Tab 1 Content

LLM in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Human Rights students took part in an interactive dialogue with Leopoldo Maldonado Gutiérrez, the newly appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion.

As Special Rapporteur, Maldonado serves as an independent human rights expert tasked with promoting and protecting freedom of opinion and expression worldwide.  His work includes examining threats to these rights, engaging with governments and civil society, and making recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council and General Assembly. His emerging priorities address violence against those exercising freedom of expression, digital technologies, democratic backsliding, and the barriers facing marginalised communities.

A Mexican lawyer and human rights defender, Maldonado previously served as ARTICLE 19’s Regional Director for Mexico and Central America, defending freedom of expression and supporting communities facing human rights violations.

The event was organised by Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza, a PhD researcher and member of the Crime, Punishment and Rights Research Cluster, who works with the Criminal Justice and Human Rights Clinic within the LLM in Criminology, Criminal Justice and Human Rights.

The clinic is an innovative module that matches students with national and international partner organisations to undertake applied research projects.  Students receive academic supervision from Dr Róisín Mulgrew and Dr Charles O’Mahony, Salvador Leyva Morelos Zaragoza, and other mentors, connecting their studies with practical human rights research and advocacy.

During the dialogue, students discussed their projects supporting human rights organisations, including work on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Maldonado spoke about the challenges facing his mandate and the importance of looking beyond censorship to address exclusion and barriers to meaningful participation in public debate.

The Special Rapporteur is inviting submissions to help shape the mandate’s strategic priorities for 2026-2029, with inclusion and intersectionality and inclusion central to the consultation.  The call for inputs closes on the 31st of October 2026.

The dialogue also reflected Galway’s longstanding connection with freedom of expression advocacy.  Professor Kevin Boyle, who pioneered the teaching of human rights in Ireland at what is now the University of Galway in the 1980s, became ARTICLE 19’s founding director in 1987.  The Criminal Justice and Human Rights Clinic students work in the moot courtroom named in his honour.  The University of Galway also holds Professor Boyle’s personal archive, documenting his extensive contribution to human rights scholarship and advocacy.