Margarette May Macaulay Rapporteur on the Rights of Women of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was kind enough to strike a pose with me! The meeting happened quickly in the cloakroom of the Canadian mission, just to the left of the polar bears. Yes, plastic polar bears.
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| Dylan on the Polar Bear |
We were waiting and a lovely woman introduced me to Margarette May Macaulay - we shared smiles, a hug and a photo. How wonderful to meet such an open heart. Thank you Margarette for what you do. I have learned a little about it.
The special Rapporteurs often conduct fact-finding missions to countries to investigate allegations of human rights violations. They can only visit countries that have agreed to invite them.
Aside from fact-finding missions, Rapporteurs regularly assess and verify complaints from alleged victims of human rights violations. Once a complaint is verified as legitimate, an urgent letter or appeal is sent to the government that has allegedly committed the violation. If no complaint has been made, Rapporteurs may intervene on behalf of individuals and groups of people of their own accord.
She is a citizen of Jamaica and was elected as Commissioner on June 16, 2015, by the OAS General Assembly, for a 4-year mandate that starts on January 1, 2016 and ends December 31, 2019. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights designated her for this function on January 28 of 2016. Macaulay holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of London and is currently an attorney in private practice. She serves as Mediator in the Supreme Court of Jamaica and an Associate Arbitrator, in addition to serving as a Notary Public. She served as a Judge for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2007 to 2012, contributing to the formulation of the Court’s Rules of Procedure. She writes a column in the Jamaican Observer and recently has been the
subject of an article that points out the challenges of new and old understandings.
I hope she continues her work and is able to impact the changing views and human rights concerning gender identities.
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