The Business School

Human rights champion receives Honorary Doctorate

11 November 2011

Clive Stafford-Smith OBE made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Bournemouth University.

Lawyer and defender of human rights, Clive Stafford Smith, has been made an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Bournemouth University. The award was presented during annual Award Ceremonies held at the Bournemouth International Centre to honour graduates from the University’s Business School.

Dr Smith has played a leading role in exposing the use of torture and ‘extraordinary rendition’. For many years, he has worked in the USA on behalf of prisoners facing the death penalty. More recently, the founder and UK Director of the international charity Reprieve has campaigned on behalf of those detained by the United States out of reach of the law at Guantanamo Bay and the Bagram Detention Centre in Afghanistan which he describes as an affront to democracy and the rule of law. Despite much opposition, including death threats, Dr Smith has succeeded in securing the release of all British citizens at Guantanamo Bay.

Beyond the political arena and law courts, Dr Smith is also active in the court of public opinion, most visibly through the media but also as a compelling platform speaker where he has used his distinctive combination of legal arguments, moral passion and humour to great effect.

In accepting the award, Dr Smith thanked the University and encouraged his fellow graduates to put their business degrees to good use by joining his campaign to defend the defenceless around the world.

“Anybody involved in any business can help us do the work for poor people and powerless people who need assistance, and that’s what it’s all about,” Dr Smith enthused. “I do look forward to working with you for the next few decades on what we need to do to help these people around the world who are being really mistreated in horrible ways.”