New York – The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says racial discrimination remains “a dangerous threat” and is urging countries and people around the world to follow the lesson of Nelson Mandela, who triumphed over racist forces and became a defender of the dignity and rights of every person.

Ban’s message was read at a General Assembly meeting on Friday to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The UN chief said he focused on Mandela because it was the first commemoration since his death, and because the assembly established the international day to support the anti-apartheid movement following the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, when police killed 69 black South Africans protesting peacefully.

Ban said the lessons of South Africa’s staunch defence of equality that Mandela began “can be applied anywhere in the world”.
AP