularly among my colleagues in Northern Ireland. I have been an admirer of IRLI’s for many years. I never thought I would get an opportunity like the one I now have, to lead and represent the executive both at home and abroad. My hope is that, along with my colleagues, we will build upon the strong foundations that have been created by the staff and Board members, both past and present, and supported by our professional bodies north and south. I want to fully demonstrate the impact that IRLI’s work has had and to strengthen the foundations so that we can take IRLI’s work to the next level, hopefully replicating the model in other countries. As part of all of that, I look forward to harnessing more of the wealth of expertise, from justice sector actors in both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland, to promote human rights and support rule of law systems around the world.
You can follow Maria McCloskey on LinkedIn