S African historic sites linked to liberation struggle, Mandela find place on World Heritage List

UNESCO World Heritage Committee approves nearly 30 inscriptions during ongoing session being hosted till July 31

New Delhi: A set of historic sites in South Africa associated with the country’s liberation struggle and human rights crusader Nelson Mandela was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on Saturday.

Members of the South African delegation broke into impromptu celebrations as soon as the announcement was made during a session of the World Heritage Committee here, waving the country’s flag and clicking pictures.

---

The nomination named ‘Human Rights, Liberation Struggle and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites’ was put forth by the African country.

Various State Parties, including Italy, South Korea, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, Japan and Italy supported the nomination.

A Japanese delegate said these sites hold “outstanding importance for all humankind”.

A member of the South African delegation expressed joy while delivering the statement on behalf of her country. She also thanked India for playing host to the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee approved nearly 30 inscriptions on Friday and Saturday during its ongoing session being hosted till July 31. It began on July 21.

Fondly known as Madiba, Mandela who was born in 1918 in South Africa became its first democratically elected President in 1994.

Many of the country’s delegation members, including Mxolisi Dlamuka, CEO of the Kwazulu Natal heritage institute, a provincial government agency, sported t-shirts with the name of the South African inscription on the back.

“It is amazing that the inscription happened in India, the land of (Mahatma) Gandhi, and this accomplishment further solidifies the bond between India and South Africa,” Dlamuka said.

According to the UNESCO website, “the serial property represents the legacy of the South African struggle for human rights, liberation and reconciliation”.

“It consists of fourteen component parts located around the country, all related to South Africa’s political history in the 20th century. The parts include the Union Buildings (Pretoria), now the official seat of government; the Sharpeville Sites, commemorating the massacre of 69 people protesting the unjust Pass Laws; and The Great Place at Mqhekezweni, a site symbolic of traditional leadership where Nelson Mandela lived as a young man,” it read.

These places reflect key events linked to the long struggle against the apartheid state; Mandela’s influence in promoting understanding and forgiveness; and “belief systems based on philosophies of non-racialism, Pan-Africanism and ubuntu, a concept that implies humanity is not solely embedded in an individual”, the website added.

The iconic Union Buildings of Pretoria was designed by British architect Sir Herbert Baker, who along with Sir Edwin Lutyens had also designed many key buildings of New Delhi, including the North Block and South Block, and the Parliament building.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay congratulated South Africa following the inscription of ‘Human Rights, Liberation Struggle and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites’.

“I congratulate South Africa on the inscription of these sites of memory, which bear witness not only to the struggle against the apartheid state but also to Nelson Mandela’s contribution to freedom, human rights and peace on behalf of us all,” she said in a statement shared by an official of the UNESCO Secretariat.

“Twenty-five years after Robben Island was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, this new inscription ensures that the legacy of South Africa’s liberation and the values it embodies will be transmitted to future generations,” she said.