PROFESSOR KADER ASMAL

Kader Asmal has been a Member of Parliament in the National Assembly since 1994, is a former Minister of Education (1999 – 20040, Minister of Water Affairs in the Mandela Government (1994 – 1999) and Chairperson of the Cabinet’s National Conventional Arms Control Committee (1995 – 2004) and now chairs the Portfolio Committee on Defence in the National Assembly.

He is President of the Financial Action Task Force for 2005 – 2006 and was chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee of experts at UNFSCO negotiating the draft Convention on Cultural Diversity during 2004 – 2005.

He was born in Dukuza (Stanger) in KwaZulu Natal, educated at Stanger Indian Secondary School and the Springfield Teachers Training College for a teacher’s diploma. He has studied at UNISA (BA), London School of Economics (London University. LL.M where he was a law scholar) and King’s Inns, Dublin and Lincoln’s Inn, London (barrister-at-law) and is an advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

He was a school teacher from 1995 to 1959 in Natal and taught law at Trinity College Dublin from 1963 to 1980 when he returned to South Africa as visiting professor in law at the University of the Western Cape and in 1994 was appointed as Professor in the University. He has been a visiting professor at Yale and Rutgers in the US and Christ’s College Cambridge.

Professor Asmal was a founder member of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement in 1960, founder and chairperson of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1964 to 1990, rapporteur of UN International conferences on apartheid Havana: 1976, Lagos: 1977, and Paris: 1986. He was a founder and chairperson of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties from 1976 to 1991.

He was an ANC delegate to the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) in 1992 and a member of the African National Congress’ negotiating tam at the Multi-Party Negotiating Forum, 1993 and a founder member of the ANC’s Constitutional Committee in 1986. He has been a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress since 1991.

He has participated in a number of international committees of enquiry on human rights, decolonization and on Ireland. He was vice-president of the World Commission on the Oceans (1995 – 1998) and chairperson of the World Commission on Dams (1997 – 2001).

He has been awarded seven honorary degrees by universities in Ireland and South Africa and is Honorary Fellow of the London School of Economics and the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa.

He was awarded the Prix UNESCO for human rights in 1983 and the Stockholm Water Prize in 2000 and numerous other awards, including the Gold Medal of the World Fund for Nature – SA, for conservation (1996).

He has written or co-edited eight books, written nearly 40 chapters in books, 60 articles on apartheid, decolonization, Ireland, labour law and the environment and 26 of his lectures have been published.