For Humanity

Throughout his career, the distinguished South African jurist Richard J. Goldstone has been deeply committed to promoting human rights in his own country and abroad. A justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa since 1994, he has also served as chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry Regarding the Prevention of Public Violence and Intimidation in South Africa and chief prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. In this engrossing and inspiring book, Justice Goldstone provides an intimate account of his progression from a young activist opposing South Africa’s racial policies to the world’s first independent war crimes prosecutor.Justice Goldstone begins by describing how he became involved in the transition of South Africa from an apartheid state to a democracy and why he was chosen in late 1992 to head the commission that investigated criminal conduct that accompanied that transition. He then considers his time as chief prosecutor for the United Nations Tribunals, speaking not only of the fundamental legal issues that have arisen but also of his personal experiences and feelings. Arguing in favor of the move toward establishing a permanent international criminal court, he offers a stirring defense of the role of international tribunals in holding human rights violators accountable.