Former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, a Human Rights Voice That Will Not Be Silenced

The first article in a series highlighting prominent public intellectuals presenting at ASA's 2004 Annual Meeting in San Francisco

When Mary Robinson, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, addresses the 2004 meeting of the ASA in San Francisco, members will understand why the human rights community considered her early departure from the post both unfortunate and predictable. Despite being credited for "putting human rights on the map" by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and lauded for the "remarkable progress" she had achieved in making human rights "a central issue in all societies," a second term as high commissioner was cut short in 2002. Human rights defenders explained the campaign against Mary Robinson by pointing to her effectiveness in amplifying the voices of the unheard and the demand that governments meet their legally binding human rights obligations.

ASA members and interested persons are encouraged to submit nominations for the 2005 ASA Awards. The deadline for award nominations is June 15, 2004, except where stated otherwise. The ASA Dissertation Award and the Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award follow different schedules. Award selection committees, appointed by ASA Council, review the nominations.

As President of the National Council of State Sociological Associations, it is my pleasure to bring together four brief essays on the state of state sociological association that are based on presentations in the "State Sociological Associations: Issues and Opportunities" session at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Atlanta, Georgia.