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Róisín Hennessy

Róisín Hennessy
  • Nombre:   RÓISÍN HENNESSY
  • Doctorado en:   Derecho
  • Departamento UC3M:  Derecho Internacional Público, Eclesiástico y Filosofía del Derecho
  • E-mail (uc3m): rhenness@der-pu.uc3m.es

Project: Vulnerable Subjects of Law and Sustainable Development – Understanding the Normative, Legal and Policy Dimensions of Social Protection Systems (VulSubLD)

Social Protection is increasingly considered as a “global social policy”. The role of social protection systems is being foregrounded as a response to a diverse number of emerging sources of instability, namely, the Covid 19 pandemic; climate adaptation and mitigation measures; increasingly precarious working practices in a globalised economy; and the growing informal economy. Influential players, including the World Bank (WB), are promoting what they term ‘universal social protection’, a narrative that would have been inconceivable from these sources 15 years ago. The Covid 19 pandemic has served to further highlight the already ‘fragile social contract’ with actors such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) pointing out that we are at a critical juncture, and that social protection systems should be at the forefront in repairing weakened social contracts. Notwithstanding the apparent consensus on the critical role played by social protection and welfare systems, the scope, legal basis, and normative grounding for social protection and welfare systems remains contested, evolving and highly dependent on the political context. This research project grapples with the normative, legal and policy dilemmas and challenges of building and maintaining social protection and welfare systems that can incorporate the diverse experiences of vulnerable groups, and form a credible ‘social contract’ in response to emerging sources of instability, including Covid 19, increasing global inequality, climate change, and precarious/evolving work patterns in a globalised economy. The research objectives are threefold: 

1. Policy and Legal Analysis: To develop a systematic analysis of the evolving policy and legal spectrum of diverse social protection and social welfare systems from a minimalist “social risk management” approach originally advocated by the WB, to a more fulsome “human right-based approach” advocated by organisations such as the ILO, UNICEF etc., and to examine how they have evolved, and whether they continue to be fit for purpose in light of a range of emerging challenges.

2. Normative analysis: To explore, clarify and extend the normative and policy grounding for social protection and social welfare systems by examining the policies of diverse international organisations and selected national Governments through the lens of a range of political theory and philosophy, including social contract theory, and feminist and critical theories of social and distributive justice. 

3. Case Study Analysis: To explore the social policy, legal and regulatory implications and dilemmas of building comprehensive social protection and social welfare systems using ‘atypical’ case studies of vulnerable populations anchored in case study examples from the Global South and Global North that challenge the boundaries of the existing parameters of social protection systems and point the way forward. 

CV:

Dr. Róisín Hennessy holds a Doctor of Law (2016) from McGill University, Montreal Canada, where she was awarded the O’Brien Scholarship, working within the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. At McGill, she completed her doctoral thesis titled꞉ Economic Exploitation and Child Labour: Towards a Structural Approach to International Labour Law and Human Rights. She holds the European Masters in Human Rights and Democratisation (2003), as well as a Master and Bachelor of Law from University College Cork, Ireland. In the academic context, she has taught a range of courses, including in the areas of migration law and human rights law. Her professional experience involves over 12 years as a senior policy and research expert with Ireland’s National Human Rights and Equality Commission, and, more recently, Ireland’s Department of Justice and Equality. In that context, she has authored a large range of policy advises, reports and submissions which have been submitted to UN Bodies, the Council of Europe, EU mechanisms, the national government and the national parliament on questions of human rights and equality.  Her research interests are in the areas of international labour law and human rights law, social rights, social protection and social welfare systems, vulnerable populations and sustainable development, and feminist and critical legal theory and philosophy.

Perfiles públicos del investigador:

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Scientific Production

Scientific publications 

Róisín Hennessy, "Exploring the Role of Social Protection Interventions in Preventing Child Labour - Reinforcing the Case for a Human Rights-Based Model of Intervention", forthcoming Journal of Human Rights Practice, Oxford University Press, (Q2 Scopus Rated Peer-Reviewed Journal).

 

Róisín Hennessy, "The Shifting Legal and Policy Landscape of Social Protection amongst Diverse International Organisations - Emerging conceptions of a New Social Contract?" forthcoming, journal to be selected.

 

Róisín Hennessy, "Child Labour - International Labour Law and Human Rights Law Models" forthcoming in Eunomía.

 

Communication and dissemination activities

9th November 2021, Presentation to the UC3M, GIDYJ Research Group, Department of International Law, Ecclesiastical Law and Philosophy of Law Working Paper title "Vulnerable Subjects of Law and Sustainable Development - Rethinking the Normative, Legal and Policy Dimensions of Social Protection".

 

July 3-8 Bucharest, Presentation at 30th Biennial World Conference of the International Association for the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy, "Justice, Freedom and Community". Paper title "Conceptual perspectives on the Right to Social Protection - Analysing the Discourse and Challenges for Key International Organisations".