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Address by Nkosi ZMD Mandela, Member of Parliament of the Republic of South Africa delivered at the MIR Conference in Moscow, Russia on Monday 26th February 2024
Program Director
Leadership of MIR
Fellow participants
Ladies and Gentlemen
Comrades and friends
I bring you warm and fraternal greetings from the home of President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, founding father of a free and democratic South Africa. We pause today to pay respects to all of you to whom we owe an eternal debt. In supporting our internal resistance, our combatants in exile and our leadership most of whom were languishing in Apartheid jails, you and all in the Global Anti-Apartheid Movement enabled us to overcome the brutal Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Your collective actions, whether at the level of state like the frontline states of SADC, the USSR and Cuba or whether through the actions of churches and faith-based movements, civil society organs, labour formations; singly and collectively you all contributed to our liberation and freedom and demonstrated the power of the Global South.
There are as many definitions of the Global South today as there are ideologues and social science theorists and political economy practitioners.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global South broadly comprises Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia (excluding Apartheid Israel), Japan and South Korea, Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand).
It is paradoxical that we have been reminded so starkly of the power of the Global South by the recent events in Gaza and all of Occupied Palestine. The voices in the global south have been awakened by the pogrom unfolding before our very eyes. It is painful to watch the daily obliteration of infrastructure not to mention the tally of human life because the numbers do not tell the full story of decades of systematic genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The millions of people in every city of the world standing up and standing against the machinations of the unipolar world led by the USA, UK and countries in the European Union, tell us of the emergence of the Global South fearlessly calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The world is ready for a new world, one that is more just and one that will not accept the advancement of parochial geo-political interest at the expense of others. The Palestinian people and their brave axis resistance is setting an example to all of us in the Global South. We stand together bound by the values of our common humanity and demand justice not just for the people of Gaza and all of Occupied Palestine but for all suffering people of the world.
Having walked our own painful path to freedom, South Africa has taken the Zionist entity to the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice and has been supported by similar actions by countries in Latin America, Asia and even in the European Parliament.
These are not random events but rather the consequence of global mobilization on an unprecedented level. We are no longer prepared to be second class citizens of the world and the institutions of global governance are facing a test to act in consonance with its founding principles or forever lose legitimacy in the eyes of the world.
It is in our hands to act decisively now and as President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela reminded us it is now in our hands, it is in the hands of this generation to achieve greatness, it is in the hands of the Global South and our emerging structures such as BRICS PLUS to shape a world in which justice prevails, in which a human rights based world works for all of us or works for none of us.
Palestine and its heroic struggle against unjust occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing is a litmus test for our humanity, it is a test of our resolve to stand united against the bullies of the world who for too long have raped, pillaged and stolen the resource of the world in its quest for empire, power and global dominance.
It is not an accident of history or random chance that brings us together here in this moment in time. We have to act in our collective strength and moral obligation towards each other and all of humanity to advance a global agenda that brings peace in Palestine and peace in the world. The era of a unipolar world which unilaterally imposes its blockades and foists its geopolitical interest on the entire world and all of humanity is dying and must be buried for peace, justice, dignity and prosperity for all to prevail.
We must move forward and ensure that the prevailing global sentiment translates into concrete actions and the Global South now must drive this agenda in order to achieve our mutual goal of a just world. To do so requires firm resolve and determination.
We can no longer be passive passengers of history. We are the makers of our own destiny, and it is in our hands to shape the future of humanity.
This is true for the struggle of the Palestinian people as it is true for other critical issues such as climate justice, fighting poverty and ending inequality in the world.
In South Africa and all of the African continent we have overcome the struggle of colonial occupation, but we have yet to taste the fruits of our economic liberation and the goal of economic development and prosperity eludes us because the changes in the global architecture that we are striving for escapes us because of systemic slavery that has enchained us.
The Global South must be the catalyst to break off these chains of economic slavery to the West. This is true for Africa as it is true for Latin America and Asia. As we awaken and become present to this reality, we must continue to mobilize our collective efforts, resources and the voices of our people to push forward courageously and shape a new future and a new dawn.
Our voices must be heard in the global corridors of power as we demand an end to the occupation and genocide in Palestine. In doing so we also assert our own daily struggles as the Global South to build a future for all of humanity. One that is characterized by peace, justice and human dignity for all.
I thank you.
