DePaul University College of Law Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni has been selected by the Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) as the recipient of the Defender of Democracy Award for 1998. The PGA selection committee chose Bassiouni because his work has been an essential ingredient in fostering democracy.

A world-renowned authority on international criminal law and human rights, Bassiouni served as chairman of the drafting committee of the Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC). The committee met in Rome in June and adopted the statute for a permanent ICC in July.

Throughout Bassiouni’s distinguished career, his work promoting international human rights and the establishment of an ICC has been ongoing. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at DePaul, where he has been a member of the law faculty since 1964, Bassiouni is also the president of the International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences in Siracusa, Italy, and of the prestigious International Association of Penal Law.

Bassiouni, who is the author and editor of numerous books on criminal law and human rights, has served as a consultant to the United Nations since 1975. He is called upon regularly to testify before the U.S. Congress on extradition, transfer of prisoners and treaty issues. He also has served as a consultant to the United States departments of State and Justice on projects relating to deterring the international traffic of drugs, international control of terrorism and the defense of U. S. hostages in Iran.

Bassiouni’s work on behalf of human rights in Yugoslavia included serving as the chief investigator for the U.N. commission that investigated war crimes there. Under his direction, the commission documented the killing of 200,000 Yugoslavs, the torture of 50,000 others and the rape of 20,000 women in a deliberate attempt at what has become known as ethnic cleansing. It was in part because of Bassiouni’s work that the Security Council established the Tribunal in The Hague to prosecute these crimes.

The PGA, which was founded in 1979, is an association of over 2,000 parliamentarians from all over the world. Its members include high-ranking politicians who come together to work on an expanded list of global issues such as sustainable development, empowerment of women, economic reform and international law.

The Defender of Democracy Award was established in 1996 to recognize individuals who, through their own commitment and active engagement, have made significant progress in strengthening democracy and democratic practices. Recipients of the award are outstanding human beings that struggle, often at great personal costs, to translate the theoretical underpinnings of democracy into practice in real life.

Past recipients include Leonce Ngendakumana, President of the National Assembly; Kristina Svensson, U.N. ambassador to Malawi and Zambia; Arthur N.R. Robinson, president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and Jan P. Pronk, minister of development cooperation in The Netherlands.

"Professor Bassiouni joins a most prestigious and eminent group of persons who are recipients of this outstanding award," said Teree E. Foster, dean of the DePaul College of Law. "Certainly his lifelong work on behalf of human rights, equality of opportunity and the creation of an enforcement mechanism for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law merits this distinction."

Bassiouni will receive the award at the United Nations in October.