Lorna McGregor

About/Bio

Lorna McGregor is a Professor of International Human Rights Law and PI and Director of the ESRC Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project at the University of Essex. She is a Co-Chair of the ILA Study Group on Individual Responsibility under International Law. She has previously held positions a Commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK and a trustee of the AIRE Centre. Before becoming an academic, she worked for REDRESS and the International Bar Association.

Recently Published

Contact-tracing Apps and Human Rights

The Covid-19 pandemic engages the full spectrum of states’ human rights obligations. In addressing the virus itself, states are required to protect the rights to life and the highest attainable standard of health (right to health) and ensure that no-one suffers discrimination in access to and the nature of healthcare. States’ (in)action in meeting their obligations to fulfil…

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Activating the Third Pillar of the UNGPs on Access to an Effective Remedy

The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (known as the UNGPs or Ruggie Principles) were developed in 2008 by the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative, John Ruggie, and endorsed by the Human Rights Council in 2011. Comprised of three pillars to ‘protect, respect and remedy’ human rights violations, the third pillar on remedy has often…

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Why We Need to Stop Talking About ‘Killer Robots’ and Address the AI Backlash

In the field of artificial intelligence, the spectacle of the ‘killer robot’ looms large. In my work for the ESRC Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, I am often asked about what the ‘contemporary killer robot’ looks like and what it means for society. In this post, I offer some reflections on why I think the…

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