Stories from the United Nations Archives: Meet South Africa’s First Black President
When Mr Mandela addressed the General Assembly in October 1994, he received a hero’s welcome. History was made as he stepped up to the podium in the white leather chair reserved for heads of state and government. Cheers erupted as he approached the podium. A collective applause echoed throughout the General Assembly Hall.
Indeed, last year, the lawyer and civil rights leader received the Nobel Peace Prize for his costly fight to end apartheid, a system of legalized segregation modeled on the United States’ Jim Crow “separate but equal” racial laws for blacks that was strictly enforced by South Africa’s all-white government from 1948 to 1994.
It took 46 years for Mr. Mandela, along with countless brave South Africans and tens of millions of supporters protesting around the world, to help overthrow that system of apartheid and the regime that maintained it, including 27 years of imprisonment on Robben Island for standing up against apartheid.
However, this is not the first time Mr Mandela has stood before the iconic marble podium in the United Nations General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
He made his first speech before a United Nations audience on 8 June 1990 – shortly after his release from prison – in a speech to the United Nations International Labour Organization (International Labor Organization) as Vice President of the African National Congress (ANC).
“Despite the thickness of the prison walls, all of us on Robben Island and other prisons can hear your voices calling for our freedom very clearly,” Mr. Mandela said.
“We are inspired by this. We thank you for being tireless in your struggle. We thank you for your humanity and your commitment to justice that has driven you to reject the very idea that we should be imprisoned and that our people should be enslaved,” he said.
The unveiling of the statue of Nelson Mandela, a gift from South Africa, at the United Nations Headquarters in 2018. (file)
When the iconic leader died at the age of 95 in December 2013, the President of the General Assembly encouraged the United Nations to honor Mr. Mandela “by letting his legacy live on” in the world body’s continuing fight against poverty, injustice and the destruction of the human person and spirit.
“Let us remember that we too can be like him because we too can choose better, choose to work toward purposes higher and better than our own narrow interests,” John Ashe said in a special meeting convened at United Nations Headquarters to give member states an opportunity to pay tribute to the former South African leader.
The President of the General Assembly called on UN representatives to remember that “we must also work together to reduce hunger and injustice, build lasting peace and sustainable development, end genocide and combat hatred”.
Just as Mr Mandela drew inspiration from his supporters during his imprisonment, the world is also drawing inspiration from his legacy, with hundreds of thousands of activities planned to honour his life on this international day.
Listen to Ben Malor’s 2010 report from UN Radio reflecting on the anti-apartheid struggle and the campaign to free Mandela, in which the United Nations played a key role:
United Nations News Presenting monumental moments in the history of the United Nations, built from United Nations Audiovisual Library49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio.
United Nations Video Update Stories from the United Nations Archives playlist This and our accompanying series This.
Join us next week for a deeper dive into history.
Nelson Mandela International Day is celebrated annually on July 18.
