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9 Jan 2009

South Africa appoints gay judge to highest court

As openly gay Justice Michael Kirby of Australia is set to retire in February, Judge Edwin Cameron, an openly gay and HIV-positive Appeal Court judge has been elevated to the Constitutional Court bench.

South African Supreme Court of Appeal Judge Edwin Cameron, who is openly gay and openly HIV-positive, has been named to the Constitutional Court, the country's highest.

Judge Edwin Cameron is the uthor of several books including Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa (1995) and bestselling autobiography Witness to AIDS.
President Kgalema Motlanthe announced the appointment on Dec 31 last year, a day before Judge Cameron officially took up the position as one of the court's 11 judges following the retirement of Justice Tholakele Madala.

The 55-year-old former human rights lawyer is the author of several books including Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa (1995) and bestselling autobiography Witness to AIDS in which he strongly criticised the Thabo Mbeki government's Aids denialism. The book was a joint winner of the 2006 Sunday Times/Alan Paton Prize, South Africa's premier literary award for non-fiction.

The South African Lesbian and Gay Equality Project in a Jan 1 statement hailed the appointment.

"Judge Cameron, the first openly gay and HIV positive person to hold one of the seats in our country's highest court, now becomes worldwide the first person to hold such a position in the highest court of any country. He was among the few lawyers who defended anti-apartheid activists against the old regime and he is known for his criticism of the SA government on HIV/AIDS policies. Judge Cameron also set the legal strategy for the country's constitutional and legal reform on the rights of lesbian and gay people," the statement read.

He has been compared to High Court judge Justice Michael Kirby of Australia who is openly gay and a noted champion of LGBT rights internationally. He will retire from the High Court - the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy - in February as he turns 70 this year. He came out as a gay man by naming his male partner publicly three years after he was appointed to the High Court in 1996.

South Africa's post-apartheid constitution was the first one in the world to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. In November 2006, South Africa became the fifth country, and the first in Africa, to legalise same-sex marriage. Gay sex acts are illegal in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and most other sub-Saharan African countries.

South Africa

讀者回應

1. 2009-01-09 20:55  
In a world filled with war and murder and hatred, this is a glimmer of hope and a ray of sunshiney good news. I applaud the SA government for looking beyond gender and sexual orientation and appointing people based on their experiences and qualifications.
2. 2009-01-09 21:12  
Inspiring! Well done to South Africa, the South African government and Judge Cameron!
3. 2009-01-09 23:16  
Small victories here and there in other parts of the world.
Being gay is hard, dont wish this on anyone else.
4. 2009-01-10 08:49  
@ timotito - it would seem to me that he was chosen precisely because of his sexual orientation and the experience that followed from that. Which is not a bad thing.
回應#5於被作者刪除。
6. 2009-01-10 10:51  
yay!go south africa! im proud....!!!:)
7. 2009-01-10 10:58  
TO COMPARE AUSTRALIA AND SOUTH AFRICA, JUDGE KIRBY AND JUDGE CAMERON ON THE BASIS OF BOTH COUNTRIES RECOGNISING HOMOSEXUALITY AND BOTH JUDGES BEING GAYS IS A BIT BASIC, DONT YOU THINK ?
A RATHER MUNDANE ARTICLE !!!

JPS AKA 33LONGCHAMP
8. 2009-01-10 11:25  
Does anyone know the truth as to whether the constitutional protection of gays in South Africa was at least in part due to the value that Nelson Mandela found in his gay driver?
9. 2009-01-10 11:53  
Congratulations to the honorable Justice Edwin Cameron, congratulations to the South African government, and congratualtions to the citizens of South Africa. South Africa's deployment of equal human rights for all its citizens is truely civilized.
10. 2009-01-10 19:41  
well , as long as he deserve that
11. 2009-01-12 20:29  
Well done, SA government. A brave, progressive, humane and bright shiny beacon in a land of darkness. Inspiring. Bravo!
12. 2009-01-12 20:31  
PS: Congrats to Judge Cameron. Time for bigger change!
13. 2009-01-13 18:40  
Bravo! South Africa continues to offer us a shining example of a place that despite poverty, the generosity of spirit as encouraged by Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela continues to inspire tolerance and love throughout the world. Congrats to His Honour Judge Cameron. Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika.

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