KADER ASMAL

Early day motion 1990, tabled 23 June 2011 by Mark Durkan (Social Democratic and Labour Party). Signed by 25 members.

That this House mourns the passing of Kader Asmal, who was inspirational in the Anti-Apartheid Movement in these islands and who served with distinction as a Cabinet Minister in the democratic South Africa he worked to achieve; recalls that he founded the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London before moving to teach at Trinity College, Dublin where he also led the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement for many years and made a strong ongoing contribution to the African National Congress (ANC); recognises his tireless activism for civil liberties in these islands, his articulate advocacy of human rights internationally, the integrity of his struggle against Apartheid and his proud role in embedding democratic principles and a human rights ethic in post-Apartheid South Africa; acknowledges his personal role in ensuring, during the 1990s, that all parties in Northern Ireland were able to share insights from the process of negotiation and transition in South Africa; celebrates his exemplary espousal of democratic values, his animated oratory, academic erudition and challenging brand of intellectual honesty; and salutes his significant achievements as the Minister for Water Affairs and Forestry in the Government of National Unity and as Minister for Education in the first ANC government.

Signatures by party: Labour 17, Social Democratic and Labour Party 3, Liberal Democrat 2, Alliance 1, Conservative 1, Plaid Cymru 1.