THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, May 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The John D. and
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today honors Justice Richard Goldstone,
former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and
the former Yugoslavia, with the MacArthur Award for International Justice. The
Award was presented at a dinner held in The Hague, the international city of
peace and justice, which is home to more than 150 international legal
organizations and judicial tribunals, including the International Criminal
Court and the International Court of Justice. Guests include representatives
from the diplomatic and judicial communities, as well as civic and non-profit
leaders.
As the first Chief Prosecutor of the Tribunals for Rwanda and the former
Yugoslavia, Goldstone helped shepherd these courts, the first of their kind
since Nazi war criminals were tried at Nuremberg following World War II. In
1995, Goldstone filed charges of genocide and crimes against humanity against
Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic for their roles in the
"ethnic cleansing" of Bosnian Muslims, as well as torture, rape, the shelling
of Sarajevo, and the sacking of mosques and Catholic churches.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Prosecutor in 1994, Goldstone was chair of
the Commission of Inquiry Regarding Public Violence and Intimidation (commonly
called "the Goldstone Commission") in the aftermath of apartheid in his native
South Africa. His service on the Commission proved invaluable to the democratic
transition in that country, where he also served as an inaugural justice of the
Constitutional Court. He currently serves as the first Spinoza Fellow at the
Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study.
In accepting the Award, Justice Goldstone said, "I am delighted that the
MacArthur Award recognizes the centrality in the 21st Century of international
criminal justice. It is a system that withdraws impunity for war criminals even
if they are sitting heads of state. It is also a system that recognizes the
inherent dignity of all human beings and seeks to bring official
acknowledgement to victims of atrocity crimes."
"As Chief Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and
the former Yugoslavia, Justice Goldstone displayed a mature, meticulous, and
measured exercise of his mandate that reanimated the enterprise of
international justice, bringing both a degree of resolution to victims and a
new model for the prosecution of crimes against humanity," said MacArthur
President Jonathan Fanton, who presented the Award. "Insisting on the
independence of the counsel and judges, a transparent establishment of the
facts in each case, due-process protections for the accused, and the centrality
of first-hand testimony from witnesses and surviving victims, he gave the
Tribunals moral authority and legal credibility. Justice Goldstone stood
guarantor for the responsibility, probity, and value of international justice;
his unquestioned competence and integrity won the faith of the world."
The Award provides Goldstone with $100,000 for his own work and invites him to
suggest an additional $500,000 in support for non-profit organizations working
on international justice issues. At Justice Goldstone's suggestion, MacArthur
is awarding grants of $100,000 each to the Institute for Historical Justice and
Reconciliation; the International Bar Association; the International Center for
Ethics, Justice, and Public Life at Brandeis University; the International
Center for Transitional Justice; and Physicians for Human Rights.
The full text release can be downloaded at
http://www.edelmanpr.nl/pressroom.php?Action=PressReleaseShow&PressReleaseId=138
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CONTACT: MacArthur Foundation (USA):
Press contact:
Andy Solomon
+1 (312) 917-0313
asolomon@macfound.org
Edelman (The Netherlands):
Anne Roeleveld
+31 (0)6 2085 5789
anneloes.roeleveld@edelman.com