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03 July 2018 Photo Rulanzen Martin
Prof Peacock elected president of World Society of Victimology
Prof Robert Peacock from the Department of Criminology has recently been elected president of the World Society of Victimology.

Prof Robert Peacock was recently elected as the new president of the World Society of Victimology (WSV) in Hong Kong recently and is the first from Africa to serve in the position. His term runs until 2021. Prof Peacock is head of the Department of Criminology at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Prof Peacock is particularly excited about the positioning of the Department of Criminology as a strategic partner of the WSV and key roleplayer on the African continent and broader scientific communities. 

“I am excited to share our African values of interconnectedness as the art of being human in our scientific endeavours to protect and advance the collective well-being of our respective communities, scientific and otherwise,” he said.

His vision for the organisation is to “advance peace and justice on the planet through the development of reciprocal relationships between the global South and North”. “In the past, Africa and her broader communities were misrepresented in the context of academic privilege and status.”

WSV is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation with Special Category consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. It has been instrumental in developing and operationalising the United Nations Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power with the aim of improving victims’ access to justice, fair treatment, restitution, compensation and support, as well as taking steps to prevent victimisation linked to the abuse of power. 

News Archive

Twenty years of human rights - a call for reflection on the successes and challenges
2015-02-25

Back from the left are: Advocate Mohamed Shafie Ameermia, Commissioner, South African Human Rights Commission
Advocate Lawrence Mushwana, Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission
 
Front from the left are: Honourable Mahube Molemela, Judge President of the Free State High court and Acting judge of the Constitutional Court of South
Dr Choice Makhetha, Vice-Rector External Relations, University of the Free State
Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of the Free State

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the Faculty of Law, and the Free State Department of Education hosted a gala dinner on 19 February 2015 to celebrate the launching of the Free State Provincial Division of the SAHRC, reaffirming their collaborative partnership, and confirming the commitment of the Free State Department of Education to community engagement, constitutional rights awareness, and youth advocacy.

The number of human rights abuses reported to the Human Rights Commission in recent years points to the complex nature of the challenges faced by South African communities. What is most disturbing is that the overwhelming majority of these offences are perpetrated by the youth, said Adv Lawrence Moshwana, Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission.  “The Human Rights Commission is in need of support from government in order to be able to reach all provinces of South Africa”. The expansion of the commission’s services in the Free State and its partnership with the Provincial Department of Education is a great step towards protecting the rights of the most vulnerable communities.

 

Twenty years of human rights (read the full story)

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