Press Releases:

March 11, 2008

World Economic Forum Names Paul van Zyl, ICTJ Co-Founder and Executive Vice-President a 2008 Young Global Leader

Paul van Zyl joins 245 leading executives, public figures, and intellectuals-all age 40 or younger-chosen from around the world. 

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NEW YORK, March 11, 2008-The World Economic Forum today announced that International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) co-founder and Executive Vice-President Paul van Zyl has been selected as a Young Global Leader 2008. This prestigious honor is awarded annually by the World Economic Forum to recognize and acknowledge 200-300 young leaders from around the world for their professional accomplishments, commitment to society, and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.

Drawn from a pool of nearly 5,000 candidates, the Young Global Leaders 2008 are chosen by a selection committee comprised of 31 distinguished international media leaders and chaired by H.M. Queen Rania Al Abdullah of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The 245 Awardees come from over 65 countries and various backgrounds, including academia, business, government, media and civil society, and include leaders such as Larry Page and Sergey Brin, co-founders of Google, and Malvinder M. Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Ranbaxy Laboratories, India.

"The World Economic Forum is a true multi-stakeholder community of global decision-makers. We need the Young Global Leaders to be a voice for the future in the global thought process and as a catalyst for initiatives in the global public interest," said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

"Paul van Zyl's commitment to transitional justice, human rights, and his creative enthusiasm to address some of the world's most pressing challenges, make him an invaluable addition to the 2008 class of Young Global Leaders, said Juan E. Mendez, President of the ICTJ. "Paul's ability to devise and implement innovative solutions to tackle legacies of human rights abuses in post-conflict contexts adds significant value to the ICTJ's work around the world. I am confident he will apply these solutions and best practices in the exciting endeavors that he and fellow Young Global Leaders look to address."

Established in 2004 by Klaus Schwab, the Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of the world's most extraordinary young leaders, who dedicate a part of their time to jointly address global challenges and who are committed to devote some of their knowledge and energy to collectively work towards a better future. As part of their engagement, the Young Global Leaders give their time to task forces to initiate, develop, and drive innovative solutions on important, globally-oriented issues, including health, education, the environment, global governance and security, and development and poverty.

About Paul van Zyl

Paul van Zyl is a co-founder and the Executive Vice-President of the ICTJ, an organization which assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The ICTJ was founded in 2001 in response to a growing recognition that facing legacies of past abuse and injustice is crucial to promoting human rights around the world. By helping to address past crimes, transitional justice can help to break vicious cycles of violence and reduce the likelihood of future conflict.
Over the past decade, he has acted as an adviser and consultant to human rights organizations, governments, international organizations, and foundations on transitional justice issues in more than 20 countries. From 1995 to 1998, he served as Executive Secretary of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, helping to establish the Commission, develop its structure and modus operandi and manage its operations. He has also worked as a researcher for the Goldstone Commission, as a department head at the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Johannesburg, and as an associate at Davis Polk and Wardwell in New York.

Throughout his career, Van Zyl has received a number of academic and professional honors. In addition to being selected by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader 2008, he was selected as a TED Fellow in 2007, and was named as one of New York's "Top 15 Lawyers Under 40" by New York Lawyer Magazine.

Van Zyl also currently serves as director of New York University School of Law's Transitional Justice Program, and teaches law both in New York and Singapore. He obtained a BA and an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and an LLM in International Law from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Following these studies, he was accepted into the prestigious Hauser Global Scholars Program at New York University School of Law, where he completed a LLM in Corporate Law.

About the ICTJ

The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) assists countries pursuing accountability for past mass atrocity or human rights abuse. The Center works in societies emerging from repressive rule or armed conflict, as well as in established democracies where historical injustices or systemic abuse remain unresolved.
For more information about ICTJ's work, please visit www.ictj.org