Nominate the South African longshoremen's union for the Nobel Peace Prize

In the past few days, the South Africa longshoremen’s union refused to unload small arms from a Chinese freighter being sold by a Chinese company to Zimbabwe, where chances are excellent the arms would be used against Mugabe’s political opposition. By their own refusal to offload the weapons, and by encouraging their union fellows in other southern Africa countries to follow suit, they have done more than anyone else to stir up public moral outrage that has enabled the pressure of democratic sovereigns - the US and others - to have bite with China. They gave local moral cover to regional African organizations, whose individual countries have not been critical of Mugabe, to make statements against the arms shipments.

Judges in South Africa have also been very courageous in issuing orders against transshipment across South African territory. They have special tools in that the South African constitution incorporates international human rights standards into the local law in a way that is not true in other places, including the US. I think it is fine that South Africa’s constitution does so, under the historical development and circumstances of that country, in a way that I would not think right for, say, the United States. But it meant that judges were able to issue orders that, within that country’s constitutional order, were not exercises of judicial overreaching.

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So my proposal is that the next Nobel Peace Prize be awarded to the South African longshoremen’s union for its contributions to world peace by standing up against arms shipments by an amoral, rising power, China, concerned only with commercial advantage and currying favor its fellow dictators worldwide, and standing up for the population of Zimbabwe when damned few in the rest of the world are willing to do so.

Give the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize to the South African longshoremen’s union.

(Hey, thanks to the Weekly Standard Scrapbook for the shout-out!)

(ps. I originally said 2009 prize, assuming that the 2008 process is either largely over or well underway. But then someone told me it wasn’t, and I should say 2008 prize. I don’t actually know, but would be happy were someone to take up this suggestion, either way.)