10th July 2018 Geneva, Switzerland
There’s little point writing about anything not related to football at the moment and I wouldn’t expect anyone to give it much attention if I did. By a happy coincidence, plenty of the countries who qualified for the World Cup finals were busy at the Human Rights Council too. I’m happy to report that we […]
10th July 2018 Wellington, New Zealand
Arsene Wenger once said that to be a football manager is to live on a volcano. The difference between adulation and castigation is paper-thin, and turns as much on luck as on skill… And yet. There is something about Gareth Southgate. 50 years of hurt can do funny things to a country, but the love that Southgate enjoys right […]
1st July 2014 Geneva, Switzerland
It’s been a difficult month. Like many other Council goers I’ve been trying to find enough time for the essential trinity of work, family and football. This is a struggle at the best of times but I feel that however many late-night shifts I’ve put in trying to make time for my council workload, my […]
27th June 2014 Houston, USA
I will start off by saying that I am obsessed with the World Cup. OBSESSED. Every four years, nothing matters more than making sure I am able to watch important World Cup matches. I grew up watching the tournament back when most Americans had no clue that it existed. My family emigrated from Mexico to […]
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23rd June 2014 Geneva, Switzerland
I wonder what Napoleon Bonaparte would have made of the Human Rights Council. I suspect the man who said an army marches on its stomach would ask how on earth we all survive. By week 2, the typical Council diet goes something like this: Breakfast: coffee, and gummy bears (5 minutes). Lunch: a sandwich that […]
22nd October 2013 USA
In the 1980’s, Channel 4 brought American football into teenage British living rooms. Mike Ditka, John Elway and William “The Refrigerator” Perry became household names as schoolkids started to “Go Long”, call “Set, Hut!” and grapple with the new language of football. Many were convinced that the novelty wouldn’t last. Fast forward 25 years and […]
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22nd October 2012 Dublin, Ireland
The last week has shown the many facets of our bilateral relationship. It began with an excellent seminar on reducing regulation, which we co-hosted with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy and the Prime Minister’s office. We exchanged experiences with Polish Ministers and experts and agreed that deregulation and reducing burdens on business […]
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