Human Rights Commission welcomes appointment of new Chief Commissioner

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission today welcomes the appointment of Les Allamby as its new Chief Commissioner. All seven Commissioners have also agreed to serve a second term.

The current Interim Chair, John Corey said:

“On behalf of the Commission, I am delighted to welcome Les Allamby as our new Chief Commissioner. He brings a wealth of experience that will strengthen and enrich the Commission’s work.

“All Commissioners and staff look forward to working with Mr Allamby as we continue to protect and promote human rights for everyone in Northern Ireland.”

Les Allamby has been appointed for a period of five years and will take up office from 1 September 2014. Grainia Long, Christine Collins, John Corey, Milton Kerr, Alan McBride, Marion Reynolds and Paul Yam have been reappointed for a further three years, until 31 August 2017.

ENDS

Further information:

For further information please contact Alice Neeson on: alice.neeson@nihrc.org or 0771 7731873 (mobile).

Notes to editors

1. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body first proposed in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) and established in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act (1998). It is answerable to Parliament at Westminster.