Humanity needs organizations like RCT that decade after decade
carry out risky, uphill, and often unrecognized work towards a
world free from torture. I am glad that RCT continues to sharpen
its tools in the campaign against torture. I am proud to be Patron
of RCT and value enormously its contribution in helping all of us
become more human, compassionate and caring.
Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu
It is a great honor and a privilege for RCT, that such an
important person as Human Rights activist, Nobel laureate
and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu, wishes to support
our work for a world free from torture and other forms of organized
violence. Dr. Tutu has set an example for all who fights for a
world with universal human rights.
One of the countries that RCT has projects in is the
Archbishop's homeland, South Africa, where RCT works in close
connection with The Centre for Study on Violence and Reconciliation
(CSVR).
A lifelong struggle for human rights
Desmond Tutu was born in Klerksdorp on October 7th 1931. He has
been married to Leah Nomalizo Shenxane in more than fifty years,
and together they have four children. Desmond Tutu was originally
trained as a teacher with a Bachelor of Arts. He only taught for
three years before he quit his job because of the poor teaching
conditions for the black population. In 1961 he was educated a
priest and from 1976 to 1978 he was the bishop of the Anglican
Church in Lesotho. In this period his criticism of Apartheid became
more and more pronounced, however, never without speaking of
reconciliation of people.
Nobel laureate
In 1984 he received Nobel's Peace Prize for his fight against
Apartheid and pro reconciliation. In 1985 he became the archbishop
in Johannesburg and the following year he became the first black
person to be appointed to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa
as he was appointed archbishop of Cape Town. In the 1990s he was
chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, which should
witness, document, and in some cases grant amnesty to persons who
had violated human rights in South Africa. The Committee was
created in the wake of the apartheid system's completion in 1994.
In the 1990s he was chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission with the specific obligation to certify, document and,
in some cases, grant amnesty to persons who had violated the human
rights in South Africa. The commission was established in the wake
of the end of the Apartheid system in 1994.
Among other things, Desmond Tutu has particular voiced criticism
of Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, the lack of treatment of
HIV/AIDS infected persons in South Africa, the Israeli government's
mistreatment of Palestinians and generally about violation of the
human rights. He has now retired from public life, but is still
involved in the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, which he founded
together with his wife in 1998. And now, he is also protector of
the Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT).
For more information about Desmond Tutu, visit www.tutu.org