On Nelson Mandela International Day, United Nations has shared a video of Nelson Mandela and wrote, “On Saturday’s Mandela Day and every day, Nelson Mandela’s words inspire us to “ensure that democracy, peace and prosperity prevail everywhere.”
Nelson Mandela International Day is being observed every year on 18 July to commemorate the birthday of South Africa’s first black President, a Nobel Prize winner and anti-Apartheid icon.
Mandala is an extraordinary global advocate for equality, dignity and solidarity, said United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
As the United Nations marks its 75th anniversary in this fragile time, we reflect on the life and work of Nelson Mandela, who embodied the highest values of the United Nations and who took action and inspired change.
“Despite many years as a prisoner of conscience, Madiba retained his dignity and commitment to his ideals. Let his example propel any governments that keep such prisoners to release them. There should be no prisoners of conscience in the 21st century,” he added.
UN chief said: “Nelson Mandela reminded us that: ‘As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.’ On this Mandela Day, let us recall that we can, and must, be part of the quest for a better future of dignity, opportunity and prosperity for all people on a healthy planet.”
The 2020 Nelson Mandela Prize, which is awarded every five years and recognizes those who dedicate their lives to the service of humanity, will go this year to Marianna Vardinoyannis, of Greece, and Doctor Morissana Kouyaté, of Guinea, it was announced on Friday.
The President of the General Assembly, Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, made the announcement, and will recognize the laureates during a virtual ceremony on 20 July, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. An in-person award ceremony will take place at a later date, at UN Headquarters in New York.
