Forde calls on Council of Europe to respond to ‘grey zones’

Andrew Forde’s new book highlights how 10 million people in Europe live in “human rights grey zones” and it argues that their rights matter just as much as others across the continent.

He identifies at least nine such grey zones in Europe, including Transnistria, Nagorno-Karabakh, Northern Cyprus, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Crimea and Kosovo. They are characterised by the common lack of full and unhindered access to Council of Europe (CoE) human rights monitoring and protection.

Andrew’s book – launched on May 20, in Dublin – puts it up to the CoE, where he worked for years in various roles, to do much more to protect human rights in grey zones, all the more important in a Europe where no country can be assured of peace.

We may be living in a post-peace era, but European institutions, particularly the CoE, must not let transgressors off just because human rights protection in disputed territories is seen as “too complex or politically sensitive to engage with”.

Andrew said his critics spurred him on. Believing that you cannot just dismiss the human rights of people living in fragile territories, the author corralled his research, thinking and career work for over a decade into this publication: ‘European Human Rights Grey Zones: The Council of Europe and Areas of Conflict’.

At the book launch, held in the Royal Irish Academy on Dawson Street, he admitted to the audience that his book was 13 years in the making.

“When I set out writing about this topic, it was described to me as being ‘niche’, ‘obscure’ and ‘peripheral’. Senior diplomats advised me to just accept these situations for what they are because they represent ‘an almost impossible problem’. I was even encouraged not to wake the bear for fear of offending someone. I found these reactions to be as offensive as they were short-sighted,” he said.

Cambridge University was eager to publish his work when the topic – once considered niche – became especially relevant after Russia attempted to invade all of Ukraine. His work is published in a personal capacity. At the launch, he expressed heartfelt gratitude to family, friends and colleagues, many of whom were present.

Relieved as he is to have his work published, Andrew has another book on the way, focused on Russia, the Council of Europe and the European Convention on Human Rights.

He is also changing career direction. After almost six years working as a Principal Officer in the Department of Rural and Community Development, where he led the rural regeneration unit and before that the social enterprise portfolio, Andrew is leaving the civil service to take up a new position lecturing in law and human rights at Dublin City University.

Note: ‘European Human Rights Grey Zones’ is pricey (approx. €110) as it is an academic publication.

You can watch our 25-minute recording of Andrew Forde’s launch speech on Changing Ireland’s YouTube channel where he summarises much of the work – for free here. Or see here for Professor Siobhán Mullally’s speech at Andrew Forde’s book launch. Read our article here for a summary of Prof Mullally’s speech.