The celebration of International Nelson Mandela Day, celebrated annually on his birthday, July 18, offers everyone the opportunity to make a positive contribution by volunteering for 67 minutes – in honour of each year he fought for justice.
The theme this year is: It is still in our hands to fight poverty and inequality.
Mr. Mandela spent nearly three decades in prison for standing up against human rights abuses and grave injustices against black South Africans. He died in December 2013.
A lasting legacy
Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly, said his visionary leadership not only ended apartheid but continues to resonate and inspire today.
“His lasting legacy has left an indelible impression on the world – and is a testament to the profound positive impact of humanity’s good deeds“If we choose to give our best,” Mr. Francis said, speaking at the Trusteeship Council at UN headquarters in New York.
“This is exactly what we need – now more than ever – to confront division and hatred and prevent the avoidable strife we see in places like Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere around the world.”
Unequal and divided
In its message marking the day, the UN said: Secretary-General António Guterres noted that the world is unequal and divided and that hunger and poverty are widespread.
The richest one percent of the world’s population “is responsible for the same amount of planet-destroying greenhouse gases as two-thirds of humanity,” he said.
“These are not natural facts. They are the result of humanity’s choices. And we can decide to do things differently.”
His message was read by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, who expanded on Guterres’ statements.
Do not deliver
She recalled that Mandela wrote in his autobiography: Long walk to freedomthat poverty is not an accident like slavery and apartheid. Instead, it is man-made, which means that humans can eradicate it.
She said action so far has not been sufficient, as the latest UN resolution said. Sustainable Development Goals The report found that in 2022, 23 million more people will be in extreme poverty and more than 100 million people will go hungry than five years ago.
Mrs Mohammed stressed that the news is not all bad, Progress has been made in boosting renewable energy, getting more people online and increasing the number of girls completing school.
“But overall, we know we are not delivering on the promise and the hope of the Sustainable Development Goals. We can blame the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, escalating conflicts, geopolitical tensions and growing climate chaos, but if we look deeper, it is our choices that have brought us here,” she said, calling for renewed commitment to achieving the SDGs.
Long walk to friendship
American editor and author Richard Allen Stengel was only 36 when he worked with Mandela on his autobiography, which was published in 1994 – the year he became the first black president of a democratic South Africa.
Mr. Stengel – later U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs in the Obama administration – recalled that he had to prove his worth to a man who respected his age and experience.
He worked with Mr Mandela – affectionately known by his Xhosa clan name, “Madiba” – for more than a year, effectively becoming his “shadow” and eventually his friend.
UN Photo/Ariana Lindquist
Unveiling Ceremony of South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Statue
Mr Stengel believed the late leader would agree with the day’s theme because while Mr Mandela was committed to the overarching goal of democracy in South Africa, he would say that “freedom means nothing if you can feel your stomach.”
Commitment to democracy
Mandela was many things: he remembered being a freedom fighter, a political prisoner, an African nationalist and an African nationalist.
“But he was above all a small-d democrat,” Mr. Stenghel said. “He believed in the idea of democracy, believed that democracy was the most effective engine for achieving and eradicating poverty and for triumphing over inequality.”
This message is important in a time when “the shadow of authoritarianism creeps all around us,” he continued.
Although Mandela achieved democracy, he did not overcome poverty, Stenghel continued.
“But he had a beautiful quote that still resonates in my mind, and when it comes to this subject, it’s something we all need to remember: It always seems impossible, until it’s done.”
Priorities must change
Sabreina Elba, Goodwill Ambassador for the International Fund for Agricultural Development at the UN, noted that since 2020, the wealth of the world’s five richest billionaires has more than doubled, while more than half of humanity has become poorer.
Inequality is “rampant” in food systems, she said, with those who grow food in the most vulnerable areas struggling while big corporations make “record profits.”
“So, what needs to change? Do we have the courage to change it? If we are serious about ending hunger and poverty, we need to change our priorities,” she stated.
Smallholder farmers need investment, as do other companies that work with them, “and we need to ensure that climate finance reaches them so they can adapt their operations to changing weather patterns,” the IFAD added ambassador.
