Justice Richard Goldstone receives honorary degree
Andrew Royal and Josh Wood
Issue date: 5/1/08 Section: News
This year's Feinberg Lecture featured the world renowned Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Richard J. Goldstone who was awarded with a Whittier College honorary degree: Doctor of Humane Letters. Goldstone spoke in the Shannon Center on Thursday, April 24, and discussed the United States' position in international affairs and his experience in the world political community.
Having acted as a central figure in ending the South African apartheid, Goldstone is widely regarded as one of the leading advocates for justice and human rights in the world today. "It was one sort of happenstance after the other, it was certainly not planned," Goldstone said. "I was a commercial lawyer, then I became a judge at a young age and was able to use my judicial powers to alleviate aspects of the apartheid system. One thing led to another that led me to doing the transition to investigate violence. That, in turn, was the reason I was appointed to the first Chief Prosecutor of the War Crimes tribunal. I never thought I would have anything to do with the international community."
Accordingly, his talk focused on issues faced in the realm of international criminal justice. Goldstone made clear that his intentions were to assess the "present position of international justice," in order to engage in the "tempting yet dangerous look in the future."
A common theme throughout Goldstone's lecture was the importance of the United States' influence on the success or failure of international justice. Goldstone reached back into history to remind the audience of the key U.S. involvement in the Nuremberg trials following WWII. By doing so, he highlighted "the indebtedness of the world to the U.S.," insofar as the latter helped establish a basis for universal jurisdiction.
In regard to the continued genocide in Darfur, Goldstone expressed frustration. "The Darfur situation is very difficult because the Sudanese government remains unpersuaded to abandon its various policies in Darfur," he said. "Unfortunately, China is playing a very negative role. China's the most important country involved in Sudan and China has not been prepared to take any appropriate action to repression in the Sudanese government. I'd like to see the Security Council taking stronger action, but it all boils down to international politics."
Having acted as a central figure in ending the South African apartheid, Goldstone is widely regarded as one of the leading advocates for justice and human rights in the world today. "It was one sort of happenstance after the other, it was certainly not planned," Goldstone said. "I was a commercial lawyer, then I became a judge at a young age and was able to use my judicial powers to alleviate aspects of the apartheid system. One thing led to another that led me to doing the transition to investigate violence. That, in turn, was the reason I was appointed to the first Chief Prosecutor of the War Crimes tribunal. I never thought I would have anything to do with the international community."
Accordingly, his talk focused on issues faced in the realm of international criminal justice. Goldstone made clear that his intentions were to assess the "present position of international justice," in order to engage in the "tempting yet dangerous look in the future."
A common theme throughout Goldstone's lecture was the importance of the United States' influence on the success or failure of international justice. Goldstone reached back into history to remind the audience of the key U.S. involvement in the Nuremberg trials following WWII. By doing so, he highlighted "the indebtedness of the world to the U.S.," insofar as the latter helped establish a basis for universal jurisdiction.
In regard to the continued genocide in Darfur, Goldstone expressed frustration. "The Darfur situation is very difficult because the Sudanese government remains unpersuaded to abandon its various policies in Darfur," he said. "Unfortunately, China is playing a very negative role. China's the most important country involved in Sudan and China has not been prepared to take any appropriate action to repression in the Sudanese government. I'd like to see the Security Council taking stronger action, but it all boils down to international politics."
Be the first to comment on this story