On this very day in history 1995, Nelson Mandela received the Africa Peace Award. Below is an excerpt from the speech he delivered in Durban. For, it is not merely good logic but the reality of life, that, in the end, societys freedom from hunger, ignorance and disease is, more often than not, the dividing line between war and peace. The pursuit of the collective well-being of humanity;to ensure that all persons live life to the full, is an ideal whose time has come. Humanity is suing for a new world order, premised, above everything else, on this objective. The task is daunting and the obstacles unlimited. But that quest has so captured the imagination of peoples that it can no longer be concealed behind fancy rhetoric. Africa deserves all these rights. Its children deserve as much of a regular diet of protein as any other. They have the right to computers and instruments of modern communications. Like children elsewhere, they are born to play with gay abandon confident about a bright future. Certainly, colonialism and the selfish ordering of world affairs - past and present - have undermined Africas development. And it is only just that Africa should demand her fair share of world resources;that we should challenge the untenable global division of power and wealth. But Africa has long traversed past a mind-set that seeks to heap all blame on the past and on others. The era of renaissance we are entering, is, and should be, based on our own efforts as Africans to change Africas conditions for the better. If Africas children, like all other children, should shelter a light of hope in their hearts about what life can offer, then we, as their parents and leaders, deserve to be judged by the same standards as anyone else. In this regard, we face the urgent task of deepening the culture of human rights on the continent. We are called upon to ensure that our social structures reflect the will of the people. Our approach to issues of political power should proceed from the premise that it is an expression of popular will, and not a mysterious force wielded by a chosen few. This applies to all African states. It is even more pertinent to those states which, by the sheer size of their population and the attention accorded them by world media, are seen as standard-bearers of Africas political culture and mores. From this flows many challenges. For instance, how do we ensure that civil society in its various forms becomes an active participant in formulation and implementation of policy! How do we, individually and collectively, utilise rationally and to maximum effect, the resources the continent possesses! How do we eliminate the scourge of political and religious intolerance!
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 12:21:00 +0000
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