Richard Goldstone, born in Boksburg, South Africa, in 1938. B.A., LL.B. from Witwatersrand University. Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
Spinoza Fellow (1 April 2009 – 30 June 2009)
A CONVENTION AGAINST CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
It has been a great privilege to have been selected as the first Spinoza Fellow and The Hague Peace Philosopher. It enabled me to interact with many people and organisations in The Netherlands, and to renew friendships I made between 1994 and 1996 when I was the Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Some of the time during the three months of my appointment was taken up with research on the project drafting a new Convention for Crimes against Humanity. I was also very involved as the leader of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Gaza. All of these activities were made far more manageable and successful because of the exceptional work environment that is offered by NIAS.
Above all, my wife and I enjoyed the friendship of the Rector, Professor Wim Blockmans, and the outstanding people he has working with him at NIAS.