17 March 2023
My senior advisor Brian Dooley is finishing up with the Mandate today after three years of exceptional support, guidance, wise counsel and endless energy. Brian has been with me from Day 1 and was instrumental in assisting me to develop my working methods for the Mandate and to identify the best ways to engage with States. His empathy with and passion for the cause of human rights defenders shone through every day, encapsulated I think by his frequent travel to Ukraine after the outbreak of the war to see how we could provide support to HRDs. He has also been crucial in developing the Mandate’s online presence which has created another route for advocacy for and solidarity with HRDs. I am especially grateful for the assistance he provided to me with my reports to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly and I think it is fitting he is finishing his work with us in the week where I presented a report on the achievements of HRDs over the past 25 years, a report to which he made a huge contribution.
