Mandela Statue Unveiling Starts U.N. Peace Summit

On This Site

Current Events

Share This Page






Follow This Site

Follow SocStudies4Kids on Twitter

September 24, 2018

Nelson Mandela is once again mentioned in conjunction with peace.

Mandela statue at the U.N.

The famous South African prisoner-turned-activist-turned-statesman-turned-author, who died in 2013, has his arms outstretched in a new life-size statue unveiled at the United Nations headquarters in New York. U.N. officials unveiled the statue in conjunction with a General Assembly peace summit. Mandela's widow, Graca Michel, and current South African President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke at the unveiling ceremony, as did Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who called on countries of the world to build on Mandela's legacy. The statue was a gift from South Africa to the U.N.

On the docket for the myriad discussions by member nations will be climate change, disease, migration, poverty, and war. The U.N. will also declare 2019–2028 as the "Nelson Mandela Decade of Peace."

The peace summit marks the 100th anniversary of the year of Mandela's birth and also the 70fh anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The peace summit precedes Tuesday's wider General Assembly opening meeting.

Search This Site

Get weekly newsletter

Custom Search

Get weekly newsletter


Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2018
David White

Social Studies for Kids
copyright 2002–2019
David White