1. Campaigning
2. Law
3. Policing
4. European Policy

Panel members include:

Policing

Dr Maurice Manning (Chair) - President- Irish Human Rights Commission
An academic by background, Dr Manning previously lectured in politics in University College Dublin and has been visiting professor at the University of Paris (Vincennes) and the University of West Florida. He is a member of the Senate of the National University of Ireland, of the Governing Authority of University College Dublin and was a member of the Governing Authority of the European University Institute at Florence.

Dr Manning has written several books on modern Irish politics. He was a member of the Oireachtas for twenty-one years, serving in both the Dáil and the Seanad. He was a member of the New Ireland Forum and the British Inter Parliamentary Body. He served as both Leader of the Seanad and Leader of the Opposition in that House.

Peter Tiley
A retired Scotland Yard vice squad officer. Over thirty years experience of investigating. vice related sexual offences. These include street prostitution, brothels, suspects living on the earnings of both female and male prostitutes.More recently the trafficking of women into and within the U.K for sexual exploitation. Extensive knowledge of policing both overtly and covertly, and long-term victim liaison.

Law

Rosemary Byrne - Commissioner - Irish Human Rights Commission
Rosemary Byrne is a Human Rights Commissioner at the Irish Human Rights Commission, a Senior Lecturer in international and human rights law at Trinity College Dublin and a Research Fellow at the Institute for International Integration Studies. Throughout her professional career she has engaged in research and advocacy in the area of migration, refugee and asylum law, working with a range of international and Irish non-governmental organizations.

She has conducted human rights training for the Council of Europe and the Helsinki Committee and has been a Government of Ireland Research Fellow and a Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Program, Harvard Law School. In the area of post-conflict justice, she established the International Process and Justice project that monitors the trials underway at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate from Harvard Law School.

Dr. Monika Smit
Monika Smit has been a senior researcher at the Bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings since 2000. The main task of the Bureau is to collect information on trafficking in human beings and report annually to the Dutch Government. The annual report covers all aspects of trafficking from legislation and policy to victim protection and prevention. The fifth report due to be published at the end of 2006 will also look at exploitation outside the sex industry.

Monika Smit is also a member of the Dutch Council for the Administration of Justice and the Protection of Juveniles and was previously (1983-2000) an assistant professor at Leiden University. She has published extensively in the field of children and youth care and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers.

Ivana Bacik
Ivana Bacik LLB LLM (LOND), FTCD (2005) Barrister-at-Law. Ivana Bacik is the Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology (1996), a Fellow of Trinity College Dublin and a practising Barrister. She has a Law degree from Trinity College Dublin and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. She practises as a barrister, and teaches courses in Criminal law; Criminology and Penology; and Feminist Theory and Law at Trinity. Her research interests include criminal law and criminology, constitutional law, feminist theories and law, human rights and equality issues in law.

European Policy

Simon Coveney TD, MEP
Simon Coveney is a TD and MEP. He was first elected to the Dail in 2002 and to the European Parliament in 2004. He authored the European Parliaments Annual Report on Human Rights in the World in 2004 and has been appointed author for the 2006 report. He is a member of the European Parliament sub-committee on Human Rights and has been appointed coordinator for human rights for the EPP-ED Group. Simon has spoken often on the subject of human trafficking and has urged that the problem be approached from a human rights rather than legalistic perspective.

Nora Owen
Nora Owen is currently the chairperson of the Justice & Law Group at the Institute of European Affairs. An Irish independent think tank on European issues. She was formerly Minister for Justice.

Nora Owen trained as an industrial chemist before entering politics. She was elected as a TD for Fine Gael in 1981 serving until 1987. At that time she became an executive member of Trocaire. She returned to the Dail in 1989 when she became Deputy Leader of Fine Gael. In 1994 she was appointed Minister for Justice. She remained in that post until 1997. She served in the Dail until 2002.

Grainne Healy
Grainne Healy is Chairwoman of the European Women's Lobby's Observatory on Violence against Women. Former Chairwoman of the National Women's Council of Ireland, feminist activist in reproductive rights and violence against women for more than 20 years in Ireland and internationally, she has represented women on various policy making fora, including the NESF, Council of Europe, UN and CSW. Her publications include co-author of 'Making the Links Between Prostitution and Trafficking: A Briefing Handbook' (2006, O'Connor M. & Healy G., Brussels, 2006; Editor of First and Second Irish Observatory on Violence against women Reports (Prostitution, Pornography) 2003 & 2006; Grainne works as an independent consultant supporting the creation and delivery of interventions in the field of social inclusion, employment and violence against women, most recently with the Dublin Employment Pact's Equal at Work initiative and also with the NDVIA (National Domestic Violence Intervention Agency. She is a member of the Irish Observatory on Violence against Women. A graduate of UCD (BA and H.Dip in Ed) and DCU (P.Grad Dip in Journalism).

Campaigning

Rebecca Dudley
Rebecca Dudley has been the Education Worker for the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission since early 2006. Prior to this she worked for Christian Aid in London and in Belfast for Women's Aid and the Children's Law Centre. She has worked extensively over the years in the fields of campaigning and education focusing on violence against women, women’s issues and children's rights. Rebecca now represents the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on a coalition group convened by Women's Aid and Amnesty International, to End Violence Against Women. The group works on a range of gender based violence issues, including trafficking, and strives for an integrated government strategy to address all forms of violence against women.

Jacqueline Healy
Jacqueline Healy is Acting Director of the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland (MRCI), a national organization working to promote the rights of migrant workers and members of their families. Based in Dublin the MRCI provides direct support to migrant workers throughout Ireland. The MRCI supports locally based initiatives and networks at a local, national, European and global level. Our vision is an Ireland where migrant workers and their families participate fully and equally in an intercultural society and the MRCI mission is to promote the conditions for social and economic inclusion of those migrant workers and their families who are in situations of vulnerability. www.mrci.ie

Before joining the MRCI Ms. Healy worked in the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) as information and communications officer. She has previous experience as manager of a citizens information centre and as legal officer with the Irish Refugee Council. She holds a degree in law and history and a Masters Degree in Human Rights and Democratization.

Mike Kay
Mike Kaye has been working in the human rights field for more than 15 years and currently manages Anti-Slavery International's communications and advocacy work. His previous jobs have included teaching in the University of Central America (Nicaragua); human rights field work in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico; Policy Officer for the Central America Human Rights Committees; and Parliamentary Officer for the Refugee Council. His recent publications include "Contemporary forms of slavery in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay"; "1807-2007: Over 200 years of campaigning against slavery"; and "The Migration-Trafficking Nexus: Combating trafficking through the protection of migrants' human rights".