Diplomatic Inside
The Nelson Mandela Foundation exhibition reminds us of our shared humanity
Last week, on 29 October 2024, the Nelson Mandela Foundation launched a new exhibition entitled ‘Our Shared Humanity in Action: Reflecting on the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid’. At the launch, the Foundation’s Chair, Dr Naledi Pandor, said: “Everyone in the world has a moral obligation to assist in combatting apartheid”. This was a reminder to look back at all those who contributed towards our freedom as South Africans as well as a call to action to reflect on the world around us and ensure that apartheid is combatted, wherever it rears itself.
The exhibition features the work of the United Nations (UN) Special Committee Against Apartheid, established in 1962 by the UN General Assembly and was active for four decades. The Committee promoted the international campaign against apartheid, including working on UN resolutions, advocating for boycotts and sanctions, lobbying member states, organising conferences, and raising awareness through various platforms. The Foundation believes that the Committee demonstrated shared humanity, thus the exhibition’s title.
The exhibition gives background to the work of the Committee, the various actions it undertook, examples of countries, individuals and formations who worked towards the eradication of apartheid in South Africa, as well as examples of failing humanity. It highlights how apartheid in South Africa persisted for as long as it did because of the extent to which state and non-state actors in other parts of the world aided and abetted the apartheid regime. One of these was the state of Israel.
The connections between South African and the Palestinian struggles were referenced by several speakers at the launch. Ambassador Abdul Minty, the former Honorary Secretary of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and Director of the World Campaign against Military and Nuclear Collaboration with South Africa, emphasized the need for an arms embargo against Israel. Minty also left attendees with a deep appreciation for African solidarity. Amongst other things, he spoke about the importance of Nigerian leadership in the Committee, the identity of the apartheid struggle as a people’s movement, and the importance of information-gathering to counter the misinformation of Western nations that supported the apartheid regime through arms and technology transfers.
In her speech at the launch, the Foundation’s Head of Dialogue and Advocacy, Dr Sumaya Hendricks, expressed the hope that the exhibition will “haunt” those who view it, propelling them into action for justice based on the notion of shared humanity. Hendricks argued that spreading awareness of injustice is an important first step, but that it is also imperative to “be an activist in whatever space you find yourself in” and to contribute to the building of a “diverse solidarity landscape”.
Our Shared Humanity in Action: Reflecting on the United Nations Special Committee Against Apartheid exhibition can be viewed at the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory in Houghton, Johannesburg, until March 2025. The exhibition is free to view and has both a physical as well as an audio-visual component. Visitors to the exhibition can also view the permanent exhibition on the life and times of Nelson Mandela, which incorporates what was his personal office between 2002 and 2010.
