With the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF) hosting its 2025 annual lecture in Johannesburg on Saturday, 25 October, under the theme of “Enhancing Peace and Global Cooperation”, it is important to critically reflect on the contemporary challenges of advancing social justice causes in a fragmented geopolitical landscape, especially as humanitarian matters get sidelined by realpolitik considerations.
Human rights lawyer and UN Special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, will deliver the keynote address, reflecting on the challenges of advancing social justice in a fragmented geopolitical order. With added scrutiny following US sanctions targeted towards her, she will probably draw on reflections based on her institutional and personal experiences and knowledge.
Recent years have seen growing tensions in the geopolitical landscape, which have exacerbated the crisis of multilateralism as global governance structures find themselves unable to fulfil their original mandates, especially in the area of peace, security and development.
There has thus been unease in the corridors of multilateral institutions, such as the UN, World Trade Organisation, World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and the contemporary environment has seen significant budget cuts to UN bodies performing important functions that reach some of the most marginalised people in the world.
One year after the adoption of the UN Pact for the Future, the UN is itself facing key challenges to its very design. We’ve also witnessed sharp budget cuts to bilateral development cooperation programmes, many of which were designed for the most vulnerable in society. This is perhaps most visibly evident in the recent dismantling of USAid. However, to solely focus attention on the US aid programmes would not paint the full picture as key European development partners had also cut their development cooperation budgets even before the Trump administration started its second term in January 2025.
It is important to note that budget cuts to development cooperation programmes have not prevented sharp increases in military expenditure in the US and among its Nato allies, which have already pledged to increase military expenditure to 5% of GDP. While this reprioritisation towards military expenditure serves the geopolitical interests of major powers, it has negatively impacted the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which seek to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030.
Given its own history as a country, and the role it has played in continental and global affairs since 1994, South Africa’s voice continues to resonate despite various efforts to silence or sideline it.
Whether in attempts to resolve African conflicts, or those beyond the continent such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, South Africa has continued to be a proactive actor seeking to position itself as part of the solution. It has tended to shy away from military solutions and has preferred dialogue to address the root cause of conflicts.
It should not come as a surprise that this year’s annual lecture has attracted a lot of attention within official and non-official circles, given that the keynote speaker, Albanese, has been a consistent voice in elevating the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
As the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, her voice and actions have been difficult to ignore, even leading to the US administration recently imposing unilateral sanctions against her.
Solidarity campaigns for Palestine and efforts towards a two-state solution has been a position not only close to the South African state, but also one that has resonated among non-state actors such as civil society, NGOs, the trade union movement and various political parties. Indeed it was Nelson Mandela who said that South Africa would not be truly free until Palestine is free.
In recent months, Albanese released a scathing report outlining the role of corporate interests in the plight of the Palestinians and she has been equally scathing of the ground offensive of the Israel Defense Forces, consistently referring to the actions of the state of Israel as genocide. Despite also having condemned the violent acts carried out by Hamas on 7 October 2023, she has faced a backlash from the US administration, through unilateral sanctions, and from Israeli officials.
In recent years, a disturbing trend has continued to persist, leading to key figures in the International Criminal Court (ICC) being sanctioned by the US when their conclusions go against US interests. This has seen judges and officials investigating the US and Israel being placed under sanctions.
It should not come as a surprise that one of the key areas outlined by the current, and previous, US administrations when defining relations with South Africa is the actions the country has taken at the ICC and the International Court of Justice as it seeks to hold Israel accountable for the nature of its ground offensive in Gaza.
Like its response towards Albanese, these actions have drawn criticism from the administration of US President Donald Trump and led to the imposition of penalties such as high tariffs, non-participation in some meetings of the G20 and various efforts to discredit transformation policies pursued by South Africa since 1994.
While the threat of sanctions towards South African officials has been ever present, none have been imposed thus far. It should also be noted that much of the criticism directed at South Africa for its position on Israel has not acknowledged that the country referred both Hamas and Israeli officials to the ICC for their respective human rights violations.
The 2025 Nelson Mandela Foundation annual lecture will thus give an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of pursuing lasting peace in Palestine, and in other theatres of conflict, even as the recent ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel faces various pressures and debate on whether it can achieve lasting peace.
The lecture will also offer an opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the pursuit of social justice in a fragmented geopolitical landscape and consequences faced by UN structures and personnel when pursuing matters perceived to be hurting US and Israeli interests.
However, the fact that Albanese was invited and is being hosted by a non-state actor in the form of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will show that South Africa tends to not recognise unilateral sanctions as a matter of principle. It is thus demonstrating its own agency by not restricting her movements and continuing to recognise her work as an integral part of the UN.
This is once again a reminder of Mandela’s words during a townhall discussion with American broadcaster and journalist Ted Koppel in 1990: “One of the mistakes political analysts make is to think that their enemies should be our enemies.” He was affirming the importance of pursuing an independent and principled foreign policy which may, from time to time, attract both positive and negative responses and consequences.
Dr Philani Mthembu is the executive director of the Institute for Global Dialogue, associated with Unisa.