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International Nelson Mandela Day Celebrated In Homel

International Nelson Mandela Day Celebrated In Homel
LEANID SUDALENKA, MARYJA TARASENKA AND ANDREI STRYZHAK, PHOTO: HOMEL VIASNA

Nelson Mandela Day has been celebrated around the world since 2009 at the initiative of the UN General Assembly.

On 18 July, human rights activists from Homel celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day, a day dedicated to the values of the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Andrei Stryzhak, Maryja Tarasenka and Leanid Sudalenka distributed more than 500 copies of a special issue of the newspaper Narodnaya Volia, telling about the persecution for dissent in Belarus, gomelspring.org reports.

Nelson Mandela Day has been celebrated in the world since 2009 at the initiative of the UN General Assembly. The idea of this holiday is that everyone can change the world and contribute to positive changes by becoming a volunteer or doing work for the benefit of society.

Nelson Mandela was a World Peacekeeper. He served humanity faithfully, trying to resolve conflicts, eliminate racial animosity, protect and promote human rights, advocate for equality and protection of vulnerable groups, fight poverty and promote social justice. It is fair to say that Nelson Mandela fought for peace throughout the world.

As a prominent political leader since his youth, Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent 27 years behind bars. As a sign of respect for the legacy of the late President of South Africa, the UN General Assembly called the international rules on the treatment of prisoners "The Nelson Mandela Rules".

"It is believed that it is impossible to understand the country well until you have been in that country's prison. You shouldn't judge a country by the way it treats members of the higher society, you should judge a country by the way it treats those at the lowest level," - Nelson Mandela said.

18 July is Nelson Mandela's birthday. On this day, human rights defenders and activists from all over the world do something in the name of the values of the famous humanist and peacemaker. For example, the UN General Assembly celebrated the 18th of July with an unofficial plenary session, where the message of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was heard:

"On this day, we pay tribute to the world's foremost advocate for dignity and equality and one of the most iconic and inspiring leaders of our time. Nelson Mandela was an example of courage, compassion and commitment to freedom, peace and social justice. He lived by these principles and was willing to sacrifice his freedom and even his life for them.

Nelson Mandela's calls for social cohesion and the end of racism are particularly relevant today, when hate speech casts a shadow over all humanity. Working together for peace, stability, sustainable development and human rights for all, we would benefit from the example set by Nelson Mandela.

The best way to pay tribute is to act. Nelson Mandela's message to the world is clear. Each of us can rise up and act for change. We all have an obligation to do so. On this day, when we are remembering Nelson Mandela's life and work, let us honour his legacy and follow his example".

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