Retired justice Mokgoro awarded George Bizos Human Rights Award for her dedication to raise the bar for all

The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) presented the 2022 George Bizos Human Rights Award to former Constitutional Court justice Yvonne Mokgoro, for her remarkable leadership in the pursuit of equality and justice for all.

Mokgoro, who was appointed one of the first 11 justices of the Constitutional Court in 1994, received the award at a function in Johannesburg on Thursday evening.

The award is conferred every year on an individual whose work and efforts exemplify the qualities and values for which George Bizos SC stood for; the pursuit of freedom, justice and democracy.

Bizos, who received the inaugural award named in his honour, died in 2020 at the age of 92. Mokgoro is the third recipient of the award, after former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke in 2019.

“We salute Judge Mokgoro’s commitment to democracy and constitutionalism through her activism and her legal work, which has always placed ubuntu at the nucleus of our jurisprudence,” LRC national director Nersan Govender said.

The LRC said Mokgoro, a decorated and respected expert in constitutional law with a long history of championing human rights and social justice, has received several honorary law degrees and has served on a number of boards, advisory committees and other bodies, including chairing the SA Law Reform Commission.

It said her retirement as Constitutional Court justice, Mokgoro has distinguished herself as a judge and a scholar, presenting papers and addressing conferences on constitutional law, human rights and customary law, particularly on the impact of the law on women and children.

In 2016, she was appointed chair of the U N Internal Justice Council.

Mokgoro chairs the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Financial Services Conduct Authority Appeals Tribunal.

Last year, she was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to chair the newly created Mechanism on Racism, Racial Discrimination and Inequality against Africans and People of African Descent in the Context of Law Enforcement, after the murder of George Floyd in the US.

“This is an immense honour for me, as I always greatly admired George Bizos’s unstinting commitment to human rights and share his passion for fighting for the underdog in society — the oppressed, the marginalised, the poor and the voiceless.

“My wish is that this award will raise awareness for the need to stand firm against human rights violations in our own societies and the world over — not just in relation to our own rights but, more importantly, when it comes to the rights of others who are unable to fully share in what should be the bounties of their own democracies,” Mokgoro said when she received the award.

Govender said Mokgoro epitomised the spirit in which the award was founded.

“Today we pay homage to an outstanding individual who, like George Bizos, is unwavering in her dedication to social justice work and the steadfast advancement of human rights in SA.

“She has always generously availed herself and her extensive knowledge of the law to civil society organisations such as ours, and for that the LRC and broader society are immensely grateful,” Govender said.

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