is an Irish international businessman and former Attorney General of Ireland, associated with the Fine Gael party. He is a barrister by profession and is a Senior Counsel of the Irish Bar. He is also known for serving in a variety of international organisations, political and business roles. Mr. Sutherland is United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for Migration and Development. He has held this position since 2006 and was responsible for the creation of the Global Forum on Migration and Development. He is President of the International Catholic Migration Commission and a member of the Migration Advisory Board of the International Organisation for Migration.
You can follow him on Twitter at: @PDSutherlandUN
World Trade and the Doha Round, May 2011
Still sitting
Still sitting
Retired 2015.
Still sitting
Still sitting
Resigned 2011
Retired 2015.
University of Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
European Regional Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students
Responsible for Competition Policy y (and Education for one year). Served in the First Jacques Delors Commission
North–West constituency Irish general election, but not elected
Bencher of the Middle Temple and Honorary Bencher of the King’s Inns. Admitted to the Inner bar in Ireland
The Littleton Memorial Lecture, RTE Studios, Dublin, Thursday 17th December 2015 Morally, politically, and economically migration is the defining issue of the 21st century. How we respond to it reveals a great deal about the state of our society, the integrity of our communities, and the prospects for our collective future. It is a challenge…
On 30 March 2016, UNHCR hosted in Geneva a high-level meeting on Syrian refugees and the need to find solutions to their plights globally, including through expanded resettlement and other regular means. The meeting was attended by representatives of some 80 countries, 10 international organisations and 24 non-government organizations. Among the speakers were UN Secretary…
Last January at Bloomberg the Prime Minister, David Cameron made one of the two most important speeches by a British Prime Minister of the last 30 years on the topic of Europe. It may prove to be more important than that made by Mrs Thatcher in Bruges on September 1988. Although neither address contained significant…
Garret FitzGerald’s defining characteristic was his humanity. This was demonstrated by his great kindness to all. This innate quality that he had in such abundance helped to shape his contribution to policies on a wide range of issues. Intellectually his interests and influences were famously diverse. Although not generally known these included an interest in…
I. Origins of the WTO’s new Challenges The multilateral trading system, most recently epitomized by the establishment of the World Trade Organization, is without doubt the most precious tool of global economic management and development we possess. Its record – in the form of the old GATT as well as its successor, the WTO –…
There are plenty of analysts of the current condition of European Union/United States relations. One of the most thought provoking of these has been that of Robert Kagan. His view of Europe as Venus, and the United States as Mars, will be an enduring, although I believe an ultimately, misleading one. Many of the simplicities…
I am particularly honoured to have been invited to give this Inaugural Lecture. The Erasmus Programme is a source of great personal satisfaction to me. There is nothing that I have done in public life that has been a cause of greater pride for me. I think that it has had practical value for the…
Ladies and Gentlemen, good afternoon and thank you for that very generous introduction. I feel very honoured by the invitation to speak at this event. It is also a pleasure to perform on home territory… When Mary Lawlor first mentioned this event she reminded me of my own involvement in the ratification of the two major…
My purpose today is to link Ireland’s strategic interests to our engagement with the European Union and the current turmoil in markets surrounding the Euro. The Euro itself is in many respects a great success. Even in recent times it has increased in value against the dollar. It has helped to deliver growth in the…
The “European Union” was first mooted in 1972 by the Heads of State and Government in Paris. Its stuttering progress thereafter variously through the Stuttgart Declaration in 1983 then the Maastricht Treaty in 1993 to the failed Constitutional Treaty and finally the Lisbon Treaty has lead us to a position which is less than clear.…
One of the most common myths about Ireland is that we have a superior education system. In fact, we do not at any level. However, as we have seen over the last couple of years, the deficiencies in our system are increasingly commented upon by well intentioned Chief Executives of major foreign companies that have…
The more that I have reflected on this lecture the more I have been struck by how alien and even destructive it may sound in Britain. Religion and values have not formed part of the narrative here of the troubled relationship between Britain and the process of European integration. But if the EU is no…
Thank you to the Council and to all of you for inviting me here today I always enjoy your company. I thought I would set the table by making a brief set of opening remarks, and then offer a little more depth on three areas: First, on the effects of the economic crisis on migration-related…
There is ample evidence of the serious negative effects of the Referendum held on the Lisbon Treaty on the perception of Ireland abroad. Few could understand what we had done and who could blame them. These likely negative consequences were identified clearly before the vote even took place and it is hardly surprising that the…
There has never been a more interesting, and indeed challenging period in the recent history of our continent or the world. This period began with the collapse of the Iron Curtain. From a divided world, often on the verge of major conflict, we were transformed by the acceptance of the former communist states that they…
The National Development Plan 2007-2013 expresses something that we all know to be true and that is ‘the quality of Ireland’s higher education system is vital to our social cultural and economic wellbeing’. It is vital from a social point of view because it enables individuals to properly develop the talents which they have to…
In his seminal speech on European integration in the University of Zurich on September 19th 1946 Winston Churchill spoke of the old continent as being, “united in the sharing of its common inheritance”. He portrayed the base of Greco-Roman culture and the Christian faith and ethics as “being at the origin of most of the…
Introduction Globalisation has come to mean many things but to most minds it is an economic phenomenon. Indeed, a lot of people would define globalisation as the relentless march of markets to cover all areas of the globe and all aspects of life. Many go on to ask whether this ever-wider domain of economic motivation…
Thank you for inviting me to speak here today. When I was appointed by Kofi Annan to be his Special Representative on Migration and Development in late 2005 I thought that my role would end following the High Level Dialogue to take place in the General Assembly in September 2007. However, my term has been…
Introduction One word, globalisation, has come to stand as shorthand for the whole range of rapid and radical changes taking place in all aspects of life – economic, political, cultural. This means there are many possible perspectives on globalisation, but it’s important to keep them meaningfully distinct in order to consider policy realities and priorities.…
It is striking how the assessment about the German economy has changed over the last 2 years. Even one year ago, many investors regarded Germany as a hopeless case viewing it a rigid economy, unable to compete in the world economy given its expensive workforce. Weak growth since the bursting of the tech bubbles seemed…
I have been asked to reflect upon the fifty years of European integration that have followed the Treaty of Rome. Robert Schumann, as French Foreign Minister, said on the 9th May 1950 that the proposal to recreate the Coal and Steel Community, ‘…would build the first concrete foundation of a European federation which is indispensable…
Introduction My basic thesis this evening is that, in light of probable increasing threats to Europe during the 21st century, we need a more coherent and effective European Union as an actor on the international stage. In particular current global challenges, whether unrest in much of Africa and the wider Middle East, dealing with terrorism…
It is now three-and-a-half months since Pascal Lamy called his “time out” on the Doha negotiations. In late July it became obvious that several of the major players had hit a brick wall in terms of negotiating flexibility. In principle, what was visible on the table or believed to be in various back pockets was…
Introductory Remarks Many thanks, first, to Hywel Ceri Jones and the European Policy Centre, and to Liz Collett, who heads the EPC’s migration work. There could be no place more appropriate than Brussels for me to make my first appearance as Special Representative since last month’s UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development. I owe…
1. Introduction My thanks for asking me to speak at this conference. It was hardly lost on me, when Kofi Annan asked me to be his Special Representative for Migration, how appropriate it was for the Secretary General to choose an Irishman for this post. Ireland—it is clear—has now benefited greatly in three very different…
Introduction My thanks, first, to Jose Antonio Ocampo and Hania Zlotnik for their invitation to deliver the keynote address at the Symposium, and to our Italian hosts—especially the Fondazione Rosselli and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs—for their generous support of the UN’s work. I’m especially delighted to be speaking here to an audience of…
First of all, thank you for being here on a Sunday morning and secondly, let me make a couple of preliminary observations. J.K. Galbraith, the famous economist who died in Boston during the week, once made the comment that the Irish are the only race in the world who have never produced a decent economist.…
Question 1: Assessing the Uruguay Round What do you see as the major contributions of the Uruguay Round and, with the benefit of hindsight, are there any features that you think should have been addressed differently? I have no hesitation or embarrassment in stating that the Uruguay Round and the World Trade Organization that it…
I am honoured to have been invited to give this Memorial Lecture honouring a man who made an important contribution to public debate and the evolution of agricultural policy in this country. He might well have been surprised at my intervention in a debate regarding an area in which I am hardly an expert. The…
In his seminal speech on European integration in the University of Zurich on September 19th 1946 Winston Churchill spoke of the old continent as being, “united in the sharing of its common inheritance”. He portrayed the base of Greco-Roman culture and the Christian faith and ethics as “being at the origin of most of the…
I will refrain from taking you through the World Trade Organisation Consultative Board report point-by-point. It is available for all to see and I trust that it will, indeed, spur some serious thought about the future of this institution. Now may not be the right time – the Doha Round must take priority – but…
I am greatly honoured by this Award and by being asked to make this Address at University College Dublin. I know that it is customary on such occasions to profess to being unworthy of the honour bestowed. In this case there is no false humility in my adopting that phrase this evening. There are many…
In titling this address, “The Future of the World Trade Organization”, I may, on reflection, have committed something of a fraud. You are all crowded in here assuming I am about to divulge the detailed conclusions of the Director-General’s Consultative Board – that I happen to chair –which is looking into the future of the…
Introduction It is a great pleasure for me to address you. I know that the work of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has moved substantially into the trade arena and is increasingly touching areas of importance to the World Trade Organization. The WTO is going through a difficult period. But its difficulties raise important…
Master, Wardens, Mr Sheriff, your Excellencies, my Lords, Aldermen, Ladies and Gentlemen, I suspect that most of us in this room have concerns about the current state of what we may loosely term “global governance”. The past few months – still more the past few weeks – have raised huge doubts about the validity and…
Introduction: the European vision Every stage in the evolution of the EU has been extraordinary – it’s a unique experiment in developing a framework of ties between nation states in order to guarantee lasting peace and prosperity. The Union has been evolving constantly but the vision has never fundamentally changed. The institutions and politics of…
It’s only about two decades since the first countries to embark on liberalisation of their power industries blazed a trail for the rest of the world. So when it comes to assessing the effects, it is, as with the French Revolution, far too soon to tell. All the more so as liberalisation is still very…
Introduction There seems to be a natural tendency for human beings to believe that theirs is a particularly important or decisive time in history. This perennial belief can’t always be right, but after the events of the past month it does seem possible that the start of the 21st century marks a genuine turning point.…
The formation of the China Securities Regulatory Commission nearly ten years ago was a landmark in the process of capital market reform in China, laying the foundations for subsequent impressive growth of the financial markets by streamlining the regulatory structure. The further reforms implemented in the December 1999 Securities Law continued this work. The latest…
These days, titling a speech “Globalization and a Just Society” may seem like a recipe for trouble. Some would argue that they are a contradiction in terms. Current political correctness in some quarters would have it that the global economy is worthy of the kind of fear inspired by the Plague or Ivan the Terrible.…
I am delighted to take on the task of delivering the Henry Ford lecture this year. The Ford motor company has enjoyed great achievements and some vicissitudes over the last century: rapid growth, stagnation and rebirth, under firstly Henry Ford and then his grandson, Henry Ford II. As a global company it has had to…
There could be no greater privilege for me than in receiving this award. David Rockefeller represents to all of us, I am sure, the essential qualities associated with the Trilateral Commission. His lifelong dedication to fostering inter-understanding through dialogue is a demonstration of the great qualities of the United States itself. History may sometimes reallocate credit for events to those…