Ibaitik Itsasora
******
In 1948 Albert Einstein foresaw the Israeli terrorism in Palestine that would eventually bring a catastrophe on the Jewish colonists.
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185 countries can now trade using China’s BRICS-backed payment system —bypassing SWIFT, dodging sanctions, and draining the dollar’s blood supply.
If that doesn’t feel like the funeral drums of Western financial hegemony… you’re not paying attention.
The BRICS-led global payments revolution has quietly outflanked the Western financial order and it didn’t need a missile, a tank, or a G7 summit. Just yuan. Infrastructure. And 20 years of strategic patience.
At the center of this monetary tectonic shift is CIPS, China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payments System, now facilitating transactions across 185 countries. And while Western pundits scoff from behind dollar-tinted glasses, the reality is this:
CIPS has already processed ¥52 trillion ($7T) in settlements, overtaking SWIFT in several strategic corridors.
95% of trade between Russia and China is now settled in local currencies.
Over 40 nations, many in the Global South, are already settling debts and commodity flows through CIPS, completely outside the Western financial surveillance grid.
But let’s decode what this really means:
This isn’t just about BRICS.
It’s about de colonizing the currency system.
The Global Majority, once forced to kneel before the altar of the USD, is now sketching blueprints for a post-dollar world. Quietly. Systematically. And without the need for the IMF’s handcuffs.
And the West?
Still busy congratulating itself for weaponizing SWIFT, a move so arrogant it forced the birth of its own replacement.
They turned the global payment rails into a weapon… and now they’re shocked that the world is building armored trains.
Meanwhile, Washington’s allies, clinging to the Empire’s decaying corpse, are being outmaneuvered. As they debate gender pronouns and export inflation, the rest of the world is securing energy, food, and trade, in their own currencies.
You don’t need to imagine what a multipolar financial system looks like.
You’re living through its genesis.
Israel is notorious for secretly doing medical experiments on Palestinians without their knowledge or consent.
Aipamena
Abier@abierkhatib
Urr. 23
I’m sitting here stunned!!! Literally Israeli doctors were giving chemotherapy to healthy Palestinian detainees, making them think they had cancer. Emad Al Saraj is one of the cases. After his release, doctors ran tests and told him he didn’t have cancer.
oooooo
غزة 24 | التغطية مستمرة @Gaza24Live
Dr. Rahma Al-Adwan: “Because of one lecture in July and three social-media posts, I am now under house arrest, banned from attending any protest or public event in London related to Palestine or ‘Israel.’ I must notify an investigator if I leave my home for more than 48 hours. Yesterday, the judge even prevented me from reading a single sentence in court, and the General Medical Council asked me to remain silent. This is what political persecution of a doctor in Britain looks like today.”
oooooo
BREAKING:
Brazil and Indonesia ready to offer BRICS payment systems for trade in national currencies
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“If there is one thing I would like you to take from this lecture, it is this: whether recognised or not, accepted or not by those in power, the Palestinian struggle for freedom stands at the heart of the movement toward a truly decolonial world order”. – Francesca Albanese (@FranceskAlbs), UN Special Rapporteur
Watch the full lecture here: http://bit.ly/42RVQAI #NMAL2025 #MandelaLecture #GlobalCooperation
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Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture | By Francesca Albanese
(https://www.youtube.com/live/p9w9c9rTyRg)
Enhancing peace and global coorperation
Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture | By Francesca Albanese
Transkripzioa:
0:32
Today we inaugurate the first annual Nelson Mandela lecture.
0:38
The lecture is part of a series of events being held this week to celebrate
0:46
Nelson Mandela. It is because I am the product of the
0:51
people of the world who have cherished the vision of a better life for all
0:58
people everywhere. They insisted in a spirit of self-suff
1:06
that that vision should be realized in South Africa too.
1:12
They gave us hope because we knew by death on the battle.
1:19
That’s our idea.
1:27
Against the backdrop of a new dawn, a nation stood united, casting shadows of
1:33
resilience upon the canvas of destiny.
1:46
We will not be stopped now. You call that the future in your hand.
1:55
Bound by a dream of freedom, we embarked on a journey of hope and reconciliation.
2:03
Together, we celebrated triumphs that echoed across the globe.
2:12
Where colors dance and stories run, South African artists weave their tales,
2:18
our voices rise forever more.
2:23
Innovation blooms in South Africa’s journey. From technologies forefront to
2:30
automotive mastery, pioneering breakthroughs and nurturing minds.
2:36
our legacy. Driven by the spirit of possibility, we
2:42
have built a nation where dreams take flight and bridges crumble barriers.
2:50
In the face of injustice, we stand tall. Unyielding voices echoing the call for
2:56
humanity and equal rights. For 30 years, our flag has been a symbol
3:03
of unity, resilience, and hope. Celebrating 30 years of democracy.
3:12
This is South Africa. We are still moving forward.
3:20
South Africa, inspiring new ways.
3:48
They don’t kick down doors for the sake of noise. They knock twice,
3:54
then walk in anyway because justice rarely comes by invitation.
4:00
They were born into systems that promised peace but delivered silence.
4:06
That praised democracy but feared dissent. That honored rights only in ink, never in action.
4:13
But still they speak not because it’s easy, because it’s necessary.
4:19
They’re the ones who remember that Mediva was 26 when he stopped asking for permission. When he traded comfort for
4:25
consequence. When he chose movement over memory. They know legacy is not a statue, it’s a verb. It’s the risk you
4:32
take to tell the story straight. These troublemakers, they hold the pen
4:39
now. Their trouble deliberate. Their power not loud but rooted. They remix
4:45
archives. They challenge, question, rebuild. Not out of rage, out of love.
4:51
Because they believe in a world where peace does not mean forgetting. where human rights are not headlines and where
4:57
democracy is more than a vote. It’s a voice that cannot be muted. So here’s to
5:02
the good troublemakers from soetu to soor kaicha to kgali brantentine to Brooklyn
5:10
the ones in living rooms in classrooms in hashtags making trouble making space
5:17
making justice a reality.
5:34
We have traveled a long journey.
5:39
We have fought for peace and reconciliation,
5:47
for social justice for all men, women, and children
6:00
to live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
6:08
These are ideals I still believe in.
6:22
By the time has come to fully hand over my work.
6:27
Keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice.
6:36
Every generation has the opportunity to remake the world.
6:43
To anyone who says they care about protecting girls and women, to anyone
6:49
who says they care about education,
6:57
what are you waiting for? I hope and pray
7:04
that we will take the example of Mediva and the people of South Africa and
7:09
understanding what is required to win mighty battles that are necessary for
7:16
good harmony with the planet and with people.
7:23
Let us remind ourselves that our work is far from complete.
7:30
Where there is poverty and sickness, where human beings are being oppressed,
7:38
there is more work to be done. After nearly 90 years of life,
7:46
it is time for new heads to lift the burdens.
7:54
It is in your hands now.
8:03
I would like to thank Nelson Mandela Foundation and Early Care Foundation for this opportunity they forwarded to us. I
8:09
know we’re going to continue to build up this relationship we started. We will
8:15
provide, we will improve our community this way, starting from our ECDs and taking it outside of our ECD centers. We
8:22
are very very grateful to get or to receive the money from early care
8:29
foundation and from Nelson Mandela because we are where we are today
8:34
because of that uh uh funding.
10:10
Technology has sped up time and made our lives increasingly complex, created a
10:17
world where it can sometimes feel hard to catch your breath and find the space
10:23
to truly connect with those you care about. With so much to worry about, it
10:28
can be difficult to find light amidst the darkness. So you need to surround
10:33
yourself with those things that bring you pause, make you smile, feel loved,
10:40
so that these moments become lifelong memories. Vision Tactical does more than
10:46
merely safeguard your home and business. We safeguard you and your lifestyle.
10:51
Your security is more than just knowing you have backup when tragedy strikes.
10:56
It’s about creating a community that welcomes you home with a smile, making
11:01
your day just that little bit brighter, and giving you the time to take in the
11:07
beauty of the world. In today’s connected world, it often
11:13
feels like we are all becoming disconnected. Vision Tactical believes in a better life and a new way of living
11:21
where your lifestyle becomes a priority. It’s safety in numbers. And this is what
11:28
Vision Tactical does best.
12:02
Against the backdrop of a new dawn, a nation stood united, casting shadows of
12:07
resilience upon the canvas of destiny.
12:21
We will not be stopped now. You call that the future in your hand.
12:30
Bound by a dream of freedom, we embarked on a journey of hope and reconciliation.
12:38
Together, we celebrated triumphs that echoed across the globe.
12:47
Where colors dance and stories run, South African artists weave their tales,
12:53
our voices rise forever more.
12:58
Innovation blooms in South Africa’s journey. From technologies forefront to
13:05
automotive mastery, pioneering breakthroughs and nurturing minds.
13:11
Our legacy Driven by the spirit of possibility, we
13:17
have built a nation where dreams take flight and bridges crumble barriers.
13:24
In the face of injustice, we stand tall. Unyielding voices echoing the call for
13:30
humanity and equal rights. For 30 years, our flag has been a symbol
13:38
of unity, resilience, and hope. Celebrating 30 years of democracy.
13:46
This is South Africa. We are still moving forward.
13:55
South Africa inspiring new ways.
14:30
They don’t kick down doors for the sake of noise. They knock twice,
14:36
then walk in anyway. Because justice rarely comes by invitation.
14:42
They were born into systems that promised peace but delivered silence.
14:48
That praised democracy but feared dissent. That honored rights only in ink, never in action.
14:55
But still they speak not because it’s easy, because it’s necessary.
15:01
They’re the ones who remember that Mediva was 26 when he stopped asking for permission. When he traded comfort for
15:07
consequence. When he chose movement over memory. They know legacy is not a statue. It’s a verb. It’s the risk you
15:14
take to tell the story straight. These troublemakers, they hold the pen
15:21
now. Their trouble deliberate. Their power not loud but rooted. They remix
15:28
archives. They challenge, question, rebuild. Not out of rage, out of love.
15:33
Because they believe in a world where peace does not mean forgetting. where human rights are not headlines and where
15:39
democracy is more than a vote. It’s a voice that cannot be muted. So here’s to
15:44
the good troublemakers from soetu to so pao kalicha to kgali brantentine to
15:52
Brooklyn the ones in living rooms in classrooms in hashtags making trouble
15:58
making space making justice a reality
17:30
We have traveled a long journey.
17:35
We have fought for peace and reconciliation,
17:43
for social justice for all men, women and children
17:57
to live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
18:04
These are ideals I still believe in.
18:18
By the time has come to fully hand over my work.
18:23
Keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice.
18:32
Every generation has the opportunity to remake the world.
18:40
To anyone who says they care about protecting girls and women, to anyone
18:45
who says they care about education, to anyone who says they care about
18:51
oppression, what are you waiting for?
18:57
I hope and pray that we will take the example of Mediva
19:03
and the people of South Africa in understanding what is required to win
19:08
mighty battles that are necessary for good harmony with the planet and
19:16
with people. Let us remind ourselves that our work is
19:22
far from complete.
19:29
where human beings are. There is more work to be done
19:38
after nearly 90 years of life. It is time for new heads
19:46
to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.
19:59
I would like to thank Nelson Mandela Foundation and Early Care Foundation for this opportunity they forwarded to us. I
20:05
know we’re going to continue to build up this relationship we started. We will
20:11
provide we will improve our community this way. starting from our ECDS and taking it outside of our ECD centers. We
20:18
are very very grateful to get or to receive the money from early care
20:25
foundation and from Nelson Mandela because we are where we are today
20:30
because of that uh h funding
20:45
conversations. Let us here the women’s Africa Cup of Nations. An amazing performance.
20:51
Miss Universe gold. Grammy goes to the Oscar goes to
20:57
Mark Shuttleworth will spend 10 days in space. The African relations. Mr. Nelson Mandela, a free man taking
21:03
his first steps into a new South Africa. It’s amazing how far we can go when we
21:08
start with the right conversations. Saf leading conversations that move us.
21:46
Today we inaugurate the first annual Nelson Mandela lecture.
21:52
The lecture is part of a series of events being held this week to celebrate
22:00
Nelson Mandela. It is because I am the product of the people of the world who have cherished
22:08
the vision of a better life for all people everywhere.
22:15
They insisted in a spirit of self-sacrifice
22:20
that that vision should be realized in South Africa too.
22:26
They gave us hope because we knew by their solidarity
22:33
that our ideas could not be silenced since they were the ideas of humanity.
22:42
I am the product of Africa and her long cherished dream of a rebirth
22:49
that can now be realized so that all of a tourist may play in the sun.
23:02
It’s 2030 and at Vodiccom we envision a future where every connection empowers
23:08
from individuals to whole communities transforming lives across Africa. We are
23:13
more than a telecommunications provider. We are a purpose-driven force ensuring digital access is a right for all, not
23:20
just a privilege for a few. Our commitment to empowerment is clear. By the end of 2030, we aim for 4G coverage
23:28
for all our customers and 80% smartphone penetration. With the right technology
23:33
in the hands of Africans, financial inclusion is our greatest drive. Our goal is to grow our fintech customers to
23:41
120 million, making essential financial services accessible to 75% of our mobile
23:47
users. Entrepreneurs in South Africa, farmers in Tanzania, and students in the
23:52
DRC are thriving with the digital tools they need to grow, learn, and innovate.
23:58
We have digitalized enterprises and government services, providing digital tools that allow sectors such as
24:04
healthcare, education, and agriculture to thrive. Together, we are solving
24:10
societal challenges. We have now reached over 26 million people with our health
24:15
information systems. Through Techstart, our digital skills initiative, we’ve equipped 1 million young Africans with
24:22
vital digital skills for the jobs of the future and our agriculture solutions like euna solve complex supply chain
24:30
issues faced by farmers, buyers and other stakeholders, creating a seamless
24:35
flow from farms to tables. All of this is underpinned by a meaningfully differentiated brand built on
24:42
inclusivity, sustainability, and African ingenuity. Our brand is amplified through our channels which have become
24:49
intuitive human- ccentric hubs. Guided by purpose, we ask the right questions
24:54
like how can technology better the world? From Cape Town to Cairo, we’ve ignited
25:01
opportunities and fostered innovation, celebrating Africa’s unique vibrancy. We
25:07
invite everyone, employees, partners, and customers to co-create the future
25:13
with us. We are Vodiccom, and we believe that by connecting people with purpose,
25:19
we can go further together.
26:12
Technology has sped up time and made our lives increasingly complex, created a
26:19
world where it can sometimes feel hard to catch your breath and find the space
26:24
to truly connect with those you care about. With so much to worry about, it
26:30
can be difficult to find light. So you need to surround yourself with
26:36
those things that bring you pause, make you smile, feel loved, so that these
26:42
moments become lifelong memories. Vision Tactical does more than merely safeguard
26:48
your home and business. We safeguard you and your lifestyle. Your security is
26:54
more than just knowing you have backup when tragedy strikes. It’s about creating a community that welcomes you
27:00
home with a smile, making your day just that little bit brighter, and giving you
27:07
the time to take in the beauty of the world.
27:13
In today’s connected world, it often feels like we are all becoming disconnected. Vision Tactical believes
27:20
in a better life and a new way of living where your lifestyle becomes a priority.
27:27
It’s safety in numbers and this is what Vision Tactical does best.
27:45
It is however a reflection of the times we find ourselves missing and we must have the courage to listen and to move
27:53
through that pain and discomfort. As an independent expert as my predecessor
27:59
I’ve always strived to fulfill the role of an impartial and informed witness. The perception of impartiality has been
28:06
a consistently contentious aspect of this mandate since its in inception,
28:12
drawing regular acquisitions of violence. But impartiality has become a
28:17
pompous world word for indifference
28:42
against the backdrop of a new dawn. A nation stood united, casting shadows
28:48
of resilience upon the canvas of destiny.
29:01
We will not be stopped now. Your calls are the future in your hand.
29:10
Bound by a dream of freedom, we embarked on a journey of hope and reconciliation.
29:18
Together, we celebrated triumphs that echoed across the globe.
29:27
Where colors dance and stories run, South African artists weave their tales,
29:33
our voices rise forever more.
29:38
Innovation blooms in South Africa’s journey. From technologies forefront to
29:45
automotive mastery, pioneering breakthroughs and nurturing minds.
29:51
Our legacy driven by the spirit of possibility. We
29:57
have built a nation where dreams take flight and bridges crumble barriers.
30:05
In the face of injustice, we stand tall. Unyielding voices echoing the call for
30:11
humanity and equal rights. For 30 years, our flag has been a symbol
30:18
of unity, resilience, and hope. Celebrating 30 years of democracy.
30:27
This is South Africa. We are still moving forward.
30:36
South Africa inspiring new ways.
30:42
They don’t kick down doors for the sake of noise. They knock twice,
30:48
then walk in anyway. Because justice rarely comes by invitation.
30:54
They were born into systems that promised peace but delivered
31:00
but feared dissent. that honored rights only in ink, never in action.
31:06
But still, they speak not because it’s easy, because it’s necessary.
31:12
They’re the ones who remember that Mediva was 26 when he stopped asking for permission. When he traded comfort for
31:18
consequence, when he chose movement over memory. They know legacy is not a statue, it’s a verb. It’s the risk you
31:25
take to tell the story straight. These troublemakers, they hold the pen
31:32
now. Their trouble deliberate. Their power not loud but rooted. They remix
31:38
archives. They challenge, question, rebuild. Not out of rage, out of love.
31:44
Because they believe in a world where peace does not mean forgetting. Where human rights are not headlines and where
31:50
democracy is more than a vote. It’s a voice that cannot be muted. So here’s to
31:56
the good troublemakers from soetu to soor kaicha to kgali brantentine to Brooklyn
32:04
the ones in living rooms in classrooms in hashtags making trouble making space
32:10
making justice a reality. See,
32:25
we have traveled a long journey.
32:30
We have fought for peace and reconciliation,
32:38
for social justice for all men, women and children
32:51
to live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
32:59
These are ideals I still believe in.
33:13
But the time has come to fully hand over my work.
33:18
Keep believing, keep marching, keep building, keep raising your voice.
33:27
Every generation has the opportunity to remake the world.
33:34
To anyone who says they care about protecting girls and women, to anyone
33:40
who says they care about education, to anyone who says they care about
33:46
oppression, what are you waiting for?
33:52
I hope and pray that we will take the example of Mediva
33:58
and the people of South Africa and understanding what is required to win
34:03
mighty battles that are necessary for good harmony with the planet and
34:11
with Let us remind ourselves that our work is
34:17
far from complete. Where there is poverty and sickness,
34:24
where human beings are being oppressed, there is more work to be done.
34:33
After nearly 90 years of life, it is time for new heads
34:41
to lift the burdens. Eight in your hands now.
34:52
My name is Tabi. I’m a broadcast journalist, a South African journalist and moderator living and working in
34:59
Washington DC. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
35:05
It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the 23rd Nelson Mandela annual lecture. We
35:12
gather under the light and the spirit of Nelson Kishasha Mandela who taught us
35:19
that courage is not the absence of fear but triumph over it. Who taught us that
35:26
peace is not the absence or the silence of guns but the presence of justice. I
35:32
think I’m not the only person who is rattled by what is happening in the
35:38
globe today. a transactional foreign policy posturing by the most powerful
35:44
nation in the world. The guns and bombs that are going off in Gaza, in the
35:49
Sudan. We are gathering at a time when our world is shaken by war, by division and
35:56
moral uncertainty. But I think that it is important to go back to where we started, to go back to
36:03
values that many perhaps think are too soft, too inconvenient. They don’t
36:09
matter in this world of realism and real politic where it is the survival of the
36:15
fittest. We know that he lived for truth, dignity, compassion and dialogue.
36:22
And that these today are not mere relics of history. They are the campus that we
36:27
need to navigate this uncertain world. So it is in that spirit that I welcome
36:33
you to the lecture this afternoon.
36:43
It wouldn’t be the Nelson Mandela annual lecture without music, without song. We
36:51
wouldn’t be on South African soil without music and song. Please help me give a warm welcome to the Vets
36:58
University Choir.
37:17
African
37:32
Oh,
38:00
Saychech. South Africa.
38:06
South Africa.
38:28
songs the call to come together and
38:35
we shine. Let us live for free
38:43
in sal.
39:02
Thank you to the Vets University choir. We’ll give you a moment.
39:15
Thank you. Another warm round of applause.
39:24
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you and welcome the NMF Nelson Mandela
39:29
Foundation Chief Executive Officer Dr. Bongen Bhutles.
39:43
United Nations special reperator for the occupied Palestinian territories is
39:48
Franchesca Albanz, members of the Mandela family here present with us, minister ministers and
39:57
deputy ministers of the South African government, premers, members of provincial executive
40:04
committees, university vice chancellors here present, United Nations resident
40:10
coordinator Mr. the Nelson Mufu and colleagues from the United Nations,
40:15
ambassadors and all members of the diplomatic corps, trustees of the Nelson
40:20
Mandela Foundation, friends and supporters of the foundation,
40:26
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the Nelson Mandela
40:32
Foundation, I thank you for attending the 23rd Nelson Mandela annual lecture.
40:39
all 3,500 of you in this room
40:48
and of course the many thousands watching my live stream, on television
40:54
and on radio. Many individual expressions of thanks
41:02
for making today possible are due and I’ll be acknowledging all of them
41:07
during my closing remarks at the end of today’s event. But allow me to start by
41:13
thanking three people at the outset and people and organizations. of course the United Nations Special
41:19
Rapature for accepting the invitation to come to South Africa and think very hard
41:31
to come to South Africa and think very hard with us about the moment we are in
41:36
in the world and to dream big big about liberator liberatory possibilities.
41:45
Allow me to thank the United Nations team here in South Africa which has been an ever willing partner in bringing the
41:52
UN special reperator to South Africa for this lecture.
42:01
And finally for now we are grateful to the Sen Santin Convention Center for
42:07
making this facility available uh to us at a very late notice.
42:17
I must just tell you that we were overwhelmed by demand when we made uh
42:22
tickets available. We we were going to have this event at Vets University, our
42:27
partner in this event. And within 37 minutes, all 1,000 tickets have been
42:34
accounted for. And so we simply had to find a bigger venue.
42:40
agree with me that this year’s lecture finds
42:48
the world in a moment that is difficult to make sense of and painful to live
42:54
through. We know that major geopolitical shifts
43:00
are underway. We know that climate change is impacting in dramatic ways on societies across the
43:07
world and especially in the global south. We see new forms of wealth wealth
43:13
extraction, new manifestations of racism and white supremacy.
43:20
And we see a a proliferation of wars and other forms of conflict.
43:26
We see genocide turned into spectacle and political football.
43:34
Some commentators describe the world as being in a state of poly crisis. And at
43:39
a time when we need the them most, international law and the world’s
43:45
institutions of multilateralism are under siege by those who have vested
43:52
interest in them failing. It is in this context
43:58
that the board of the Nelson Mandela Foundation took a decision to adopt the
44:03
theme of this year’s lecture, enhancing peace and global cooperation.
44:10
In 2003, on a visit to Malawi, Madiva reminded us that I quote, “I
44:17
international and multilateral bodies have the ability, if there is political
44:24
will, to solve and prevent conflicts.”
44:30
He also asserted that business leaders share responsibility for building a more
44:38
peaceful and prosperous world. We at the Nelson Mandela Foundation
44:45
believe in international law. We support multilateralism
44:51
as a critical instrument for resolving conflict and promoting justice.
44:58
We demand a private sector that invests in the imperative to make just
45:03
societies. But DBA created the Nelson Mandela annual lecture in 2003
45:10
as a platform for thought leadership and an instrument for provoking public
45:17
discussion and debate. This week, this platform has delivered
45:24
thought-provoking debate, an opportunity to ask one another very hard questions
45:29
and look in the mirror with organizations including the Jewish
45:34
Democratic Initiative, South African Jews for a free Palestine,
45:39
the South African Council of Churches, the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa
45:48
and activist or organizations. s and formations from across the country. We
45:53
sat across tables from one another. We sat across the table at which Madiva
46:01
himself posted many difficult but necessary dialogues and ask one another
46:07
hard questions. Questions about what a just peace in the
46:13
middle in the Middle East needs to and how it can be achieved. questions about what did it look like to
46:21
eat, which we all do, and to feed our children products that do not support
46:28
dispossession in Palestine or anywhere else in the world.
46:39
We were also asked hard questions too as organizations, especially those carrying
46:45
the legacy of Madiva about our role in fighting injustice in the world today
46:51
and who we take money from. Predictably,
47:01
predictably, there has also been a torrent of misinformation,
47:06
of lies, and of vile abuse of both the foundation, but also of individuals,
47:13
including our annual lecture speaker uh today, as well as our chair, Dr. Nali
47:19
Pando, the chair of the Nelson Mandela Foundation board.
47:32
Allow me to take a moment to thank the Ahmed Katrada Foundation who along with
47:38
the Andrew and Jun Langi Foundation and the Sophie and Henry De Brrain
47:43
Foundation have stood up to those who are trying to bully us into silence.
47:56
We also thank the many people who continue to raise our their voices online, on talk radio and everywhere
48:03
else against those who are trying to silence us and thus turn us complicity
48:09
in genocide complicity.
48:16
More than ever, we need platforms like this annual lecture as we strive to make
48:22
sense of the world and identify strategies for effecting meaningful and
48:28
sustainable change. This August platform has attracted
48:33
global thought leaders and change agents over the last two decades. I’m proud to
48:39
say to date seven Nobel Prize winners,
48:45
seven sitting heads or former heads of state and three senior United Nations
48:51
leaders have graced this platform.
48:59
Mr. Albanza will be of course the fourth senior UN leader to do so today.
49:05
Ladies and gentlemen, I have no doubt you that you will agree with me that that for this year’s lecture, we have a
49:12
speaker who is both a thought leader and a social change agent and someone whose
49:18
life and work is inspirational. I cannot wait to listen to Miss
49:24
Albanza’s lecture. Thank you.
49:36
Thank you so much Dr. Bleszi and I think that we really ought to reflect on the
49:42
ramifications that come with standing up for the values that you have articulated here.
49:50
And if I may just emphasize that the Nelson Mandela Foundation is under enormous, enormous pressure. It was a
49:58
gutsy move to invite the speaker that you’ve invited today.
50:11
And there are consequences to these actions as we saw through Madiva’s life
50:16
and we’ll talk more about these consequences in our fireside chat after
50:21
the lecture. But I was thinking of a word as you were speaking indifference.
50:27
that indifference is the enemy at this very fractured time. Allow me to
50:34
introduce you to Nelson Mufa who is the UN resident coordinator and he will
50:41
share perspectives on the theme of the lecture this year. Please come forward.
50:51
Oh, so you got my SMS about the outfit, right? The color scheme. They didn’t adhere to it here. just a few people but
50:57
you and I we’re good right? Yeah. Thank you so much to the program director very uh coordinated that is um
51:05
to the chair of the board of the Nelson Mandela Foundation as well as to the chief executive. Thank you for having us
51:12
uh here this evening and also to the excellencies distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen in the audience. It is
51:19
truly a profound honor to join you today at the 23rd Nelson Mandela annual
51:25
lecture in celebration of the legacy of an icon whose wisdom, vision of justice,
51:34
dignity, and human solidarity continues to inspire our world.
51:40
This year’s theme, enhancing peace and global cooperation, could not be more
51:47
timely or relevant. As the world marks the 80th anniversary
51:53
of the United Nations, we are called together to renew the very principles
52:00
that gave birth to the UN in 1945. faith in dialogue, respect for human
52:06
life and dignity, and the conviction that our shared humanity is stronger
52:12
than the forces that divide us.
52:20
In his recent address to the general assembly, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Gutirez urged world
52:26
leaders to choose cooperation over fragmentation and reclaim the ethical
52:32
foundations of multilateralism, reminding us that peace requires
52:37
dignity, justice, and inclusion for all. He also called on the international
52:42
community to put pe people before geopolitics and to see in each crisis not an excuse
52:50
for despair but a call to rebuild trust and advance solidarity.
52:57
And the need for such renewal is evident in every corner of the world. From the
53:03
devastation in Gaza and Sudan to the climate emergency, rising inequality,
53:10
and the growing divides within and between societies. It is why we must redouble our efforts
53:16
for peace grounded in international law and compassion for every human being.
53:24
We are therefore looking very much forward to this year’s lecture delivered
53:29
by Miss Francesca Albanzi, the independent United Nations special
53:34
reporter on the occupied Palestinian territories. Her presence here today is both timely
53:42
and deeply symbolic as we reflect on the enduring humane legacy of Nelson Mandela
53:48
and the humane values that continue to guide the United Nations.
53:53
Spatial reporters as independent experts play an
53:59
indispensable role in amplifying truth, accountability, and the lived realities
54:04
of those most affected by injustice. Their work exemplifies the spirit of
54:11
principled independent thought that late President Mandela so powerfully embodied
54:17
a commitment to speak truth even when it is uncomfortable and to do so in the
54:22
service of peace and humanity. As the United Nations family we have
54:28
long cherished our deep and g growing collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Together we have celebrated
54:35
Madiva’s legacy not only through dialogue but through action including
54:40
the publication of two Mandela books on the sustainable development goals which serve as a powerful call to action for
54:47
individuals, governments, civil society and business and we are honored that
54:54
former Secretary General Kofan, current Secretary General Antonio Gutirez and current deputy secretary
55:00
general Amina Muhammad have previously delivered this lecture. underscoring the United Nations deep
55:07
respect for this platform and its convening power. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the
55:14
journey towards peace and cooperation is not an abstract one. It is shaped by what each of us chooses to do. The path
55:21
forward demands bold, intentional and unified action. And we need to ensure
55:28
that we at the center of leading this effort.
55:34
South Africa and the continent of Africa needs to play their role as co-creators
55:40
of the future we wish to see and deserve to live. And in the spirit of Mandela,
55:46
let us recommmit ourselves to humanity in action. We must invest in, uphold the
55:52
rights of the vulnerable, mobilize collaboration across borders and ensure
55:58
that our global system is equitable and serves everyone, not just a few. Let us
56:05
remember peace is not inevitable. It is essential. It is a choice we make every
56:12
day. And justice is not passive. It is pursued. So let this lecture and this
56:18
gathering be a clarion call for shared respon resp responsibility, courageous
56:24
leadership and unwavering dedication to building a world worthy of Mandela’s
56:29
hope and our collective future. A future we must walk together with courage,
56:35
compassion, and conviction. I thank you.
56:47
Thank you so much Mr. Mufa and as you said that peace is a choice so we can presume that the opposite of peace is
56:54
also a choice. It’s actually quite exasperating when you look at the theme of the 23rd lecture enhancing peace and
57:01
global cooperation that there’s anyone in the world who would be intimidated
57:07
uh and unhappy about those kind of themes. It’s actually quite ridiculous to be honest. But in sending off the
57:14
United Nations, I think I do want to say that UNRA, the United Nations agency
57:20
that works uh in Palestine has seen the United Nations has seen the highestalties
57:27
in this crisis, in this genocide in Gaza, but they continue to be on the
57:33
ground. And I also think important to mention that just to the ICJ affirmed
57:40
the legitimacy of UNRA as a credible
57:51
yeah as the only credible authoritative agency for humanitarian aid in
57:56
Palestine. And they also ruled that there’s no evidence that has been brought by Israel uh that UNRA has been
58:02
infiltrated by Hamas. Go argue with the wall. It’s the ICJ that said so. I’m
58:07
just repeating it to you. It is a pleasure right now to introduce
58:15
you to the chairperson of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, a leader whom we
58:23
still call minister, but she’s not a minister anymore, Dr. Nali Pando.
58:40
Thank you. Uh,
58:46
thank you very much. It’s very kind of you. Um,
58:53
well, I’m going to uh do that awful thing of saying I attach myself or
59:00
something like that, some poor English like that to the protocol that was indicated by the chief executive officer
59:09
of the foundation. Awful. Uh so let me just to ameliorate
59:16
a little bit say excellent distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen.
59:22
Well good afternoon to you all. Assalamu allayikum.
59:29
I would not be true to myself if I did not begin by saying I wish to express my
59:37
sincere thanks to all those who stepped in when it seemed that we could not
59:44
afford to host the lecture because those who normally support us became fearful
59:52
of being in support of justice and freedom. So those who stepped in, I
59:57
thank you. So ladies and gentlemen, distinguished
1:00:05
guests and all who are following today’s event wherever you are in the world.
1:00:12
I receive my greetings from the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s board of trustees
1:00:18
and I thank all our trustees for being here today. We thank all of you for
1:00:24
supporting the 23rd Nelson Mandela annual lecture. Chief Mandela, I know
1:00:31
I’m not pronouncing it quite the way you want me to, but I hope you’ll forgive
1:00:36
me. It is my singular honor and pleasure to introduce our speaker this year. Miss
1:00:44
Francesca Albanese hardly needs introduction of course given the many
1:00:50
ways in which she has inspired people around the world with her courage and tenacity in advocating for the freedom
1:00:58
of the Palestinian people over many many years. She’s a human rights lawyer and a
1:01:05
legal scholar who has specialized in the histories and contemporary realities of
1:01:12
the Middle East. She has taught at universities in Europe, the Middle East,
1:01:17
and the United States, and is widely published. Her 2020 book, Palestinian
1:01:25
Refugees in International Law, is a magisterial work. Miss Albanese has a
1:01:32
long association with the United Nations going back to 2003.
1:01:38
She worked in the office of the high commissioner for human rights and in the relief and works agency for Palestine
1:01:45
refugees. In 2022, she was appointed the UN special raptor on Palestine.
1:01:54
Special raptors have the mandate of monitoring, promoting, and raising
1:02:00
awareness on a particular human rights matter all around the world, as well as
1:02:06
facilitating a global discussion on their focus area,
1:02:12
which is what we’re doing today, and ultimately seeking out action to address
1:02:18
that human rights issue. The role is a demanding duty for one
1:02:25
individual and even if there were a group of experts, it still would be difficult. Special repetiters are not UN
1:02:34
employees and are not remunerated by the United Nations. They are experts in
1:02:40
their field independent of the office of the high commissioner for human rights
1:02:45
or any other mechanism or government entity. The office of the high
1:02:51
commission for human rights provides administrative and logistical support.
1:02:58
So you will see from this that it is a difficult and often thankless task.
1:03:06
Our board of trustees believed her to be uniquely positioned to speak to the
1:03:12
theme of this year’s le lecture enhancing peace and global cooperation.
1:03:20
Now while of course many of us our interest and focus is the troubling
1:03:26
situation of the lack of self-determination for the people of Palestine. But our
1:03:32
added concern is peace and global cooperation for the entire humanity. And
1:03:38
we must never forget that over many years
1:03:47
over many years I have followed Miss Albanesey’s career with great
1:03:52
admiration. We had occasion at one time to speak on
1:03:58
the uh telephone and I’m sure she regretted allowing me to have her number
1:04:04
because it allowed me to twist her arm and persuade her to come to our country.
1:04:10
She executes her task with commitment and a conscience. I have admired her
1:04:17
interpretation of her role as including full civil society engagement, accuracy
1:04:24
of data and the courage to stand even
1:04:29
when powerful forces seek to derail the honesty of her contribution.
1:04:36
You might have seen public commentary say Lady Pando is weaponizing the
1:04:42
Mandela Foundation. Well, as far as I’m concerned, Nelson Mandela was an
1:04:48
incredible weapon.
1:04:58
I am sure that this afternoon I speak for all of us when I say that we
1:05:05
are looking forward to Franchesca Albanese’s lecture with a great sense of
1:05:10
anticipation. I hope that we will listen carefully, draw lessons, draw inspiration.
1:05:18
So without any further delay, allow me to most enthusiastically
1:05:23
invite her to present the 23rd annual Nelson Mandela lecture. I warmly welcome
1:05:31
you, Franchesca, to this platform.
1:06:28
We Pakistan. Free star
1:06:36
free
1:06:44
Mulweni
1:06:54
San Bona Dang.
1:07:00
Good afternoon, distinguished guests, comrades, and friends.
1:07:06
I’m deeply honored and humbled to stand here on the soil that gave Nelson
1:07:13
Mandela and one of the greatest examples of liberation
1:07:18
and of modern history. I want to thank the Nelson Mandela
1:07:24
Foundation for keeping alive not only the memory of a man but the movement
1:07:31
that embodied the struggle for justice and human dignity whose legacy we
1:07:36
celebrate today. I am deeply honored by your invitation
1:07:42
uh to South Africa to deliver this uh this lecture reflecting on how uh
1:07:49
Mandela’s belief in the indivisibility of freedom and his courage to confront
1:07:54
power can guide us through the crualist injustice of our time.
1:08:01
After meeting so many of you in the struggle for justice for Falstine over
1:08:07
the years, some of whom are in this room this afternoon and after spending a few
1:08:14
yet profoundly intense and inspiring days among you, I feel it deeply.
1:08:21
Mandela could not have been born anywhere else. He was fully, truly,
1:08:28
beautifully South African.
1:08:39
And there is so much of him in so many of you that it cannot be just a
1:08:46
coincidence. To invoke Mandela’s name is not to canonize him, but to awaken his
1:08:52
unfinished struggle within each of us. His legacy invites us to embrace memory
1:08:59
not as nostalgia but as awareness and resistance. His life not a statue of
1:09:05
memory but a living compass pointing us toward justice. And his lessons endure.
1:09:14
The struggle for freedom is never the burden of one person alone, let alone a
1:09:19
people alone. When Nelson Mandela walked out of prison, he did more than free himself.
1:09:29
He and his comrades rewrote the grammar of power, turning domination into
1:09:36
dignity, marking a decisive and historic step in the decolonization of this continent.
1:09:44
His life as well as his words teach that injustice teach that justice knows no
1:09:51
borders and our freedom is bound to the freedoms of those still denied theirs.
1:09:58
That conviction remains our moral compass today carried by South Africa by
1:10:04
others in the global south. We should call it global majority and by the young
1:10:10
voices
1:10:17
and by the young voices rising from America to Europe and other
1:10:23
parts of the global north. Let’s call it the global minority
1:10:30
demanding a freer world. So let’s start
1:10:36
in this moment as the world witnesses the ongoing attempt to erase an entire people in Palestine. From the fleeting
1:10:43
ceasefire in shattered Gaza to the accelerated colonization of the West Bank, history is pressing upon us. And
1:10:52
standing on this sacred soil at the roots of mother Africa, a continent so
1:10:57
rich, so nurturing despite centuries on violence inflicted upon it. It feels
1:11:04
deeply symbolic. And Falstine share deep historic ties
1:11:11
forged in the fires of resistance to colonial rule and the quest for liberation.
1:11:17
The indomitable spirit of the South African people who overcame centuries of European colonialism dismantling the
1:11:25
criminal system of apartheid continues to resonate far beyond these shores
1:11:31
inspiring all believe in the possibility of justice.
1:11:37
This reminds us that the Palestinian people too with the solidarity of those who stand behi besides them can one day
1:11:45
break the chains of oppression. And this in this time of utter diplomatic
1:11:51
hypocrisy, political cowardice and self-interest, the words of Nelson Mandela resonate louder than ever.
1:11:59
In 1997, he said, “Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap
1:12:06
of washing our hands of difficulties that others face. We would be less than human if we did
1:12:14
so.” And this moment calls on all of us not to wash our hands of the hell into which
1:12:21
Israel has plunged Philistine. Two years after the beginning of the genocide and
1:12:26
despite the ceasefire, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory remains nothing short of apocalyptic.
1:12:35
And I use this term deliberately. Gaza is a wasteland of rabble refuse and
1:12:42
human remains where survivors cling to life and disease deprivation and the
1:12:48
relentless weight of violence unseen anywhere this century. Over 240,000
1:12:55
killed or injured. Surely many more, say the expert. And the numbers rise daily.
1:13:03
Entire neighborhoods obliterated. Families returning to ruins only to uncover bodies of their loved ones
1:13:10
beneath the rubble. City blocks lying in dust. Clean water scars. Food nearly
1:13:17
non-existent. Medicine and electricity critically short. Prisoners tortured and raped.
1:13:26
Bodies mangled, desecrated and left in the street.
1:13:32
Homes and memories destroyed. Intimate lives violated.
1:13:37
Populations forcibly displaced times and times again across a territory rendered
1:13:44
uninhabitable. With nowhere to flee and nothing to return to, excruciating suffering is
1:13:52
widespread, systematic, and by design. And even during the fragile ceasefire, it
1:14:00
continues. Over 100 Palestinians have been killed since Israel committed to
1:14:06
ceasefire on October 10. For two years, Israel has waged the war
1:14:11
on a civilian population while Palestinians have no army, no tanks, and no security forces that can protect
1:14:17
them. And while in Gaza, it had the excuse of wanting to eradicate Hamas.
1:14:24
This does not explain the escalation of violence and
1:14:29
acceleration of ethnic cleansing in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. there.
1:14:35
Over the past two years, Palestinians have experienced the largest wave of
1:14:41
ethnic cleansing since 1967. More than 40,000 have been driven from
1:14:48
their homes, made homeless in the little that remain of their homeland. Over a
1:14:54
thousand killed, 200 children, 10,000 injured, 10,000 detained, many as young
1:15:03
as 14. simply to have joined peaceful demonstrations or having been in the
1:15:08
wrong place at the wrong time. Armed settlers protected by soldiers
1:15:14
roaming with impunity, burning homes, destroying olive trees, attacking families who have farmed for
1:15:21
generations. During the olive harvest, once a season
1:15:27
of sustenance and joy, farmers now face a salt and arson, their trees uprooted,
1:15:34
their soiled what was once life has become
1:15:40
resistance. The centuries the centuryl long slow colonization of fallestine has
1:15:47
accelerated into a vicious campaign of destruction where the erasure of the indigenous people is the end goal.
1:15:54
Euphemism like conflict or clashes conceal the stark reality of horror that
1:16:01
continues unchecked. Instead, this is a textbook case of genocide. Genocide, the
1:16:09
intentional destruction of a group as such is rarely a single act. It unfolds
1:16:15
piece by piece, decade by decade, crime after crime. and the ongoing genocide in
1:16:21
Palestine in Palestine visible in the totality of Israeli crimes against the
1:16:27
totality of Palestinians across the totality of the lands slated for annexation
1:16:33
has been meticulously prepared over decades and enabled by long-standing
1:16:38
violations, impunity and international complicity.
1:16:43
Genocide, it seems, is the dormant gene of an apartheid regime rooted in settler
1:16:50
colonialism. But
1:16:59
but apocalypse deriving from the Greek apocalypsis
1:17:05
originally means to reveal, to uncover. And the current moment is fundamentally
1:17:12
one of profound revelation of truth of reality beyond ordinary perception.
1:17:20
The sacrifice of Gaza happening under our watch forces us to confront the system we live in. The horrid brutal
1:17:28
reality we are all part of. the truth of who we are as individuals, as
1:17:33
communities, as states, as institutions, and compels us to choose between courage
1:17:39
through principles or cowardice through acceptance. And these are some of the lessons of
1:17:47
this revelation. First, the genocide in Fallstine has pierced
1:17:52
the veil of Maya, showing the underlying geopolitical calculation of the world’s most powerful nations. As I came to
1:17:59
realize studying the maps of greater Israel stretching from the Nile to the a
1:18:07
vision that many Israeli leaders shamelessly brandish in international fora. The occupation of Palestine must
1:18:14
be understood as part of a broader project of domination. This is not
1:18:20
merely about physical borders of historical philistine. It is a
1:18:26
systematic assertion of permanent supremacy that knows no border. One
1:18:32
people controlling land, resources, and the very existence of another or others,
1:18:39
often without needing full physical presence or formal annexation. Palestinians are brutalized,
1:18:45
dispossessed, and yet they resist. The defiancing is is why they remain the
1:18:54
thorn in the side not only of an occupying power but of a wider system
1:19:01
where Israel acts together with and often as a proxy of the United States
1:19:08
destabilizing the region to weaken societies and making them easier to
1:19:13
dominate.
1:19:20
This project is already happening and the wars and conflicts that have been brought by the United States, its
1:19:27
western allies and some Arab allies against the peoples in the region speaks to that. Palestine struggle is the
1:19:34
stubborn heartbeat of a region fighting for its soul and the resistance that
1:19:41
refuses to be tamed. Second, the Gaza genocide has turned
1:19:46
Falstine as the epicenter of global reckoning, exposing how racial, colonial, capitalistic structures make
1:19:54
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide a profitable business. This
1:20:01
resonates
1:20:06
this resonates with the experience of colonized populations worldwide for centuries.
1:20:12
For generations, Palestinians have been turned into a testing ground for weapons and surveillance techniques, providing
1:20:18
boundless supply and demand, little oversight, and zero accountability.
1:20:25
Too many influential corporate entities have profited freely. And this explain
1:20:30
how while Palestinians have been killed and maimed in the thousands every fortnight for the past two years, Tel
1:20:37
Aviv stock exchange kept soaring, growing of 213% and amassing 226
1:20:45
billion US dollars in market gains in only in the first 18 months of the genocide. and companies have turned over
1:20:53
near record profits by equipping Israel with cutting edge weaponry that has obliterated virtually defenseless
1:21:00
population in Gaza. The companies continue to provide dual use
1:21:06
infrastructure that enables mass targeting and mass killing. The
1:21:11
machinery of global global construction giants is raising Gaza to the ground.
1:21:17
Major in major international banks have underwritten and purchased Israeli treasury bonds financing the devastation
1:21:25
even as deficit grew and credit ratings fell.
1:21:31
This is no ordinary occupation sustained by exploitation. This is a longstanding economy of
1:21:38
occupation which has turned genocidal. And third, the meaning of what this
1:21:44
genocide means for all of us, for our collective understanding of
1:21:50
politics, of solidarity, of humanity. Today we know Gaza. We see Gaza.
1:21:57
Hospitals bombed, parents gathering the limbs of their childrens, journalists
1:22:03
and medics torn apart. This horror is visible to us in real time on our phones
1:22:10
all day long. if we dare to look. But this is also bringing social and
1:22:16
political awakening everywhere. It is shaping the conscience especially of the new generations.
1:22:23
Not long ago, my sister in arms from South Africa, Dr. Lang Moofang the
1:22:29
United Nations special reporter lang
1:22:36
the United Nations special reporter on the right to health told me the wounds
1:22:41
inflicted on the innocent ripple through every nation’s soul she was reflecting
1:22:47
on children from Gaza with me but from her own experience of a child of
1:22:52
apartheid South Africa and this is true for every young soul beyond Gaza
1:22:58
For the youngest in this hyperconnected world, this genocide is not history, but
1:23:03
memory in the making. Those in Europe will not have the distance that my
1:23:09
generation had reading about the Holocaust and SKS of ignorance as some
1:23:14
did during the Rwanda genocide or the genocide in Bosnia or as we in the west
1:23:21
have done cocooning ourselves into collective am collective amnesia visav
1:23:27
our history of 500 years of colonial crimes. The Palestinian struggle has not only
1:23:33
exposed the suffering of the Palestinians since the creation of the state of Israel and the complicity of
1:23:40
our political systems. Today, the world knows the meaning of
1:23:46
Nakba, but it has never done and it will not forget it. And this
1:23:57
and this is increasingly recognized as interconnected with injustices across
1:24:03
the majority, the global majority where economic structures of dispossession
1:24:10
remain intact after colonial powers were expelled. And in the global minority as
1:24:16
well where those protesting genocide face fierce repression because the
1:24:21
proiteeers of the genocide who are the same who keep seeding misery here in
1:24:26
South Africa as in Congo as in Sudan and increasingly across Europe, in the
1:24:32
United States as well
1:24:38
are those who want to keep operating without disruption.
1:24:43
And perhaps this explain why across Europe and beyond, people today marched
1:24:49
with banners that read, “We wanted to save Palestine, but Palestine is saving
1:24:56
us
1:25:04
because we cannot bring the clock back. Falstine has awakened us.” And now with
1:25:09
all this knowledge and the and awareness, the question is simple but urgent. Shall we do? And we seem
1:25:18
suspended between the abyss and hope when the old world dying and the new
1:25:25
struggling to breathe. I do not know. I do not know how we will end this. but of
1:25:32
something I’m sure we will not come out of this genocide as we entered it. This
1:25:39
is precisely where international law must act. Supporting Palestinian
1:25:45
self-determination is not an act of charity. It is a binding obligation on all
1:25:52
states.
1:25:59
The International Court of Justice has a has affirmed that Israel’s occupation is illegal. A violation amount to rational
1:26:07
to racial segregation and apartheid that must end. Troops must be withdrawn.
1:26:14
Colonies dismantled, resources given back, offer and concrete
1:26:21
reparations offered and right to return of the refugees must be realized.
1:26:35
When South Africa brought the genocide in Gaza before the International Court of Justice, while much of the West
1:26:41
looked away or worse defended and armed the asalent, you South Africa did more
1:26:49
than just filing a case.
1:26:59
You open the door for other countries to act. Above all, above all, this is the
1:27:05
first settler colonial genocide ever brought before an international court. A
1:27:11
moment of historic resonance, echoing not only through Fallstine, but through
1:27:18
every land where indigenous people have barely survived their own genocides.
1:27:28
This act has rekindled faith in international law. So thank you South Africa as a symbolic restoration a quite
1:27:35
revolution in the history of international law. And in doing so you proved again who you are hairs of Nessum
1:27:43
Mandela. In this conviction that justice must be must be lived not merely spoken.
1:27:51
And in a few days, I will have the privilege to present my last uh report to the United Nations Assembly called
1:27:58
Gaza Genocide, a collective crime. And I will do that from Cape Town. How
1:28:04
symbolic.
1:28:12
While the US has banned me and with it my analysis and recommendations,
1:28:18
I’m in this country. the country that once again stands at the cusp of what
1:28:24
can be the beginning of a new multilateralism challenging once more colonial and imperial power structures.
1:28:32
But you know, as history teaches us, law on paper is never enough. Law is only as
1:28:40
strong as the will of states to enforce it. And enforcing it today requires principle choices and courage. And what
1:28:48
if states fail to act? What if South Africa and others do not do what they
1:28:54
are obliged to do? Impose an arms embargo and suspend trade, investigate
1:29:00
and where warranted, prosecute
1:29:05
prosecute its nationals who have fought in the Israeli army. prevent
1:29:14
prevent businesses from operating in Israel and stop pro- genocide forces in
1:29:20
this country from dehumanizing Palestinians and harassing anyone who
1:29:25
who stands in solidarity with them.
1:29:36
Facing Gaza’s devastation, we are called to choose justice over silence, action
1:29:42
over apathy. And each of us must also act the hard part. Make ethical choices
1:29:51
as consumers, teachers, students, civil servants, now more than ever called to
1:29:57
be more civil than servants. Stop buying products that sustain
1:30:03
illegal occupation and genocide.
1:30:10
Hold governments, banks, pension funds, and universities accountable. Boycott
1:30:16
Israeli products and those linked to Israeli crimes as the BDS movement asks
1:30:22
us.
1:30:29
We have to mobilize unions, coordinate with global solidarity movements, demand
1:30:35
devestments from universities and institutions that are engaged with the Israeli
1:30:40
occupation, apartheid, and genocide. And as Dr. Colonel Lady Pound once said,
1:30:49
you said it. If the workers worldwide struck for a month, the genocidal
1:30:55
assault on Gaza would stop immediately.
1:31:03
It is not too late. It is not too late. And also go and visit Fallstine. While
1:31:10
Gaza is still under full blockade, so much can only be learned and understood of occupation by witnessing the daily
1:31:17
struggles Palestinians face in the West Bank is Jerusalem and in what remains of
1:31:22
historical Palestine as well as the beauty the beauty that permeates that
1:31:28
land. And finally, we must demand the liberation of all Palest that we must
1:31:34
demand the liberation of all Palestinian hostages, especially
1:31:47
especially Marwan Barguti.
1:31:58
Marwan Barguti whose voice has been silenced for far
1:32:03
too long. And in a world where powerful states and corporations seem to perpetuate and
1:32:10
advance greed-driven interests or at our expense, we who do not hold unlimited wealth, we
1:32:18
who do not hold weapons or control algorithms, we can still find new ways
1:32:25
forward. I think that South Africa’s legacy shows us that no system of oppression can
1:32:32
endure forever. And against all odds, the people united can truly challenge
1:32:39
and change the course of history. And taking a step back through the century,
1:32:45
humanity has always had to fiercely fight for the affirmation of human
1:32:51
rights. from the slave trade to racial segregation, women’s rights, indigenous
1:32:58
people’s rights, minority rights, the rights of persons with disabilities and
1:33:03
LGBTQI plus and so forth.
1:33:13
Together with the enduring battle against apartheid, colonialism and
1:33:19
illegal occupation, we must stand together. None of this struggle is a
1:33:24
finished business. We do not have the luxury to give up. True change and
1:33:30
transformation demand courage and yes, yes, sacrifice. But it’s through this
1:33:36
sacrifice and it’s through steadfastness that humanity is reminded of its share
1:33:42
responsibility and its capacity for renewal. These days
1:33:47
while visiting the archives of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, I held in my hands a poant script in
1:33:55
which Nelson Mandela wrote, “Then across centuries, men and women have come and
1:34:02
gone. Some have left absolutely not not trace. Others have are going to be
1:34:10
remembered for the evil they caused and others for what they tried to do in the
1:34:16
name of justice. Today these words echo from South Africa to Italy, from Fallstine to Sudan, from
1:34:24
Australia to the United States. The states built on lands taken through
1:34:30
centuries of genocide.
1:34:38
And each of us, we should ask ourselves, what do we want to leave on our passage
1:34:45
on this earth that we do not receive from our parents, but we borrow from our
1:34:52
children. Personally, I never imagined that my path would lead me to confront
1:34:57
power in this way. I was born in a small mountain town in southern Italy and a
1:35:03
place that seems ordinary yet whose lessons were extraordinary.
1:35:09
My early years were shaped not by fame and privilege but by an education that I
1:35:15
believe sought to teach me history with honesty. I learned of the Holocaust as a
1:35:21
benchmark of human depravity and of Italy’s survival through 20 brutal years
1:35:28
of dictatorship under Mussolini’s fascism and his fascist brigades. A
1:35:34
struggle whose sacrifices freed us from tyranny and gave us a constitution
1:35:40
grounded in justice, equality, and human dignity.
1:35:45
However, what my European education did not teach me was how the horrors of the
1:35:52
Holocaust built upon what Germany had done to the Erero and the Nama peoples
1:35:58
in Namibia.
1:36:09
They did not teach me how the dehumanization of the Jews is the same in sorry sorry how the
1:36:17
humanization the Jews were subjected to is the same the colonized societies had
1:36:23
to endure for decades if not centuries. And indeed,
1:36:30
as the Israeli historian Ras Seagal says,
1:36:35
of a superior race was neither born nor died with the Nazi regime and in fact
1:36:42
continues to fester in the world today. And only later in life did I come to
1:36:48
understand that centuries of racism, suprematism, and pararchy that had
1:36:53
raised entire communities across Europe before and while expanding into the settler colonial enterprise that would
1:36:59
scar millions across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
1:37:05
By exceptionalizing the Holocaust as the only aberration in our history, we the
1:37:12
Europeans have concealed the many other crimes and injustices that our ancestors
1:37:17
committed and in doing so undermined our own capacity to see the structural and
1:37:24
eruptive forms of violence that permeate our society and the international community up until today. a process
1:37:33
which finds in the ongoing endorsement in Gaza by too many western states its
1:37:39
monstrous culmination. And in this moment in history, my commitment to justice also includes
1:37:46
undoing such legacy by carrying forward the voices of my nation’s humanist legal
1:37:52
tradition into this global chorus for justice. Thinking of Mandela, I can’t avoid
1:38:01
mentioning my fellow national Antonio Gshi, politician,
1:38:10
a politician and philosopher who was arrested by the fascist regime in 1926
1:38:17
leading to his death a decade later. He said, “Indifference is the dead weight
1:38:24
of history, which I find echoed in Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s words, if you
1:38:30
are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.
1:38:46
Such historical figures left in the world left in the world the sparkles of light and justice embodied a commitment
1:38:54
to to justice and humanity that shall inspired us as we move forward. Freedom,
1:39:01
justice and human dignity can never be taken for granted. They must be defended
1:39:07
every day otherwise the risk to quietly disappear.
1:39:12
And as I reflect on my ordinary story besides your extraordinary one, I try to
1:39:19
fully grasp the depth of Ubuntu. I am because you
1:39:26
are. This reach this reaches me as a fruit
1:39:32
forged in pain and resilience. The steadfastness of the Palestinian
1:39:39
people. Sumud is the sister of your own Ubuntu. In Arabic, sumud means
1:39:47
steadfastness, resilience that becomes a way of being.
1:39:52
It is the the grandmother in Gaza who gathers her orphaned grandchildren amid
1:39:58
rubble and whispers, “Remember.” It is the farmer in the West Bank who replies
1:40:04
olive sapling each time settlers uproot the old tree, refusing to give up his
1:40:10
bond to the soil. It is the children in Gaza studying intents after their
1:40:16
schools have been destroyed. Summud is resilient with with grace,
1:40:22
defiance with dignity, the quiet unyielding courage to keep living,
1:40:29
hoping and loving amid the hardest adversity.
1:40:34
Sumud like Ubuntu is not merely a word. It is the moral DNA of survival, a
1:40:42
profound expression of faith in our shared interdependence, a powerful antidote to the isolation and
1:40:49
fear that conflictuality s in every domain.
1:40:55
Together they define an ethics of coexistence and perhaps what Nelson
1:41:01
Mandela envisioned, a world in which empathy becomes the language of politics and politics is rooted in justice as the
1:41:09
recognition of our shared humanity. They remind us that no one is truly free
1:41:14
until we are all free and that our dignity is inseparable
1:41:20
from the dignity of others. And both teach us that we are bound together in
1:41:25
each other’s suffering and hope. And as I move to the conclusion,
1:41:32
if there is one thing that I would like you to take from this lecture is this.
1:41:37
Whether recognized or not by those in power, the Palestinian struggle for
1:41:43
freedom stands at the heart of the movement toward a truly decolonized
1:41:48
world order.
1:41:58
In other words, a world in which international law is
1:42:03
applied universally and the crimes of colonialism for which Mandela and his comrades spent 27 years in prison as
1:42:11
hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have in theirs are finally accounted
1:42:17
for. Otherwise, it will be remembered as the greatest moral failure of our time.
1:42:24
And that is why no matter the repression we face, Fallstine will increasingly
1:42:30
stand at the center of all struggle for justice worldwide.
1:42:35
Therefore, as we reflect on peace and cooperation, let’s appreciate this.
1:42:41
Opposing the bombing or so-called cis fire is not peace. it. In this atrocity
1:42:47
that some have to some has the audacity to call peace, the Israeli army
1:42:53
maintains controls over more than half of Gaza, continuing to kill everywhere
1:42:58
and over everywhere it can and rapaciously steal land and resources
1:43:03
across the World Bank, continuing to hold and torment thousands of
1:43:08
Palestinian hostages. The self-determination of the Palestinian people appears still as far as as it has
1:43:15
ever been. And this is why the pressure must continue if the Palestinians are to
1:43:22
achieve the same justice that everyone deserves. Millions of ordinary people are crying
1:43:28
out for moral clarity and principled leadership for end of complicity in my
1:43:35
beautiful country and in yours South Africa. They long for a vision that
1:43:41
places human life above conquest, dignity above above convenience,
1:43:46
community above self-interest. They demand an international order
1:43:52
rooted in our shared humanity. And this is the new multilateralism that we must
1:43:59
build. Not one for the few, but one for the many. where solidarity as the
1:44:07
political declination of love can be fully realized in each and every
1:44:12
society. And in this your leadership lights a path for others to follow.
1:44:19
South Africa can and must continue to stand at the forefront must continue to
1:44:24
open doors and compelling others to follow. Many today feel hesitant of
1:44:30
standing up to power. And I understand fear is human. But as someone who comes
1:44:38
from a place that has been plagued by the mafia, where the logic of intimidation could smear, torment, and
1:44:46
even kill those who stand for justice. I tell you from my heart, it’s not the the
1:44:52
blow that defeats us. It’s refusing to pick ourselves back up. The only true
1:44:59
defeat is when we left fear and intimidation silence us. And fear cannot
1:45:05
withstand the power of people united in a just cause. It can be defeated by the
1:45:11
unity of ordinary people and the unity of struggles across the world. And
1:45:17
today, in many ways, I stand before you in a place of vulnerability, but also of
1:45:24
great strength, empowered by the resilience of the Palestinian people and everyone standing with them. And by
1:45:32
doing the right thing, we find allies and through solidarity, we find strength. But yes, we have a long way to
1:45:40
go and we have begun. And in this beginning, I find hope.
1:45:47
I believe we can lay the foundation not long not only for a more just global order but for a new way of being as a
1:45:54
global community. The realization of the principles of Ubuntu and Sumud a world
1:46:01
that finally embraces humanit humanity solidarity justice and equality for all.
1:46:06
Alone we are frail we are fragile like butterfly wings. But uh when we flap
1:46:14
those little wings all together, we can make a storm. And may justice be our
1:46:22
storm.
1:46:32
And and before I leave you, let me use let
1:46:38
me use your soil to send a message to the Palestinian people.
1:46:47
Whatever happens, Falstine will have written this tumultous chapter of
1:46:54
history not as a footnotes in the chronicles of the wouldbe conquerors,
1:47:00
but as the newest verse in a centuries long saga of people who have raised
1:47:05
against injustice, against colonialism, and today more than ever against liberal
1:47:12
tyrannies. Thank you. Enosi sa bonga and gracia
1:47:19
shukran.
1:47:43
The people
1:47:50
will never be the people United.
1:47:56
The people united will never be defeded. The people united will never be defeded.
1:48:05
The people united will never
1:48:42
I think the people have thanked you. Let’s get straight to the discussion. Thank you.
1:48:52
May I ask you to just make sure that your microphone is on? I just want to be sure that those are on. Yes. Great.
1:49:02
I’m just going to give you a moment to pause after your your speech. I’ll start with Dr. Pando who as all of you know
1:49:11
was the minister for international relations in South Africa when South Africa took its case to the ICJ. the
1:49:26
so there have been many detractors who’ve said South Africa must just withdraw that case or South Africa will
1:49:32
be punished. In fact um the ambassador designate for the United States who was interviewed in the house yesterday or
1:49:38
two days ago also said that this would be a priority for him to get South Africa to drop its case. Here’s the
1:49:45
reality. The case is at trial. It can’t be dropped. There are about 14 other nations who have joined and others have
1:49:52
expressed an intention to join. But other detractors have said you’ve
1:49:58
got enough problems in South Africa. Why go here? Fix your own problems in South
1:50:04
Africa. Why did South Africa go there? And related to this question is what have
1:50:11
been the ramifications in words and proxy? What has happened since then?
1:50:18
Uh well happily I’m no longer a member of government. Uh so you could invite
1:50:24
them at some point to talk on these matters. With respect to the nominee for
1:50:31
ambassadorship uh to our country uh I hope the government will use its accreditation
1:50:38
power properly. uh
1:50:43
uh with with respect to why we went to the ICJ, our country believes very
1:50:50
firmly that international law is important. We’ve also identified with
1:50:57
the struggle for self-determination of the people of Palestine. This is a
1:51:02
longstanding position of our government and of the party that is still the
1:51:08
largest party in the country, the African National Congress. So the people
1:51:14
of Palestine supported us in our own struggle for freedom as they struggle
1:51:20
for freedom today. We cannot desert them. Third point,
1:51:27
South Africa has rooted human rights and international solidarity in its
1:51:35
constitution, particularly in its bill of rights and in the chapter dealing
1:51:40
with international relations. Thus, it is important in executing practical
1:51:47
action that gives concrete meaning to those particular clauses that when there
1:51:55
is harm being done to any person in the world, we should be ready to stand up.
1:52:02
The war on the people of Palestine has been one of the most egregious acts of
1:52:09
the past decade. There have been many nakbars, many actions against
1:52:16
Palestinian people, but the genocide we’ve seen since October 2023
1:52:23
is worse than any other conflict that we’ve seen in recent years. And we felt
1:52:28
that government and the people of South Africa could not be silent in the face
1:52:35
of such an onslaught. Miss Abene, you have said that no system
1:52:41
of oppression can endure forever. Looking beyond the devastation that we
1:52:48
are seeing every single day politically, legally, and morally,
1:52:55
what must happen for Gaza to begin a process of true self-determination? not
1:53:02
a ceasefire that gets signed today and we wake up tomorrow to more bombs and more destruction. What needs to happen
1:53:10
politically, legally, and morally for Gaza to begin this process of recovery and self-determination?
1:53:16
And I guess where I’m going with this is that how can we move so that the international community can go beyond
1:53:24
just managing this crisis but rather end the occupation that fuels this crisis.
1:53:34
Um well I think that the the answer is in your question because you know um I’m
1:53:41
puzzled by how in this horrible moment
1:53:47
member states seem lost looking for solutions but the solution is already
1:53:53
there. It’s in the simple and honest application of international andate
1:53:59
nothing and not just in Gaza in the west. So the answer to your question is
1:54:04
the occupation must end. And this is why and this is why
1:54:10
together together with other with other independent experts of the United
1:54:15
Nations and with the human rights community uh around the world. We have
1:54:21
been not only very skeptical but concerned and and in shock at seeing so
1:54:29
many countries applauding that disgrace that they call the peace deal. This is
1:54:34
not peace deal. This is not peace.
1:54:39
This is whatevered under duress and it’s unacceptable. So
1:54:47
what is to be done is to ensure that Israel with withdraws its troops,
1:54:53
dismantle the colonies without building new ones, stop telling the Palestinians
1:54:59
what to do, start investigating and prosecuting the e the architect and the
1:55:05
executioners of the genocide. Otherwise, other international courts and other
1:55:10
domestic courts will do this. and it has started and then offer reparations to
1:55:17
the Palestinians for 57 years of occupation
1:55:22
and the genocide. This is what is to happen. We’re going to talk about international
1:55:29
law and a new multilateralism as you said in your speech, but I want to talk about the word genocide and I go there
1:55:36
reluctantly because often this debate around genocide comes with in bad faith
1:55:43
where we can be bogged down in this debate for political point scoring while people
1:55:50
are dying in Gaza. However, defining this crisis as a genocide does unlock
1:55:58
some legal and moral tools and obligations as well on the international
1:56:03
community. We know that the human rights commission um of inquiry and uh
1:56:08
participating in that is another luminary of South Africa uh judge Navi Pelle they released a report not so long
1:56:15
ago and that report never mind the ICJ or the ICC that report holds that Israel
1:56:22
has committed four out of the five categories of acts that constitute the
1:56:28
crime of genocide under the 1948 convention that covers it. It’s in the
1:56:33
report. But let’s indulge those who want to debate the word is it genocide? Is it
1:56:39
not genocide? What do you say? Well, I think firstly uh we should tell
1:56:44
them that when we submitted to the international court of justice, our
1:56:50
submission was acting on the basis of international law, specifically the
1:56:56
convention on punishment of the crime of genocide. There is a convention and
1:57:04
Israel interestingly is one of the first signaries of that convention
1:57:10
and only states that are signitaries to that convention can take another state
1:57:17
to the court. This is what we did as a signary. We took a member state of the
1:57:23
convention on genocide to the international court of justice.
1:57:29
How was it possible for us to do so? In the convention, they define what
1:57:36
genocide is. And in our assessment of all available evidence, we alleged that
1:57:45
genocide was underway. There was denial of food for living. Denial that genocide
1:57:53
was intended and was indeed underway. I think I think it’s also important when
1:57:59
talking about the convention that there is a crucial word. It’s also about prevention. It’s not just the
1:58:06
punishment. So even if you’re sitting there saying there’s no genocide, the convention enjoins us to prevent it uh
1:58:12
from happening. I want to move to your report um that you launched recently and you mentioned some um elements of it
1:58:19
there. It’s titled from economy of occupation to economy of genocide. Now
1:58:26
this report and I would urge you to read it. It identifies dozens of corporation
1:58:31
across defense, technology, tourism, I wouldn’t have thought that tourism, the
1:58:36
extractive industry, pension funds, you name it. These are corporation that are
1:58:42
fueling and benefiting from this crisis. I mention this because often when there is a crisis of this scale, many ordinary
1:58:50
citizens think there is nothing that I can do. I’m not in government. I’m not in the UN. I’m not a policy maker, but
1:58:56
you are a consumer and I was aust that some of my decisions as a consumer are
1:59:04
problematic in the context of your report. Tell us about your most seinal findings in this report and what do you
1:59:10
want us to do with it? Yeah, if you allow me to say something on genocide, just to add two two
1:59:18
elements, you rightly pointed to the word prevention. The convention is to prevent and punish the crime of
1:59:25
genocide. And how do you punish it if if you sorry, how do you prevent it if you
1:59:31
cannot even see it? If you cannot even name it and the obligation of states
1:59:36
clearly were triggered by the ICJ
1:59:42
uh sets of provisional measures that were issued upon requests of South
1:59:47
Africa. Because look, if the had the court of justice found no merit, no no
1:59:54
veridicity in what South Africa had submitted, they would have dismissed the
1:59:59
case. Instead ordered provisional measures that had they been observed and respected,
2:00:06
probably the genocide would have stopped and indeed 18 months later the genocide
2:00:12
is ongoing. But there is another element the genocide because people say it I mean people say yeah but it’s just war
2:00:19
crimes and crimes against humanity. Excuse me. I mean it’s very serious if
2:00:24
we recognize that there are war crimes and crimes against humanity ongoing. Why
2:00:29
are member states not stopping it? Why are they still trading with Israel? Why
2:00:36
are they still providing weapons or buying weapons that have been tested on the Palestinians?
2:00:43
And here is the answer. Here here is the answer to the question regarding my my
2:00:50
other report, the one that I submitted in July. That is to be read in conjunction with the last report which
2:00:56
talks about the complicity of states because states have continued to trade, continue to trade weapons, continue to
2:01:03
buy, continue to buy surveillance uh surveillance tools that once again have
2:01:08
been experimented, tested on the body and soul of the Palestinian people. But
2:01:14
the genocide targets a group as such. And it’s in this as such that we cannot
2:01:22
miss what Israel is doing to the Palestinians because they can keep on stopping uh bombing the land. But this
2:01:30
idea of destroying the people as such is continue to the intent to ethnically
2:01:37
cleanse the land that has been enunciated, invoked, celebrated
2:01:42
throughout two uh two uh years of genocide. And you know, it’s not just
2:01:47
because of ideology. It’s not just because of the rage of Israel that this genocide has not been stopped. It’s
2:01:54
because the genocide has proven profitable for far too many. And because
2:02:00
look, I could have written the report on the economy of occupation turning into an economy of genocide already, no, the
2:02:08
economy of the occupation, sorry, years ago. Because Israel has used private se
2:02:13
the private sector like uh uh the weapon uh weapons and uh and um heavy machinery
2:02:23
um surveillance systems but also the production on good services the tourism
2:02:30
industry to displace the Palestinians and replace them with settlers. This is
2:02:36
what’s going on and this is what continues to go on and this is what we risk to see happening to the
2:02:43
Palestinians uh where what is proposed today as reconstruction of Gaza might achieve
2:02:50
what the genocide has failed to achieve kick out the Palestinians from the little that remain of their land and
2:02:57
this is why we need to stop it and we cannot call it peace but
2:03:03
is this new is Is this exceptional? Is this only happening to Palestine? No.
2:03:10
This is what has happened throughout history. And this is what this is why I
2:03:16
say in the report and that of course it will resonate with you in South Africa
2:03:21
but also in DRC in Sudan throughout this continent. Settler colonialism
2:03:28
is not settler colonialism has always involved private interests.
2:03:35
Private companies have always historically been the drivers and the
2:03:41
enablers of settler colonial enterprises. And while colonial powers
2:03:47
might have kept might have left, they don’t have any longer boots on the ground here. The exploitation, the
2:03:55
structure, the deep entrenched structure of exploitation continues through the
2:04:01
businesses, through the multinationals. And this is what we have to stand against today for Palestine in
2:04:08
Palestine, inside our own system in Europe and here in South Africa.
2:04:15
I I I want to ask you before we go into multilateralism, I do want you to share the South African perspective on this.
2:04:22
The the the the need to build ethical business practices. We know the history
2:04:27
of South Africa, the riches built on the back of black laborers, the mining
2:04:33
industry. It is not just in South Africa, in in Zambia as well. It is happening. You mentioned the DRC and uh
2:04:40
the UAE in Sudan owning the country’s mineral
2:04:46
the country’s wealth that comes also with environmental degradation displacement you name it.
2:04:54
What can you share with the world about South Africa’s experience here and the need to imagine and create new economic
2:05:02
pathways that do not repeat historical injustices?
2:05:08
Well, um on economic transformation and broad benefit, we have failed dismally
2:05:14
as South Africa. You heard that right? So this is a reality
2:05:20
uh which is very painful but I think that part of the reason lies
2:05:25
in the fact that those who own the means of wealth were and are not ready to
2:05:32
share it with those who were dispossessed. Um and this is a problem
2:05:38
often when we express um displeasure at this lack of progress.
2:05:45
We express the displeasure toward the government and not toward the rapacious
2:05:51
private sector. We need to turn closer attention to the private sector and the
2:05:58
lack of responsiveness to the demands for economic transformation. this is
2:06:04
something we’re not doing and I think much more attention uh should be given to it. So out of the South African
2:06:11
experience I think uh those who will become free because I believe
2:06:18
Palestinians will achieve freedom. Those who will become free must learn from our
2:06:25
experiences and the errors that we committed on achieving freedom and
2:06:31
identify the gaps and ensure that they address them and don’t allow themselves
2:06:38
to become the tool of the wealthy. Develop a system where there’s greater
2:06:43
sharing of economic opportunity. Okay, let’s get to the theme then of the
2:06:49
international system of multilateralism and international law al together. Um,
2:06:55
international law I’ll start with you uh Miss Albanese. International laws were designed to prevent these mass
2:07:02
atrocities, these genocides, economic uh oppression. But we’re living in a world
2:07:08
where we have seen that international law has become optional. the powerful and those who wrote some of the rules
2:07:14
can decide whether to adhere to them um or not. Some benefit from oppressing
2:07:22
those who don’t have the same economic and military uh might. You have called
2:07:28
Gaza the shame of our time. And there is another quote that is attributed to you.
2:07:34
If you didn’t say it, I apologize in advance that Gaza is a graveside for
2:07:40
international law. is international law dead.
2:07:45
I don’t think I said that. I think it’s the secretary general of the United Nations. And with will with um all your
2:07:52
respect, I beg to disagree uh as of yet because first of all,
2:08:00
I think that the the postw World War II uh multilateral
2:08:06
order was somewhat the the birch child
2:08:11
of grief and regret. international law was already
2:08:17
functioning and it has evolved uh through the at that uh turning point in
2:08:23
history. But let’s be honest, it’s not that the multilateral system that was
2:08:28
created eight years ago was exactly um
2:08:33
complying with its and and delivering on its promises because
2:08:38
order was um consisting of about 50 states while two while twothirds of
2:08:46
those who constitute the general assembly today were still under colonial
2:08:52
yoke. So what I think is that justice is
2:08:57
an unfinished business. Justice is a promise that is to be delivered daily.
2:09:05
And if I take a step back and if for a moment I manage to not to think of the
2:09:12
genocide, I think that we are doing slightly better because today as I was
2:09:18
saying before in my lecture, we have the perception that we
2:09:23
must be uh has already perished in Gaza. Um,
2:09:30
as this is where the United Nations has failed terribly, miserably in Gaza
2:09:35
politically, diplomat diplomatically, and from a humanitarian point of view.
2:09:40
But never before I’ve heard so many people, people in the street using
2:09:46
international law, referring to the International Court of Justice, demanding justice. And look, the
2:09:52
revolution though quiet has already started because as we speak, as we
2:09:58
speak, students are forcing their universities to divest from Israel.
2:10:03
Pension funds around the world are divesting from Israel. and lawyers, God
2:10:10
bless the lawyers, lawyers worldwide are are bringing their governments,
2:10:16
corporations, and even Israeli soldiers, nationals or not, before courts. So this
2:10:23
is this is h we need to win this. We need to keep on pressing, keep on
2:10:29
pressuring because as I said, we will never get out of this genocide with the with the same pretense of innocence that
2:10:36
we had when we entered it. And we have the opportunity to make it better. So let’s let’s hope to deliver to the
2:10:42
promise of equality and universality of human rights and dignity that was in
2:10:48
fact put on paper in the universal declaration of human rights at the end of the second world war.
2:10:54
Okay.
2:10:59
Dr. P, Dr. Pando, I want your thoughts here as well on international law, especially as one sees the cynicism that
2:11:05
sets in, the impatience because of this horror, the wheels of justice just moving slowly and slowly and those who
2:11:12
ought to be held accountable, not being held accountable. Does international law still matter? Absolutely. I believe it’s extremely
2:11:19
important. I know it sounds very revolutionary to say that international
2:11:24
law should be kicked out of the window. But for the poor, the vulnerable and the victim, international law is important.
2:11:32
And let us not fail to acknowledge that the protections of the treaties and
2:11:38
conventions drafted postc World War have helped us to avoid a world war for 80
2:11:45
years. So let’s not be too quick to throw the baby out with the bath with
2:11:51
the bathwater. I do believe there is urgent need for reform of the United
2:11:58
Nations particularly the security council. Its original
2:12:07
its original conception was flawed at inception and it is now a deadly
2:12:15
instrument and it needs to be reformed in order to be responsive
2:12:21
to the crisis of the world. So for me international law is important
2:12:28
particularly because of those who are innocent, vulnerable and marginalized
2:12:33
who are most often the victims. But we need stronger instruments, stronger
2:12:39
institutions in order to ensure that when protection is needed, enforcement
2:12:45
is available to ensure protection.
2:12:53
If if if you don’t mind me staying with you on this matter of the United Nations and reform of the security council,
2:13:00
multilateralism was meant to level the playing fields. Yet we see whether we’re
2:13:05
talking global trade and technology regimes regimes those have deepened inequality. The reform of the UN
2:13:13
continues to be elusive. The Britain woods institutions are criticized for not being fit for purpose especially for
2:13:20
poorer nations. the debt that hangs like an albatross around Africa’s neck neck.
2:13:27
Um, and and the criticism that multilateral institutions continue to reflect the same power structures of the
2:13:34
1940s. The reason I’m staying with you on this is that I remember during the presidency of Tabum Begi together with
2:13:41
his Nigerian counterpart Alysa General in the time of the late Kofi Anan, it
2:13:47
looked as if Africa was close to some sort of meaningful uh reform of the UN
2:13:54
Security Council of the United Nations itself. But we seem to have regressed
2:14:00
and there are no loud voices calling for this in a meaningful way. Where are we
2:14:05
and what does this reform look like practically? Well, we have put forward an African
2:14:12
position on this question. Uh, Ezulini consensus as you know it. I do think
2:14:18
even that consensus requires rethinking. Um we do have a range of proposals on
2:14:27
reform of the United Nations and I think as I said in particular the security
2:14:32
council but also the decisionmaking role and impact of the general assembly. So
2:14:39
there’s much to be done, but I fully agree with you that some of the practice
2:14:45
of international law and its standing in the globe has been harmed by double
2:14:52
standards of the most powerful countries in the world who respect international
2:14:58
law when it suits their agenda and do not respect it when their agenda is not
2:15:05
advanced. So we they will support the prosecutor of the ICC if he’s acting
2:15:12
against Rouandes who committed war crimes. But when it is against the prime
2:15:18
minister of Israel and his ministers, they will not support the prosecutor. This is double standard. And what we
2:15:25
need is an equitable approach to all international law. every perpetrator
2:15:33
wherever they may be they must face the might of international law no matter who
2:15:39
they are. So our world needs to change and we do have I think a problem of the
2:15:46
implementation of international law through the vision of a double standard
2:15:52
rather than a world in which all humanity should enjoy protection.
2:16:01
So we are creatures of hope. We must have hope even at these times. Uh Miss
2:16:06
Albanese you I think uh for me yes hope is necessary
2:16:12
but more than hope we must have activism. We are too complacent.
2:16:18
Uh we don’t have a clear focused set of
2:16:23
campaigns. We know for example that there are certain companies in South Africa that
2:16:30
are providing particular goods to Israel and constantly we turn to the wrong
2:16:36
entity. We should focus on those companies. We should be active against
2:16:43
those companies. So I think in addition to hope activism is crucial.
2:16:56
So Glen Core is mentioned in your report.
2:17:05
It’s in the report. I didn’t write it. I guess where I was going with with the
2:17:11
hope question was that you were unequivocal with the United Nations and where it has failed.
2:17:18
observing the votes at the UNGA a couple of years ago, you wouldn’t get even the
2:17:25
US’s traditional allies, Israel’s traditional allies that the UK and France are voting against on any matter
2:17:33
related to Israel. In June 2025, the UNGA adopted a resolution demanding an
2:17:38
immediate and unconditional and permanent ceasefire. 149 countries 412
2:17:44
against September 2025 just last month the UNGA endorsed the New York
2:17:49
declaration again it outlines tangible steps towards a two-state solution 142
2:17:55
in favor 10 abstained 10 voted against those are the numbers but but here even
2:18:02
at the UNGA c can we see the isolation of the US or
2:18:11
Israel, is that beginning to emerge where the voting patterns are not
2:18:16
reflecting what they historically used to reflect? Can we work with that? Can we start something with that?
2:18:24
Um, look, first of all, had you asked me the question about hope, my answer would
2:18:29
have been the same. Hope is a discipline. It doesn’t mean sitting waiting for the train to arrive. It’s
2:18:36
about being the train. So the other thing is that I would like to be I would
2:18:42
like to be clear and not to be misunderstood when I criticize nations. I criticize member states because the
2:18:49
United Nations is the uh the it’s the sum of all our
2:18:56
countries is it consists of 193 member states. Yes, it’s a forum to take
2:19:03
discussions to negotiate to uh to see how to prevent conflicts and if
2:19:08
conflicts arise how to resolve conflict and it’s not happening anymore and whose
2:19:14
fault is this member states themselves. So it’s true what you say that before
2:19:19
there was a more honest let’s say and principled voting pattern. Now even
2:19:25
African states who have naturally been close to the quest for liberation of
2:19:31
Palestine or and the struggle for self-determination of the Palestinian people, you start seeing them voting
2:19:38
against or abstaining. And I think it’s because it’s because before there was
2:19:44
this tendency, let’s pass the vote. This is as good as we can be. In any case, we are going to violate this resolutions.
2:19:51
Right? The moment the global community started to seek accountability protesting against their governments
2:19:58
then things started to change and so we can me powerful states are drifting
2:20:05
away. They don’t need the United Nations anymore. This is why I don’t I was
2:20:10
saying before I don’t think I don’t think that Gaza or Palestine is the
2:20:15
graveyard of of international law yet. But is surely the graveyard of what the
2:20:21
United Nations was supposed to do from a diplomatic, political and uh and and
2:20:27
economic point of view. But but there is still a possibility to succeed. And uh
2:20:32
in in in this case, I’ve I’ve been wondering now for months. Excuse me. In
2:20:38
the United Nations, there are 193 members. If 191
2:20:45
member states who have nothing to do, who shouldn’t have anything to do with
2:20:50
this business of genocide, unlawful occupation, and apartheid where Israel
2:20:56
is not alone is Israel and the United States has always been like that. Can they detach themselves from this union?
2:21:04
Well, the fact is that it’s not happening and the answer tells us where the problem lies is that member states,
2:21:13
governments are not free. There is still the influence of multinationals and
2:21:18
private interests that controls governments and it’s a conflict of it’s a conflict
2:21:26
of interest whose um um whose weight is
2:21:31
eventually sustained whose price is eventually paid by us all of us in the
2:21:37
global majority as in the global minority. And this is why when I say Palestine is a is a revealer today of
2:21:44
who we are both in terms of misery but in terms of opportunities. This is what
2:21:50
the influential the very powerful member states that want to continue or the
2:21:55
powers that want to continue to keep this unequal multilateral order start freaking out. And in fact this is why I
2:22:03
believe I’ve been sanctioned by the by the United States. We I’ve got two more questions and then
2:22:09
final comments from you. I do want to talk about this theme and I’m sure the Nelson Mandela Foundation is finding
2:22:14
this out in real time as we sit here. That intersection of um technology power
2:22:21
and information warfare. Just allow me to give a few case studies. After the UN General Assembly, a lot of presidents
2:22:27
were involved in some bilateral relations and meeting businesses, private sector. But Mr. Netanyahu openly
2:22:34
described social media as a weapon. Uh he met with some influencers while other
2:22:40
presidents were doing uh what I just described. He openly described social media as a weapon and pointed to
2:22:48
as I quote the most important purchase going on right now. He said we need to
2:22:55
own these platforms. Elon Musk owns X on that platform. We see the algorithm has
2:23:01
changed. There’s very little factchecking and hate and outrage are rewarded. Planter technologies you know
2:23:09
about it similar uh it’s it’s it provides powerful data tools to state
2:23:15
and corporation tools for surveillance profiling and narrative influence. This is important. This is important because
2:23:22
the social media space the information space has also become a tool of foreign
2:23:27
policy. I wonder what your thoughts are on that and then I’ll come to you Dr. Pando.
2:23:33
in the context of Palestine. I should have add that. But yeah, it’s about Palestine. But Palestine is what has allowed us or what
2:23:41
is allowing us to connect the dots and awareness, knowledge is power. If people
2:23:48
understand what’s happening, it’s the end of the Truman Show. And this is why
2:23:57
this is why we see today what has been ongoing at least at least successfully
2:24:04
for 30 years because until the 90s,
2:24:10
Palestine and South Africa in particular would appear in not just in the UN
2:24:17
literature but also in the public discourse including in the global minorities. uthority as two cases
2:24:23
connective of unfinished colonialism. And then as of the ‘9s, at least for
2:24:28
what concerns Palestine, the discourse has changed. And this is where the the the war of narratives has become one of
2:24:38
the extreme. And Israel has understood that in order to maintain hegemony had
2:24:44
to control the narrative, cultural hegemony. And this is why so much effort is put today on controlling the
2:24:51
algorithms because the control of the media the traditional media or the the control exerted over universities
2:24:58
doesn’t suffice anymore. So we are still there where the production of knowledge
2:25:04
is a carrier and um is a tool of epistemic violence because the
2:25:09
Palestinians I keep on saying having had uh having been one of the observers of
2:25:16
what has happened to uh to them. The Palestinians have been brutalized not
2:25:22
just through the violence of the oppression on the ground but also because they have been killed. They have
2:25:29
been smeared. They have been blamed and they have been smeared, accused through the false portrayal of them as being the
2:25:37
cause of the problem. And this has happened because of the control of the narrative. And today of course we need
2:25:42
to keep on maintaining uh that narrative. We need to keep on using that
2:25:47
epistemic violence. And because there is a critical moment of where social media have been a vehicle of conscientization
2:25:56
now even that is to be is to be acquired and seized. Dr. Panda you can speak to any of these
2:26:02
themes but I do want to ask you about the Arab nations themselves in this
2:26:08
crisis. We are we hear the word normalizing of relations between the Saudis and and Israel. Uh Donald Trump
2:26:14
who was in Riyad and he was warmly received. Qatar has offered him a jet. We know that Israel attacked the
2:26:21
leadership of of of Hamas on Qatar soil. Uh but Trump, America was asked to be a
2:26:28
mediator of some sort and ask Netanyahu to apologize. So there are these relationships that are emerging between
2:26:34
the United States and some of these nations. What does that mean? Is the Arab n are Arab nations using their
2:26:41
economic leverage and their new proximity if I may call it that um help
2:26:46
solve this crisis? No, they’re not. I mean, they could have done so much
2:26:52
to, you know, to help uh the Palestinian people to achieve freedom.
2:26:58
uh and instead of striving for freedom and justice, they’ve just made friends
2:27:07
with the most criminal elements in the world. And it’s a sad sad day.
2:27:15
I think that we need as I said earlier to be more organized.
2:27:22
I think uh we need to you asked earlier what needs to be done. I think the
2:27:28
Palestinian people need to form a very strong political force like the
2:27:34
liberation movements we had here in South Africa. They need sure that they
2:27:39
link in with the international solidarity movement which is us as part
2:27:44
of it and the rest of the world as part of a global international solidarity
2:27:49
movement. We must use our strength here and all over with that movement to push
2:27:57
for the freedom of Palestinians. Without that, their neighbors are not going to
2:28:03
help them. It’s us in the global solidarity movement who will make the
2:28:09
difference.
2:28:14
And uh I think for me it’s really tragic
2:28:20
having been a refugee in Lisutu and Botswana. I’m astounded that those
2:28:27
countries, small as they were then, gave us refuge and support, not entirely, but
2:28:35
very strong and clear support for the liberation movements. And Palestine with
2:28:42
very wealthy, powerful economies as their neighbors are not getting what we
2:28:48
got. It’s tragic.
2:28:57
Final thoughts from you, Miss Alani.
2:29:03
W um look, I think that is uh is not going to
2:29:11
to be easy. It’s not going to be easy because we live in a in a world where
2:29:17
injustice has become widespread more than we realize. And
2:29:24
when I say injustice, I don’t I don’t just talk of economic injustice or
2:29:30
access to justice. No, I think that injustice has somewhat been planted and
2:29:36
it has rooted in our hearts. As I was listening to this last this
2:29:42
last comment, Dr. Pounder, as you were a refugee in neighboring countries, I
2:29:48
think of how unfair is that now there are migrants from these countries, from
2:29:56
the neighboring countries in South Africa and they experience a different fate. And this is the thing. I mean,
2:30:06
but I’m not I’m not judging this country. I
2:30:13
just see that this is what we do to anyone who’s on the move. Like really
2:30:19
the borders were what make a distinction between humanity and barbarism. The
2:30:25
Mediterranean area has become I mean the Mediterranean Sea has become a cemetery
2:30:30
the contrary of what it has always been portrayed to be a place of love a place
2:30:36
of union and I think that it’s in the way we treat each other we see each
2:30:41
other that is the problem we as as Edward say the great Palestinian
2:30:47
intellectual used to say I do believe that humanism seeing each other as human regardless of
2:30:54
the color of the skin, of our religion, of our gender. We need to see each other
2:31:01
our as brother and sister and me and members of the same family because it’s
2:31:08
we are part of the same human family and through these also start respecting all
2:31:15
other creators and uh and the and mother earth which as I said before is not
2:31:21
something that we have inherited it’s something that we are borrowing from our children. Thank you so much.
2:31:38
That brings us to the end of our conversation. You’ve been a wonderful audience. Thank you very much. But I
2:31:44
will call I will call Dr. Boutleszi to give a vote of thanks. And we’re going to have a uniquely South African sound
2:31:52
in just a few minutes. I’d like you to stick around for that. Dr.
2:32:08
I hope you have been challenged, moved and provoked as much as I have been by
2:32:15
this lecture. Please join me again in thanking Miss Franchesca Albanz, Dr. and
2:32:22
of course our ineitable Riabi. Thank you. Thank you.
2:32:38
Thank you. Allow me just two more minutes to thank some of the people who have made today possible, made the last
2:32:46
week possible. Thank you to the United Nations Country Office,
2:32:53
the University of the Vaters,
2:32:59
Vision Tactical, BNB Media,
2:33:05
Gift of the Givers,
2:33:11
various members of the Muslim community,
2:33:18
Bodhicam, South Africa,
2:33:24
Mahindra, Southern Sun,
2:33:29
our media partners, SAFM and the Mail Guardian.
2:33:37
And lastly, the following organizations that have partnered with us on various
2:33:42
roundts. The Jewish Democratic Initiative,
2:33:52
South African Jews for a free Palestine,
2:34:00
the South African Council of Churches,
2:34:06
the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa,
2:34:12
Salam Media, the Department of International
2:34:17
Relations and Cooperation, Boycott,
2:34:25
Divevest and Sanctions, BDS South Africa.
2:34:33
And allow me finally to thank the trustees of the Nelson Mandela Foundation as well as the staff and
2:34:40
volunteers who have made this all happen.
2:34:48
And finally, the South African sound that Ready talked about. Let me invite back on stage Amy Fagu. Thank you very
2:34:56
much for being here, ladies and gentlemen. And good afternoon.
2:35:05
Setting up. Do you want me to sing or you fine with the silence?
2:35:11
Thank you.
2:35:22
May I please have this day?
2:35:34
Ah!
2:35:45
3 4
2:36:13
So
2:36:19
may I please have this dance? This is where opportunity meets chance,
2:36:27
where purpose meets a plan.
2:36:44
May I please have this?
2:37:00
May I please stand?
2:37:14
We are
2:37:28
so
2:37:37
Oh my.
2:37:50
Oh.
2:38:01
Take a break.
2:38:34
Heat. Heat.
2:38:45
We are
2:38:53
happy season.
2:39:11
side.
2:39:16
Season
2:39:33
it.
2:39:41
Yeah, I
2:39:49
I
2:39:59
yeah, high I
2:40:06
Higher and Season
2:40:31
season
2:40:36
for the season and
2:40:43
I am yeah
2:40:51
I I
2:41:00
yeah I yeah I higher yeah
2:41:08
I yeah I I Higher.
2:41:17
The plan of season.
2:41:34
My name is Amy Faku and I hope you enjoy yourself. Next song is indoor.
2:42:07
Why?
2:44:12
Take our way.
2:44:38
It is so
2:44:57
soul.
2:45:09
believe
2:45:16
so
2:45:24
I
2:45:30
Little man.
2:46:40
somebody.
2:46:57
Foreign
2:47:09
speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
2:47:31
I’m a pass.
2:47:46
I just hobbled.
2:48:23
Happy
2:48:30
Mercy.
2:48:35
Happy
2:48:43
I see the happy moon. I see the happy me.
2:48:52
I see the happy moon. Yeah.
2:48:57
Drop
2:49:15
me happy
2:49:23
me Happy
2:49:45
moon. Yeah. D
2:49:57
D.
2:50:38
Say, “I We want to party.
2:50:47
Say we want to party.
2:51:29
I’m sorry my baby.
2:51:44
sometimes I’m sorry my baby
2:51:51
I’m so sorry now
2:51:57
you did me this time I’m
2:52:04
High
2:52:21
My I
2:52:46
yahoo. Yahoo!
2:52:55
Yahoo! Yahoo!
2:53:03
Yahoo!
2:53:27
I’m so sorry.
2:53:38
My baby, you didn’t mean
2:53:45
I’m sorry, my baby.
2:53:50
So sorry now,
2:53:56
you didn’t mean it.
2:54:03
Oh yeah.
2:54:12
Yeah.
2:54:24
Io.
2:54:56
Yeah. Yeah.
2:55:04
Yeah. Yeah.
2:55:13
Yow. Yow.
2:55:21
Yow.
2:55:28
Thank you guys. Have a beautiful day.
2:55:49
You are you.
2:56:38
We are home.
2:57:00
Okay.
2:57:11
Lights are loud.
2:57:17
The microphone
oooooo
Geure herriari, Euskal Herriari dagokionez, hona hemen gure apustu bakarra:
We Basques do need a real Basque independent State in the Western Pyrenees, just a democratic lay or secular state, with all the formal characteristics of any independent State: Central Bank, Treasury, proper currency1, out of the European Distopia and faraway from NATO, being a BRICS partner…
Euskal Herriaren independentzia eta Mikel Torka
eta
Esadazu arren, zer da gu euskaldunok egiten ari garena eta zer egingo dugun
gehi
MTM: Zipriztinak (2), 2025: Warren Mosler
(Pinturak: Mikel Torka)
Gehigarriak:
MTM klase borrokarik gabe, kontabilitate hutsa da
oooooo
1 This way, our new Basque government will have infinite money to deal with. (Gogoratzekoa: Moneta jaulkitzaileko kasu guztietan, Gobernuak infinitu diru dauka.)
