Jerome Connolly is an independent expert on the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs – NGO Standing Committee on Human Rights. As Executive Secretary of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace he was involved for over thirty years in advocacy, analysis and research in a range of human rights, development and peace issues, with a particular interest in social and economic rights.

He has served as Chairperson of Dóchas (the Irish Federation of NGOs), and as a member of the Irish Aid Advisory Committee, and the Independent Review Group for the Refugee Legal Service. He was Chairperson of the European Conference of Justice and Peace Commissions, and is a former member of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

He has written on a wide range of concerns including national asylum policy, a national prison inspectorate, prison rules and the Maastricht Treaty. He is a graduate of University College, Dublin, with degrees in history and economics.