Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, by Courtenay Rattray, Chef de Cabinet, to the General Assembly at the observance of Nelson Mandela International Day, in New York today:
I am honoured to deliver the Secretary-General's message at this important observance of Nelson Mandela International Day.
Today, we pay tribute to the extraordinary life and legacy of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Peace, justice, dignity, human rights — Madiba exemplified all of these.
Through his brave and tireless struggle, he drew the world’s attention to the historic evil of the apartheid regime in South Africa. He recognized the undeniable link between the suffering and subjugation of black South Africans in his time and the inequalities, discrimination and outright brutality of colonialism and the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans.
Mandela’s struggle came at a massive personal cost. I will never forget visiting his prison cell on Robben Island, where he spent 18 of the 27 years in total he spent in prison.
I was struck by the resilience of his spirit. And I came away deeply inspired by his capacity for forgiveness and reconciliation.
Even in the darkest moments of his life, Nelson Mandela understood that despair was a luxury the human family cannot afford.
He showed us another path. A path paved by courage, compassion and perseverance. Mandela firmly believed that our common humanity could triumph over the forces of hatred, division, discrimination and injustice. And that nothing is more transformative than people standing together, in solidarity.
He showed us how one man’s cry for justice and dignity could swell into a collective roar that could overturn a monstrous system like apartheid. Give power to the powerless. Forever alter the course of a country’s history. And awaken the conscience of the world.
This year’s theme for Mandela Day reflects a defining challenge of our time: Poverty and inequality.
Today, we live in a world where inequality has become entrenched. While wealth disproportionately accumulates at the very top, hundreds of millions of people struggle to afford basic needs like food, water, healthcare and education.
Poverty remains deeply rooted in many parts of the world.
Conflict, economic shocks and climate disasters threaten to undo the progress we’ve made. And racism, discrimination and xenophobia persist across the globe.
This reminds us that remarkable advances achieved through justice, reconciliation and nation-building can never be taken for granted, and that the work of defending human dignity remains unfinished everywhere.
Meanwhile, a growing share of global humanitarian needs are being left unmet. Human suffering is on the rise. And solutions and solidarity are in short supply.
We face historic declines in aid, and massive increases in military spending. There is something deeply wrong when we spend more on the instruments of destruction and death than on the tools of development and peace.
Taken together, these disconnects are not just morally unacceptable. They are economically short-sighted and politically destabilizing.
Mandela once said: “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.”
He understood that the world’s ills are often the result of the choices we make.
Right now, we’re making the wrong choices.
But guided by Madiba’s life and legacy, we can make better ones.
Ending poverty and inequality requires rewiring economies and societies to focus policies, budgets and investments where they belong: On people. By jump-starting economic growth, especially in the poorest countries. By adopting progressive fiscal policies to ensure more equitable outcomes. By investing in all the drivers of development and poverty-eradication — from decent work and universal health coverage to quality education and social protection systems. By scaling-up domestic and global financing and debt relief for developing countries to invest in these systems. By reforming the international financial architecture to better support — and represent — developing countries. By building economies powered by renewable energy — for people and planet. By ensuring that digital technologies are within reach of all people. By working towards full gender equality and empowering women and girls across every sector. By upholding the dignity and human rights that belong to every person, without discrimination. And by putting peace first, by reining in out-of-control military spending and investing in peace and development.
Madiba was blessed with a rare kind of double vision. He saw the world both for what it was — and what it could be. He also recognized that progress is never automatic. Progress is the result of action.
It’s up to all of us to come together to make that progress real — and through our actions, our advocacy and our voice — to defeat poverty and inequality.
Not as an act of charity.
But as an act of justice.
As we mark Mandela Day, let’s re-commit to the timeless principles that defined his life. Freedom. Justice. Equality. Solidarity. Reconciliation. Compassion. Peace. Let’s carry forward Mandela’s vision of a just, inclusive, equal and peaceful world. Thank you.