Nobel Women's Initiative

Amsterdam (September 6, 2011)

Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi and Mairead Maguire of the Nobel Women's Initiative join with Sonke Gender Justice Network, Section 27, the Treatment Action Campaign and the Lesbian and Gay Equality project and other women's rights and social justice organisations in South Africa to call on President Zuma not to appoint Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng to serve as Chief Justice of South Africa's Constitutional Court.
 
South Africa's Constitution is recognised globally for its commitment to achieving equality and advancing human rights. It also recognises the right of women and men to live lives free of violence. Since it was enacted in 1996, South Africa's Constitution has inspired people across Africa and the world.

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As Nobel laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative we note with concern that President Jacob Zuma's nominee for Chief Justice, the highest judicial office in the country, has issued many rulings that undermine women's rights and are at odds with the values enshrined in the Constitution.
 
Analyses of Judge Mogoeng's rulings by women's rights organisations and other legal experts reveal that Judge Mogoeng has on many occassions issued lenient sentences in cases of rape and domestic violence, including in cases of child rape.
 
Many of his rulings have undermined the severity of the crime of rape and its consequences for victims and invoke dangerous myths about rape that often blame the victims themselves and excuse perpetrators of egregious crimes.
 
We believe that the appointment of Judge Mogoeng to the position of Chief Justice of South Africa's Constitutional Court will diminish women's trust in the judiciary and tarnish South Africa's reputation as a champion for equality and women's rights. We call on President Zuma not to appoint Judge Mogoeng Mogoeng as Chief Justice.


The Nobel Women's Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and six courageous women peace laureates to magnify the power and visibility of women working in countries around the world for peace, justice and equality.