Our podcast this month is a personal and professional tribute to a dear former Irish Rule of Law International colleague – international criminal and human rights lawyer James Douglas, who sadly died earlier this year. One of his best friends and fellow human rights lawyer, Pat de Brún reflects on his life and work. Pat is Head of Big Tech Accountability & Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech at Amnesty International.

James, from Dublin in Ireland, started his career with an internship at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, where he spent almost five years working as a lawyer and an investigator. He then joined an organisation, called Equitable Cambodia, a land rights organisation, with a heavy focus on community engagement. Afterwards, and a brief period working with the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights in South Korea, he began working with Victim Advocates International, which enabled him to merge his two primary interests: community engagement and international criminal law. He mainly worked with Rohingya survivors of the 2017 clearance operations, assisting them with devising advocacy and legal strategies. James joined IRLI during Covid-19 in October 2020 and worked as Director of Programmes and also served as Executive Director.

We miss him deeply.

Presented and produced by Evelyn McClafferty.

With thanks to our donors: Irish Aid.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of IRLI or Irish Aid.