DOCSLIB.ORG

The Guyana Court of Appeal

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Guyana Court of Appeal The Guyana1 Court of Appeal The Challenges of the Rule of Law in a Developing Country Bertrand Ramcharan Cavendish Publishing Ltd (2002) Book review by Sally Ramage ®1 Introduction It is with huge pleasure that I have had the opportunity to review this law book, which, regardless of date of publishing, illustrates, at the coal face, the workings of the Rule of Law in one developing country, Guyana, formerly British Guiana in South America. This is a most important book, full of food for thought, which can be used as a tool of comparison with other developing countries striving for Rule of Law. The author The author is a Guyanese, Dr Bertrand Ramcharan, Barrister-at-Law, Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, and Fellow of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Ramcharan is the author of a 2009 Sourcewatch report ‘SPN: The $83 million Right-Wing Empire helping to hijack State politics and Government’.2 1 The Guyana Court of Appeal The book’s ten chapters introduce Guyana’s Court of Appeal to a wider public and includes chapters on the role of the Guyana Court of Appeal; the legal profession; the Rule of Law; fundamental rights; sources of law; the criminal law; law of torts; law of contracts; and property law. The Supreme Court of Judicature consists of a Court of Appeal, a High Court and several courts of summary jurisdiction. In February 2001, the Guyana government signed an agreement, along with nine others, establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the UK’s Privy Council. This is a vastly important step that Guyana has taken since the UK Privy Council is, in theory, the principal council of the British Crown and consists of persons nominated by the Crown to the office. This Court of Justice began to sit in 2003. By disregarding the United Kingdom’s Privy Council, Guyana has placed itself out of reach of English jurisdiction some thirty years after its independence from colonialism. The Privy Council is noted as being ‘a great council of State held by the sovereign with her councillors, to concert matters for the public service, and for the honour and safety of the realm.’3 The number of persons incarcerated in prisons in Guyana amount to less than 2,000.4 From English common law to modernity The author in his preface explains that for the decades since this country’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, the courts of Guyana have charted a course for the rule of law, maintaining the core protections of the common law as imprinted by the law of the United Kingdom, modernising this where necessary to meet the conditions of a progressive, developing society, as Guyana’s is. Dr Ramcharan uses the Guyana Court of Appeal as a vehicle to examine the rule of law in a developing country and chose the criminal law; law of contracts; law of torts and property law to demonstrate the rule of law in these non-political areas of law, admitting the sometimes absence of the protection of human rights for example, article 21 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (‘UDHR’), which states that ‘everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly, or through freely chosen representatives.’ Co-operative Republic of Guyana An introduction to the country of Guyana was a good start. Guyana has a population of less than one million people in total and is the size of four times the size of the United Kingdom (‘UK’). Some have said that Guyana is the size of Idaho in the United States. Guyana is situated on the northern coast of South America east of Venezuela, west of Suriname, and north of Brazil. A tropical forest covers more than 80% of the country. 2 Source: Google Guyana’s history Guyana was first invaded by the Dutch West Indian Company having its own indigenous population, the Warrou people. Source: Google The Dutch, English, and French established colonies in what is now known as Guyana, but by the early 17th century the majority of the settlements were Dutch. During the Napoleonic wars Britain took over the Dutch colonies of Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo, which became British Guiana in 1831 just before slavery was outlawed in 1834. The territory was ‘captured’ by Britain to whom it was ceded in 1814 and named British Guiana. African slaves and indentured Chinese and Indians African slaves were transported there to work the sugar plantations and in the 18th Century. The great need for plantation workers led to a large wave of immigration, primarily of East Indians. East Indian and Chinese2 were transported to British Guiana as ‘indentured labourers’. 5 Politics 3 From 1950 politics took over and the People’s Progressive Party (‘PPP’), led by Dr Cheddi Jagan and by Mr Forbes Burnham. In 1961, Mr Forbes Burnham formed the People’s National Congress (‘PNC’) when internal autonomy was granted. In 1966 British Guiana became known as Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the country became an independent member of the Commonwealth. A new Constitution in 19806 Mr Forbes Burnham was voted in as the first Prime Minister and later, the President of Guyana. In October 1980 a new Constitution was agreed and with it, an Executive Presidency and a National Assembly of 53 elected members and 12 members appointed by the Regional Authorities. Elections for five-year terms are held under the single-list system of proportional representation, with the whole of Guyana forming one electoral area and each voter casting a vote for a Party List of candidates.7 Fraudulent elections in Guyana? In Chapter 3 at page 35 of The Guyana Court of Appeal, Dr Ramcharan asserts that this 1980 constitution ‘ is a nullity and that the independence constitution previously in force, remains valid and should be reinstituted on the basis of the legal doctrine of prospective limitation, in respect if future actions of the legislature of the executive.’ Based on a report by the Guyana Committee of Concerned Citizens which called the action ‘massively fraudulent’, because the national turn-out of voters was 14.01%? Dr Ramcharan asserts that this violates the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and article 1 of the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, taking as precedent the 1997 Constitution of Fiji8. It is usually accepted that English law is not proactive unless it is so specifically stated. The rule of law as it impacts internationally began, so it is said, with the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648, when modern nations began constructing rules to govern their reciprocal rights and obligations.9 Writings about forfeiture: the Fiji case The Guyana Court of Appeal considered whether it should decide on the matter and having so decided, it reached a decision that the constitution was legal after all, taking into account court decisions and academic writings on the issue of acquiescence. It is to be noted that in the Fiji case the applicant sought the following orders (page 38, Chapter 3): that the attempted coup in Fiji on 19 May 2000 was unsuccessful; that the declaration of a State of Emergency under the doctrine of necessity was unconstitutional; that’ the revocation of Fiji’s 1977 Constitution by decree by the Interim Military Government was unconstitutional; that the elected government of Fiji was still legally constituted and still the legitimate government of Fiji. The Fiji Court of appeal decided however, that the 1997 Fiji Constitution remained the Supreme law of the Fiji islands; and that the Fiji Parliament had not been dissolved and that because the Fiji president had resigned, it was for the Vice-President to perform the functions of the President, in accordance with section 88 of the Fiji constitution’. In the Fiji case, the Court of Appeal said in its decision in Madzimbambuto v Lardner-Burke (1969) 1 AC 645 (Privy Council), that the regime of Ian Smith in Southern Rhodesia was illegal, although the regime Mass torts would have been initiated in developed countries In the Philippines on 16th November, it was reported that the number of people injured due to the typhoon stood at 12,487, while 1,187 people are officially listed as missing. In all, more than nine million people had been affected, including 1,871,321 who have been displaced. The United Nations put the number of dead at 4,460. Officials said it was likely more bodies would be found as aid teams reached outlying areas. Helicopters from a US aircraft carrier have been transporting supplies to the devastated town on the Pacific coast - the first to take the full force of the ‘Typhoon Haiwan’.10 There is hardly ever any news of Guyana’s disasters in the world-wide news and the media are quick to exploit its jungles to make entertainment programmes of forages into the jungle- as Sunday evening fodder in England. The Pakistan case 4 In State v Dosso (1958) 2 PSCR 180, the President had issued a proclamation annulling the then existing Constitution of Pakistan. The Grenada case In 1979, a coup overthrew the government of Grenada.11 In Mokotso v His Majesty King Moshoeshoe12, the court said that the burden of proof of legitimacy must always rest upon the new regime. Syria’s coup today This illustrates parallels with today’s issues in Syria and other recent coups and also rings true of the late Professor Glanville Williams’ observation that ‘judges are strongly influences by their own ideas of what conduct should or should not be allowed, thus engaging in extending and creating new law.’13 Social statistics and ethnicity in Guyana Forty years after Independence, some of Guyana’s relevant social statistics14 were as below: Per 1000 Guyanese Birth rate 34.7 Infant mortality 56.0 Fertility rate 2.3 Death rate 8.6 The ethnicity of Guyanese is mostly East Indians, followed by Africans, those of mixed race, the original Amerindians and one percent of others.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Opening Adress of Bertrand Ramcharan, Acting United Nations
    Opening Adress of Bertrand Ramcharan, Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights At a Conference organized by the International Commission of Jurists Geneva, 23 October, 2003 The subject we have come here today to discuss is indeed an important and topical one: human rights, counter-terrorism, and international monitoring systems. I am pleased to be with you on this occasion and greet you warmly on behalf of all my colleagues in the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights. Having been a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) before becoming a United Nations human rights Commissioner, you will understand my pleasure and gratitude, that this conference is being organized by the ICJ, with whom we have had a long and fruitful partnership for human rights going back for years. Some years ago, the ICJ did an important study on human rights and states of emergency and, more recently, it has done an important study on human rights and terrorism. The ICJ has thus made foundation contributions to the topics of interest to us today for which we are all grateful. I should like, in these opening remarks, to take each of the topics of our conference in turn: human rights, counter-terrorism, and international monitoring systems. First, human rights. What are the considerations that should be in our minds today as we commence this conference? It would be important, I believe, to remind ourselves of the international code of human rights that all Governments are pledged to live by. Can one say that the basic norms of international human rights law are in fact influencing all countries and that they are seeking in good faith to implement those norms? Many countries are indeed striving, in sometimes difficult circumstances, to follow the human rights path.
    [Show full text]
  • Geneva, June 16Th, 2003 Bertrand Ramcharan Deputy High
    Geneva, June 16th, 2003 Bertrand Ramcharan Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Geneva, Switzerland RE: Human Rights and the World Summit on the Information Society Your Excellency Mr. Bertrand Ramcharan, The under-signed civil society organizations strongly encourage your active participation in the preparatory committee and summit meeting of the World Summit on the Information Society, taking place in September and December 2003, respectively. Human rights are an essential requirement of the Information Society, as elaborated in the draft declaration of the WSIS (WSIS/PCIP/DT/1-E): 10. The essential requirements for the development of an equitable Information Society include: The respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. Notably the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference and seek to, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers in accordance with article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to unhindered access by individuals to communication media and information sources… As the United Nations highest human rights official, your good offices are needed to ensure that human rights language in the WSIS process is comprehensive, strong and consistent with resolutions and decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights and build upon human rights language developed through the various UN world summits and conferences. Civil society organizations view ICTs as having both tremendous applications that enhance human rights, such as through the rapid dissemination of action alerts and instant access to human rights information, and disturbing capacities to greatly diminish human rights, such as by providing governments with means enabling intrusive surveillance and monitoring and therefore, repression.
    [Show full text]
  • It Should Be Noted That the Articles Contained in Disarmament Forum Are the Sole Responsibility of the Individual Authors
    It should be noted that the articles contained in Disarmament Forum are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the United Nations, UNIDIR, its staff members or sponsors. Printed at United Nations, Geneva GE.04-00125—January 2004 —3,600 UNIDIR/DF/2004/1 ISSN 1020-7287 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editor's Note Kerstin VIGNARD................................................................................................................ 1 Special Comment United Nations Secretary-General Kofi ANNAN .................................................................. 3 Strengthening Disarmament and Security The nuclear non-proliferation regime: back to the future? John SIMPSON ................................................................................................................... 5 Arms control, disarmament and the United Nations Patricia LEWIS and Ramesh THAkuR ................................................................................... 17 The United Nations and the campaign against terrorism Chantal DE JONGE OUDRAAT............................................................................................ 29 Human rights and human security Bertrand RAMCHARAN ...................................................................................................... 39 Disarmament education: practicing what you preach Miguel MARÍN-BOSCH ....................................................................................................... 49 Open Forum Reversible or irreversible?
    [Show full text]
  • Read President Carter's Opening Remarks to The
    Remarks by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at the conference “Human Rights Defenders on the Frontlines of Freedom,” Nov. 11-12, 2003, Atlanta, Ga. We are delighted to have this assembly here. It is a great honor for The Carter Center, and I want to welcome all of you. We have the largest committee on human rights represented here. We have America’s Watch represented here and other groups. We don’t have any governments represented here right? Nobody directly representing any government is here, so we can speak very freely about governments without fear of having too much competition or contradiction here in this meeting. It is a pleasure to reminisce with you for a few moments at the beginning of this program, and then to cover a few issues. Twenty-seven years ago or so, I became President of the United States, a nation that was founded on the principle of human rights. One of the comments I made in my inaugural address was that the United States did not invent human rights; human rights invented the United States. We decided even before I was inaugurated, to escalate human rights to the top position on the agenda of our foreign policy. Never did I meet with a foreign leader that human rights was not on the official agenda. Every American Ambassador in the world was my direct human rights representative. Every embassy was designated by me personally, as a President, as a haven for those who were persecuted in foreign countries. This policy was looked on by some as naive or weak or a violation of commitments we had made to dictators and others who were very close allies with us in some of the global issues that we had to face.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights, the United Nations, and the Struggle Against Terrorism
    International Peace Academy United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Center on International Organization, Columbia University Human Rights, the United Nations, and the Struggle against Terrorism 7 NOVEMBER 2003 ■ NEW YORK CITY Acknowledgements IP A gratefully acknowledges support for this conference and for the Terrorism Program from the Government of the Netherlands, and support for the Terrorism Program from the Government of Norway. In addition we would like to thank IPA’s core donors—the Governments of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the Ford Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation—whose support enables programs such as this. HUMAN RIGHTS, THE UNITED NATIONS, AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TERRORISM Table of Contents Conference Report: “Terrorism and Human Rights,” by William G. O’Neill. 1 Executive Summary . 1 Introduction . 2 Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights: Finding the Balance . 2 Terrorism and the Violation of Human Rights: A Vicious Circle. 3 National Counter-Terrorism Strategies and Human Rights . 4 Regional Approaches to the War on Terrorism. 6 Challenges Ahead for the United Nations. 7 Appendix I: Conference Concept Paper, by William G. O’Neill . 9 Appendix II: Conference Agenda . 23 Appendix III: List of Participants . 26 Contents HUMAN RIGHTS, THE UNITED NATIONS, AND THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TERRORISM Terrorism and Human Rights William G. O’Neill Executive Summary with the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, must be ready to assist by offering its legal expertise. A Special Rapporteur on Te r r o r i s m • The United Nations Secretary-General has a could be appointed by the Commission on Human unique role to play in reminding states that in Rights.
    [Show full text]
  • The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
    OCCASIONAL PAPER SERIES The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Bertrand Ramcharan Spring 2005 PROGRAM ON HUMANITARIAN POLICY AND CONFLICT RESEARCH HARVARD UNIVERSITY THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW BY BERTRAND RAMCHARAN* * Former Acting United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research Harvard University Occasional Paper Series Spring 2005 Number 3 SUMMARY International human rights law and international humanitarian law are parallel and complementary branches of international law with their distinct and distinctive supervision arrangements. In the conflicts taking place in the world today, both the institutions of international humanitarian law and international human rights law are called upon to apply and uphold international humanitarian law. The International Committee of the Red Cross has the lead responsibility internationally for watching over the implementation of international humanitarian law, while the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Commission on Human Rights, its subsidiary bodies, and the human rights treaty bodies have the lead responsibility for overseeing the implementation of international human rights law. Basic human rights are being violated on a widespread scale during armed conflicts, and international human rights law operates in parallel alongside international humanitarian law in situations of armed conflict. Violations of international humanitarian law, especially as regards civilians, women and children, are violations of basic human rights with which the High Commissioner for Human Rights must be concerned as part of her responsibilities for the worldwide promotion and protection of human rights. Situations may arise increasingly when a High Commissioner for Human Rights is called upon to react to human rights violations in situations of armed conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • Catalysts for Rights: the Unique Contribution of the UN’S Independent Experts on Human Rights
    Foreign Policy October 2010 at BROOKINGS Catalysts for for Catalysts r ights: The Unique Contribution of the UN’s Independent Experts on Human Rights the UN’s of Unique Contribution The Catalysts for rights: The Unique Contribution of the UN’s Independent Experts on Human Rights TEd PiccoNE Ted Piccone BROOKINGS 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20036 www.brookings.edu Foreign Policy October 2010 at BROOKINGS Catalysts for rights The Unique Contribution of the U.N.’s Independent Experts on Human Rights Final Report of the Brookings Research Project on Strengthening U.N. Special Procedures TEd PiccoNE The views expressed in this report do not reflect an official position of The Brookings Institution, its Board, or Advisory Council members. © 2010 The Brookings Institution TABLE oF CoNTENTS acknowledgements . iii Members of Experts advisory group . v list of abbreviations . vi Executive summary ....................................................................... viii introduction . 1 Context . 2 Methodology . 3 A Short Summary of Special Procedures . 5 summary of findings . 9 Country Visits . .9 Follow-Up to Country Visits..............................................................19 Communications . 20 Resources . 31 Joint Activities and Coordination . .32 Code of Conduct . 34 Training . .34 Universal Periodic Review...............................................................35 Relationship with Treaty Bodies . 36 recommendations..........................................................................38 Appointments . 38 Country Visits and Communications .......................................................38 Follow-Up Procedures . 40 Resources . .41 Training . .41 Code of Conduct . 42 Relationship with UPR, Treaty Bodies, and other U.N. Actors . .42 appendices Appendix A HRC Resolution 5/1, the Institution Building Package ...........................44 Appendix B HRC Resolution 5/2, the Code of Conduct . .48 Appendix C Special Procedures of the HRC - Mandate Holders (as of 1 August 2010) .
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Regional and Subregional Arrangements in Strengthening the Responsibility to Protect
    The Role of Regional and Subregional Arrangements in Strengthening the Responsibility to Protect The Stanley Foundation May 11, 2011 New York, New York Table of Contents Conference Report ................................................................................................................................4 Application of and Responses to the Responsibility to Protect Norm at the Regional and Subregional Levels in Africa: Lessons for Implementation ............................................................12 By Kwesi Aning and Samuel Atuobi The Role of Regional and Subregional Arrangements in Strengthening the Responsibility to Protect: ASEAN and the ARF ............................................................................................................19 By Noel M. Morada The Role of European Arrangements in Strengthening the Responsibility to Protect ................30 By Andrea Bartoli Enhancing the Responsibility to Protect in Latin America and the Caribbean ............................38 By Bertrand G. Ramcharan The Chair’s Summation Notes ..........................................................................................................43 Partcipant List ....................................................................................................................................45 The Stanley Foundation ....................................................................................................................50 3 Conference Report n May 11, 2011, the Stanley Foundation convened a large array
    [Show full text]
  • Report to the Human Rights Council
    United Nations A/HRC/21/45 General Assembly Distr.: General 3 August 2012 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-first session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred Maurice de Zayas Summary In this initial report to the Human Rights Council, the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order formulates preliminary views on the conceptual and legal framework of the mandate and highlights some of the epistemological challenges inherent in the notion of democracy at the national and international levels, as well as the implications of a culture of equity based on common sense and common interest. The present report is inspired by the purposes and principles set out in the Charter of the United Nations and in pertinent United Nations and regional human rights norms, including the core human rights treaties and multiple declarations and resolutions adopted by the General Assembly. The Independent Expert will cooperate with other special procedures and coordinate his work with that of other United Nations mechanisms, including the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee and treaty bodies. He will liaise with intergovernmental organizations and agencies, including the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    [Show full text]
  • Convocation Booklet 2018
    52nd Convocation & Conferral of Honorary Doctorate Degrees Saturday, November 10, 2018 9:00 h, 13:00 h & 17:00 h National Cultural Centre Mandela and Homestretch Avenues D'Urban Park Georgetown Historical Notes The University of Guyana is Guyana’s sole national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: “To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for the service Aims of The University of Guyana of the community, the nation, and of all mankind within an atmosphere of academic freedom that allows for free and The aims of the University are to provide a place of critical enquiry.” It began its operations in October of the education, learning and research of a standard required and same year at Queens College, the nation’s premier expected of a university of the highest standard, and to secondary school, before moving to the Turkeyen Campus secure the advancement of knowledge and the diffusion and in 1970. At first, programmes were confined to the Arts, extension of arts, sciences and learning throughout Guyana. Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences. A Faculty of (University of Guyana Act, Chapter 39:02, Act 6 of 1963 Education was created in 1967, and this was followed by the Amended by 5 of 1965, O. 14/1965, Section 4;21 of 1977, 19 of Faculty of Technology in 1969, the Institute for Distance 1993 and 14 of 1995.) and Continuing Education (IDCE), in 1975, the Faculty of Agriculture in 1977, and the Faculty of Health Sciences in 1981, the latter as an outgrowth of Natural Sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law
    Human rights, democracy and rule of law: Different organisations, different conceptions? Katharina Häusler, Péter Kállai, Zsolt Kortvelyesi, Balázs Majtényi, Lorena Sosa, Alexandra Timmer, Magnus Killander, Nora Ho Tu Nam, Adebayo Okeowo, Jeremy Gunn, Alvaro Lagresa 10.7404/FRAME.REPS.10 April 20163.4 Fostering Human Rights among European Policies Large-Scale FP7 Collaborative Project GA No. 320000 1 May 2013-30 April 2017 Human rights, democracy and rule of law: Different organisations, different conceptions? Work Package No. 3 – Deliverable No. 4 Due date 1 April 2016 Submission date 10 April 2016 Dissemination PU level Lead Beneficiary Utrecht University Authors Katharina Häusler, Péter Kállai, Zsolt Kortvelyesi , Balázs Majtényi, Lorena Sosa, Alexandra Timmer (UN), Magnus Killander, Nora Ho Tu Nam, Adebayo Okeowo (AU), Jeremy Gunn, Alvaro Lagresa (LAS/OIC). http://www.fp7-frame.eu 10.7404/FRAME.REPS.3.4 FRAME Deliverable No. 3.4 Executive Summary This report presents an exploration of different conceptualisations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law within international organisations. The report focuses on the United Nations, the African Union, the League of Arab States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The eventual aim of Work Package 3, of which this report forms part, is to provide the EU with conceptualizations of human rights, democracy and the rule of law that take into consideration the diverse conceptions found in third countries and in other international organisations. The organisations’ original purpose, moment of creation, and structure inevitably influence the development of their human rights, democracy and rule of law conceptions, and their practical engagement with these concepts.
    [Show full text]
  • Strengthening the UN Human Rights System: a Discussion with Human Rights Defenders
    Strengthening the UN Human Rights System: A Discussion with Human Rights Defenders February 16-17, 2010 Washington, D.C. PARTICIPANTS Kamala Chandrakirana is among the founders of Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence against Women, a unique national mechanism for women’s human rights. She just completed 11 years service of which six years was as Chairperson of the Commission (2003-2009). She is also active in various civil society organizations, such as the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW), a leading anti-corruption advocate; ELSAM, a human rights think-tank; Syarikat Indonesia, a network of progressive Muslim activists pursuing grassroots cultural reconciliation to address past human rights violations; the Indonesian Institute for Social History (ISSI), situating past gross human rights violations as part of historical inquiry; Rahima, an education center on women’s rights within Islam; and, YSIK, a national grant-making institution for social movements. She is also an active member of the Asia Pacific Women Law and Development (APWLD) and one of the founders of Musawah, a global movement for justice and equality in the Muslim family. Roberta Cohen is a nonresident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy at The Brookings Institution. She co-founded and co-directed The Brookings Institution Project on Internal Displacement for over a decade and now serves as senior advisor to The Brookings Institution-University of Bern Project on Internal Displacement and as senior adviser to Walter Kälin, the Representative of the UN Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons. She has served as a Public Member of the U.S. Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and of the U.S.
    [Show full text]