Contested Histories in Public Spaces: Principles, Processes, Best Practices Contested Histories in Public Spaces: Principles, Processes, Contested Histories in Public Spaces Principles, Processes, Best Practices An International Bar Association Task Force Report Contested Histories in Public Spaces Principles, Processes, Best Practices February 2021 International Bar Association 4th Floor, 10 St Bride Street London EC4A 4AD T: +44 (0)20 7842 0090 F: +44 (2)20 7842 0091 [email protected] www.ibanet.org © International Bar Association 2021 Cover image: A statue of Winston Churchill in London’s Parliament Square is defaced for a second day, amidst Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. © Ben Thornley/Shutterstock Contents In Memoriam 6 Task force members/special advisers/researchers & writers/research assistants 7 Preface by Co-Editors 11 Introduction: What time is this statue? 13 Case Study I: Toppling Edward Colston 19 Edward Colston Statue, Bristol Case Study II: Litigating Robert E Lee 51 Robert E Lee Equestrian Statue, Charlottesville, Virginia Case Study III: Why Rhodes fell 73 Cecil Rhodes Statue, University of Cape Town, Cape Town Case Study IV: Politics of former slave ports 97 Signage and Street Names, Nantes and Bordeaux Case Study V: Colonial legacies in Senegal 125 Louis Faidherbe Statue, Saint Louis Case Study VI: Red Army as liberator or occupier? 147 Bronze Soldier Memorial, Tallinn Case Study VII: Commemorating ‘comfort women’ 175 Statue of Peace: Asia, America, Europe Case Study VIII: Contested history of a founding father 199 Langevin Block, Ottawa Case Study IX: Re-thinking Christopher Columbus 223 Monument to Cristóbal Colón, Buenos Aires Case Study X: James Cook through Indigenous eyes 249 Botany Bay Memorial, Sydney Conclusion: Principles, Processes, Best Practices 277 In Memoriam Edward Mortimer, CMG 1943-2021 The Task Force acknowledges the significant contributions of Edward Mortimer to this volume of case studies and to the broader Contested Histories in Public Spaces project. Edward was central to the initial framing of the project and remained deeply engaged in the work. His wisdom, insight, and commitment to human rights and human dignity are reflected in these pages. This volume is dedicated to him. 7 Task force members/special advisers/researchers & writers/research assistants This project has been made possible through the generous support of the International Bar Association, All Souls College Oxford and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Editors Dr Timothy W Ryback Dr Mark S Ellis Benjamin Glahn Task Force members The Rt Hon Baroness Prashar of Runnymede CBE is a crossbench member of the House of Lords. She is Chair of Cumberland Lodge, President of the National Literacy Trust, and Patron of the Runnymede Trust. Baroness Prashar chairs the Contested Histories Task Force. Ambassador Yves Doutriaux is Associate Professor in Public Law and Public Management at the Université Paris 1 (Sorbonne), and Professor in Geopolitics at the Université Paris- Dauphine. He was French Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and Deputy Ambassador of France to the United Nations. Dr Mark Ellis is Executive Director of the International Bar Association in London. Dr Ellis previously served as Executive Director of the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, which assisted in legal reform in transitioning societies of the former Soviet Union. Benjamin Glahn is Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Salzburg Global Seminar, an independent non-profit organisation founded in 1947 to challenge current and future leaders to shape a better world. He previously worked at the Aga Khan Foundation in London. Jeffrey Golden is Joint Head of Chambers, 3 Hare Court, and Chairman, P.R.I.M.E. Finance Foundation. He is also a Governor and Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics, and was a Founding Partner of Allen & Overy in the United States. Judge Richard Goldstone is a former Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa, Johannesburg, and former Chief Prosecutor, International Tribunal for War Crimes for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. He is the founding Chairman of the Institute for Historical Justice and Reconciliation (IHJR). 8 Contested Histories in Public Spaces: Principles, Processes, Best Practices Edward Mortimer, CMG, is a Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford, and a former career journalist, first at The Times, then at the Financial Times, before serving as Director of Communications to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, and subsequently as Chief Programme Officer of Salzburg Global Seminar. Dr Timothy W Ryback is Co-Founder of the IHJR. He previously served as Deputy Secretary General of the Académie Diplomatique Internationale in Paris, and Vice President of Salzburg Global Seminar in Salzburg, Austria. Research Director Marie-Louise Jansen, Director, Contested Histories Project, IHJR, The Hague Special advisers Dr Antoon de Baets, Professor of History, Ethics and Human Rights, University of Groningen; Founder, Network of Concerned Historians Dr Myriam Cottias, Director, Center for International Research on Slavery, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris; former President, National Committee on the Memory and History of Slavery Bob Deen, Senior Research Fellow and Coordinator, Russia and Eastern Europe Centre, Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael Institute) Gabriella Lazzoni, Senior Adviser, IHJR Dr Jill Pellew, Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Historical Research, London Vijay Sharma, Principal, Arlingtons Sharma Solicitors, London Steven Stegers, Executive Director, EuroClio – European Association of History Educators Ambassador Lamberto Zannier, former High Commissioner on National Minorities, OSCE Researchers, writers, reviewers Dr June Bam-Hutchison, Lecturer, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town; and Visiting Professor, Stanford University’s Overseas Programme on ‘Sites of Memory’, Cape Town Dr Federico Bellentani, former Research Fellow, Department of Semiotics, University of Tartu Lecia Brooks, Chief of Staff, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Alabama Tenille Brown, PhD candidate in Law, University of Ottawa Dr Joanna Burch-Brown, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, University of Bristol Task force members/special advisors/researchers & writers/research assistants 9 Dr Erik Curren, former member, Staunton City Council Dr Madge Dresser, Honorary Professor, Department of Historical Studies, University of Bristol Catalina Gaete, Research Associate, IHJR Howard Graves, Senior Research Analyst, Southern Poverty Law Center, Montgomery, Alabama Dr Tracy Ireland, Professor of Cultural Heritage, Centre for Creative and Cultural Research, University of Canberra Dr Cheryl Jiménez Frei, Assistant Professor of Public History and Latin American History, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Dr Maria Mälksoo, Senior Lecturer in International Security, Brussels School of International Studies, University of Kent Ambassador John McNee, former Secretary General, Global Centre for Pluralism, Ottawa Daniel Menz, Research Associate, IHJR Duduzile Ndlovu, Postgraduate Researcher, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town Kershan Pancham, Researcher and Coordinator, Precolonial Ethics Group, Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town Jun Pang, independent researcher, London Dr Kellie Pollard, Lecturer, College of Aboriginal Futures, Charles Darwin University Miranda Richman, Research Associate, IHJR Dr Sokhna Sané, Associate Professor of History, University of Cheikh Diop, Dakar Dr Cheikh Sene, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Modern and Contemporary History, University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne Dr Claire Smith, Professor of Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide Dr Shahid Vawda, Archie Mafeje Chair in Critical Humanities and Director, School of African and Gender Studies, Anthropology and Linguistics, University of Cape Town Dr Pauline Vermeren, Researcher and Lecturer, Department of Social and Political Philosophy, Paris Diderot University Dr Daqing Yang, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, George Washington University 10 Contested Histories in Public Spaces: Principles, Processes, Best Practices Research assistants* Lorraine Besnier, Research Associate, IHJR Sherilyn Bouyer, MA candidate in Global History and International Relations, Erasmus Rotterdam University Fiona Davis, MA candidate, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University James Dugdale, BA candidate in Ancient and Modern History, University of Oxford Nidhi Patel, BA candidate in Government, Harvard University Sebastian Rees, MA candidate in Global and Imperial History, University of Oxford Joseph Riley, BA candidate in Political Science and Theology, University of Virginia Grace Sahota, Research Associate, IHJR Cameron Scheijde, BA candidate in History, University of Oxford Muyang Shi, PhD candidate in Archaeology , University of Oxford Katria Tomko, Research Associate, IHJR Lucas Tse, MA candidate in History, University of Oxford Anya Wasserman, MA candidate in Latin American Studies, University of Oxford Blue Weiss, BA candidate in History, University of Oxford Jade Woods, BA candidate in Government, Harvard University The opinions expressed in these case studies do not necessarily reflect those of the individual contributors or supporting institutions.* * Institutional affiliation at the time