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Ann Skelton
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Ann Skelton is a human rights lawyer working for restorative justice in South Africa's juvenile justice system.
She was employed by Lawyers for Human Rights for 11 years, and during this time she played a leading role in a NGO grouping which published a document in 1994 called “Juvenile Justice for South Africa: Proposals for Policy and Legislative Change”. Family Group Conferencing formed the core of these proposals.
In 1995 Ann participated in a consultative process organized by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that made recommendations about how children as victims and perpetrators should be handled by the TRC.
In 1996, the South African Minister for Welfare selected Ann to go on an official study tour to New Zealand to observe their youth justice system. Following that visit Ann was instrumental in setting up and giving guidance to a Family Group Conference pilot project in Pretoria.
Ann was appointed by the South African Minister of Justice in 1997 to lead a project of the South African Law Commission to develop a comprehensive new statute regarding children accused of crimes. The Child Justice Bill, which emanated from this process, embodies restorative justice principles. The Bill was introduced into parliament in late 2002. From 1999 to 2003 Ann was the national co-coordinator of the Child Justice Project, a UN technical assistance project based in the Department of Justice. The main objective of the Project was to prepare for the effective information of the Child Justice Bill.
Ann has been a speaker at numerous international conferences on restorative justice and has published a number of chapters and journal articles on the subject, particularly in relation to the juvenile justice system. She is currently writing her LLD thesis on the influence of restorative justice in shaping child justice policy in South Africa.
Important Idea:
South Africans accept the idea of community involvement in decision making, this is clear from the fact that traditional courts have survived the tides of different political pressures and still play a role in conflict resolution today, especially in rural areas.
By choosing healing rather than vengeance through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission South Africans have demonstrated that they understand the value of a restorative approach to justice.
There is a will to make family group conferencing an important part of the future child justice system. We now need to find the way towards a unique model which unlocks the innate conflict resolution skills which undoubtedly exist in communities, and merge them with the realities of life in South Africa in the 21st century”
(from ‘Conferencing in South Africa: Returning to our Future’ by A. Skelton and C Frank in Restorative Justice for Juveniles, A. Morris and G. Maxwell (eds.) Hart 2001).
Leading Edge. Ann is currently runs a litigation project at the Centre for Child Law at the University of Pretoria. She is a board member of the Restorative Justice Centre in Pretoria, and is a member of the national steering committee of a government led restorative justice initiative.
Reach Ann Skelton at ann.skelton@up.ac.za.
Bibliography
Last modified 2005-06-08 14:26
