The Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), in association with the Department of Political Sciences, is delighted to invite you to a Roundtable Discussion on
Debating South Africa’s Withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) with Professors Barney Pityana, Henning Melber, Siphamandla Zondi & Dire Tladi
The announced withdrawal of South Africa from the ICC, along with several other African states, has sparked a wide debate on the role and limitations of the Court. It has elicited a renewed focus on global governance institutions, including concerns over the limits and scope of such institutions.
This roundtable discussion assembles four eminent scholars to take stock of the arguments surrounding the status of the ICC and explores possible directions for its future. Discussion will touch on the perceived anti-African bias of the Court, its continued relevance on the continent and possible options for its renewal to strengthen global justice and the rule of law.
Barney Pityana is Professor emeritus of Law at the University of South Africa (Unisa). He is the retired Principal and Vice Chancellor of Unisa (2001-2010). He was member and Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (1995-2001), and a member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (1997-2003). He is an Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.
Henning Melber is Extraordinary Professor at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria and the Centre for Africa Studies/University of the Free State in Bloemfontein. He is also Director Emeritus and Senior Advisor of the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation and Senior Research Associate with The Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden.
Siphamandla Zondi is a Professor at the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria. Until recently, he spent 11 years working at the Institute for Global Dialogue, a prominent international affairs think tank. Before that, he served as a researcher on southern Africa and liberation movements at the Africa Institute of Africa.
Dire Tladi is a Professor of International Law at the University of Pretoria. He is also a Member of UN International Law Commission and Special Advisor to the Minister of International Relations. Her formerly served as Legal Counsellor of the SA Permanent Mission to the UN.
The roundtable will be moderated by GovInn Director, Prof Lorenzo Fioramonti.
Date: Thursday, 08 December 2016
Time: 16:00 – 18:00 (coffee and tea will be served from 15:30)
Venue: GovInn Headquarters, Old College House, University of Pretoria Main Campus (Hatfield)
RSVP essential: https://goo.gl/forms/QeH79BHjHAHOMEig2 by 07 December 2016.
[details for entering the campus will be sent to you before the event]
Queries: neil.kasselman@governanceinnovation.org
HagueTalks is a platform that encourages critical debates about peace and justice. It is a breeding ground where creative minds, peace innovators and game changers gather to share ideas on how to advance peace and justice in various communities. On the 13th of June 2017 our Emerging Scholar Ms Ruth Murambadoro graced the stage at HagueTalks and shared her views on the topic of the day, How to get inclusive justice?. Ms Murambadoro believes that inclusive justice begins when we are able to understand that a human being is a spirit being that exists in a cosmological society comprising of the ‘living-living’, the ‘living-dead’ and the ‘living unborn’. She shared that when an injustice occurs it does not only hurt the physical body because the pain goes deep inside and destroys the spirit being. If one wants to make amends or retain the balance where there has been an imbalance, there is need to ensure that they do not only attend to the physical wounds but address the spirit because a human being is a living spirit. Therefore as a living spirit, justice is an all-encompassing process where you make sure you attend to the psychosocial and the spiritual needs of the spirit being. Justice is not a one-size-fits-all, it has to be tailor made to ensure that it meets the needs of the people that are affected by conflict. Ms Murambadoro argued that we do not have to do justice for the state or international bodies because it is the individual that is affected. Hence, before we impose our solutions to a conflict situation, we ought to give more time to understanding the depth of the wound carried by the affected parties in order to provide justice that is deep enough to unpluck the root of the wound.
