Paul van Zyl grew up in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
during the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era and served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s post-apartheid
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
A truth commission, also known as a truth and reconciliation commission or truth and justice commission, is an official body tasked with discovering and revealing past wrongdoing by a government (or, depending on the circumstances, non-state act ...
from 1995 to 1998.
["Peace Ventures"]
''Paul van Zyl''
He received a BA and LL.B. degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
in 1996 and an LL.M. in International Law from the
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...
in the
Netherlands
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in 1997. Paul also earned an LL.M. in Corporate Law from the NYU School of Law’s. Paul was selected as a Hauser Global Scholar at
NYU
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
, a program which selects 10 of the finest students from countries across the world, chosen on the basis of their intellectual and leadership ability, as well as their capacity to participate productively in a global community of scholars and practitioners.
In 2001, Paul co-founded the
International Center for Transitional Justice
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms.
ICTJ officially ope ...
(ICTJ), an international
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
organisation based in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. The ICTJ works for justice in over 40 countries that have endured massive human rights abuses under repression and in conflict. They work with victims, civil society groups, national and international organisations to ensure redress for victims and to help prevent atrocities from happening again.
Paul received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2009 with
Juan E. Mendez, the former
ICTJ
The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) was founded in 2001 as a non-profit organization dedicated to pursuing accountability for mass atrocity and human rights abuse through transitional justice mechanisms.
ICTJ officially ope ...
President, for their contributions to
transitional justice, and was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
in 2008. Paul has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Fragile States, and has been an adviser to the Sundance Documentary Film Program. For 15 years he served as the Director of New York University School of Law’s Transitional Justice Program and for 5 years, he was a visiting Professor of Law at the National
University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in the c ...
. Further, Paul was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Laws by
Santa Clara University School of Law
The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. The Jesuit ...
in 2012. Paul has also served as an adviser and consultant to many NGOs and Governments on transitional justice issues in countries including:
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-weste ...
, and
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and Pars pro toto#Geography, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of Southern Europe, south and southeast Euro ...
.
Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Maiyet,{ a luxury fashion brand that celebrates and cultivates traditional design and culture by partnering with global artisans to incorporate exquisitely handcrafted details into the collections.
Maiyet has recently evolved int
The Maiyet Collective The Collective brings together the largest collection of sustainable luxury and positive impact brands in the world right now. Featuring over 50+ new and emerging brands on a rotational basis, The Collective provides a retail showcase for small to medium sized sustainable brands, as part of a community of like-minded partners who share a similar philosophy and mission.
Paul co-founded The Conduit in 2016 (opened summer 2018), which connects thinkers, leaders and innovators in social change, business and the arts to force impact for the greater good.
Paul was named by London Tech Week as one of its 30 "Change Makers 2018", celebrating the companies and people harnessing technology to inspire social and economic impact and drive global innovation.
Lectures
in th
Articles
Forbes, "The How The Maiyet Collective Concept Store Will Reshape The Lexicon Of Ethical Luxe"The Financial Times, "The Conduit: a London members' club with a social purpose"
ttps://www.vogue.co.uk/article/how-the-conduit-plans-to-change-the-world Vogue, "How New Members' Club The Conduit Plans To Change The World"
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Zyl, Paul
Living people
20th-century South African lawyers
South African human rights activists
International law scholars
New York University faculty
Year of birth missing (living people)