PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Abdul Kader Asmal (1934-2011), a noted human rights jurist and anti-apartheid advocate, was born into a modest Muslim family of Indian descent in Natal, South Africa. His early exposure to racial discrimination shaped his unwavering commitment to equality and justice, prompting him to abandon a teaching career for the study of law. After receiving his legal education at the London School of Economics and qualifying at Lincoln's Inn, he pursued socialist law. His key roles in the underground South African Communist Party and the African National Congress underpinned his crucial involvement in both national and international anti-apartheid activism. Additionally, Asmal's academic pursuits led him to serve as dean at Trinity College Dublin, contributing extensively to scholarly literature.Upon the ANC's unbanning in 1991, Asmal returned to South Africa and played an instrumental role in drafting the new constitution. His political career included tenures as Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry and later as Minister for Education. Even while battling cancer, he tirelessly campaigned against corruption, advocating for transparency within the ANC. Post-politics, he maintained his active engagement in human rights advocacy through various academic roles. Asmal, who passed away in 2011, is revered for his tireless pursuit of justice and equality, leaving behind an enduring legacy in South African and international politics.
"'Shoot to Kill? International Lawyers' Inquiry into the Lethal Use of Firearms by the Security Forces in Northern Ireland, KADER ASMAL, Chairman, Mercier Press, Cork and Dublin, Ireland, 1985, pp. 173, including appendices. Many books of far greater length accomplish less than this modestly-sized volume, the report of a ""lawyer's inquiry"" into the misuse of firearms by government forces in Northern Ireland. Two major achievements are immediately apparent. First, the report supplies a partial answer to that baffling question: ""What is really the problem in Northern Ireland?"" The International Lawyers' Inquiry (Inquiry) found that from 1969 through 1984 government forces on active duty in Northern Ireland killed more than 150 unarmed civilians, most of them Nationalists (Catholics). These killings, according to the Inquiry, were often reckless and unnecessary. Yet, punishment was rarely if ever meted out.' Under these circumstances, one can begin to understand why Nationalists have been unable to reconcile themselves to British rule. Second, the book provides an admirable illustration of how international law may be used at the ""grassroots"" level. Here ordinary citizens, feeling powerless to affect their state's internal law and actions, have called upon lawyers to address Great Britain's conduct under international standards. The result is a most interesting case study in the practical application of international human rights law. Indeed, Shoot to Kill? would be an excellent illustrative text for a law school course on that subject...To those unfamiliar with the legal complexities of the Northern Irish conflict, Shoot to Kill? serves as an excellent introduction, a concise compendium of strange law and troubling fact. The volume contains five helpful appendices, ranging from a legal bibliography to a kind of ""roll call"" of the dead, a list of the names, ages, and circumstances under which more than 100 unarmed Catholics have met their deaths at the hands of the British Army or police.' - Keara M. O' Dempsey"
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