news heyns seminar

ICLA hosts workshop on the right to life in Africa

Professor Christof Heyns and his research team in the Unlawful Killings Unit of the Institute for International and Comparative Law in Africa (ICLA) are leading a research project examining the right to life in Africa, particularly the role of commissions of inquiry.  

On Monday 21 September 2015, Professor Heyns and his team hosted an all-day workshop at the Faculty of Law with 20 participants from civil society, academia, the legal profession, and the United Nations. The purpose of the workshop was to present preliminary findings from the team’s research and to solicit input for the way forward. Professor Thandabantu Nhlapo presented a well-attended public seminar “Homicide in Traditional African Societies: Customary Law and the Question of Accountability.” Throughout the day, participants also contributed to discussions about the international human rights law framework to the right to life, the current state of unlawful killings in Africa, accountability through an ethics and ubuntu lens, and the role of international and domestic commissions of inquiry globally in the search for accountability.

The day concluded with several areas for follow-up and potential collaboration between the ICLA research team and those attending. The research team will be conducting fieldwork throughout Africa early in 2016. For further information about the research, please contact Project Lead Meetali Jain at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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