Twenty-twenty-five is a notably very historic year for the growing bilateral relations between South Africa and Thailand, with the Mandela Centre at Chulalongkorn University clocking a year since its establishment.
Additionally, the Bangkok Rules and the Mandela Centre will be 15 years and 10 years old, respectively. These developments cannot be allowed to go unnoticed. The Bangkok Rules, also known as the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, supplement the Nelson Mandela Rules, also known as the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. They are both key international standards for the promotion of the human rights of all prisoners, males and females.
On 21 March 2024, a day celebrated in South Africa as Human Rights Day, the Mandela Centre was launched in Thailand. This groundbreaking initiative was the product of collaboration between the South African Embassy and Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The Centre aims to promote peace, prevent atrocities and enhance human security. This was in honour of the late president Nelson "Madiba" Mandala, an iconic leader whose legacy and vision embody a world free from conflict, violence, racism and oppression and the promotion of human rights. The global order is going through a moment of disruption. The consequences seem dire for a new world underpinned by stability, peace and human security. A peaceful future for posterity is unlikely to emerge given the rapid rise of nationalism and racial hatred characterising this global order. Africa and Southeast Asia will not be immune.
This year will mark 12 years since the demise of Mandela, who passed on at the ripe age of 95. To celebrate the 1st anniversary of the Mandela Centre, Chula University and the South African Embassy will be hosting an International Seminar for the Advancement of Conflict Resolution and the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination in Southeast Asia.
This seminar will reflect on the progress of the UN Durban Conference on Racism, which reaffirmed the role and duty of states to protect and promote the human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all persons and urged them to combat the scourge of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
In pursuance of global unity, the General Assembly also proclaimed 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilisations, underscoring the fundamental importance and need to seek common ground in addressing common challenges, promoting human rights, fostering understanding, cooperation, partnership and inclusion. The Mandela Centre will reflect on these values, which were key to Madiba's philosophy, when celebrating its first anniversary on March 25. Human rights today are facing challenges and pushback globally. It is, therefore, imperative to reflect on what the future holds for the promotion and protection of human rights today, as articulated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948.
Therefore, the celebrations of the Mandela Centre, the Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules all in one year is a significant and historic milestone worthy of reflection and celebration in pursuit of consolidating the bilateral relations between the two countries, which are members of Brics and leading voices in the Global South. These notable developments are testaments to reaffirm and reinforce their joint commitment to a peaceful Southeast Asia, a better Africa and a world in which human rights are respected as rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sexual orientation, nationality, ethnicity, language or religion.
As part of this celebration, South Africa will collaborate closely with Thailand both locally and globally. It is also likely that the UN General Assembly will celebrate the dual anniversary of the Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules in 2025.
Darkey Africa is Ambassador of South Africa to Thailand. Bhanubhatra Jittiang, PhD, is founding director of Nelson Mandela Centre at Chulalongkorn University. The International Seminar for the Advancement of Conflict Resolution and the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination in Southeast Asia will be held on March 24 at Bangkok Marriott Hotel The Surawongse.