By Amie Silito / GICJ
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”-
Desmond Tutu, 1931-2021
Desmond Mpilo Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, hero, and a symbol of morality, passed away on Sunday, 26 December 2021. He will be remembered as a man who fought injustice wherever it presented itself, worked tirelessly to achieve reconciliation in times of conflict and was a beacon of hope to many. A true humanitarian and a man of God, society owes him a debt of gratitude for his work during his lifetime.
Archbishop Tutu, a key anti-apartheid activist in South Africa and the first black Anglican Bishop of Johannesburg, played a large role in post-apartheid reconciliation efforts by heading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He was a man of integrity and compassion for victims of oppression and injustice the world over. He was a symbol of Ubuntu and forgiveness, someone who
will be remembered as a true leader. Mr. Tutu demonstrated his moral steadfastness by opposing over his lifetime, the Israeli occupation of Palestine. In an editorial article in the Guardian (Apartheid in the Holy Land, 29 April 2002), the archbishop stated that Israel's treatment of Palestinians was reminiscent of apartheid in South Africa. He went on to state that there were "deeply, deeply distressing" parallels with apartheid. He also supported the use of boycotts and sanctions in order to pressure Israel to change its brutal policies against the Palestinian people.
Mr. Tutu was one of the great voices who opposed the US-UK invasion of Iraq. In this regard he said, “The immorality of the United States and Great Britain's decision to invade Iraq in 2003, premised on the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, has destabilised and polarised the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history”. On 2 September 2012, he wrote to the Guardian to voice his criticism over UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair’s support for the United States in the war on Iraq. The archbishop also boycotted the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit in South Africa to protest the attendance of Blair whom he refused to share a platform with. Archbishop Tutu even called for George W. Bush and Tony Blair to be summoned before the International Criminal Court in the Hague for causing the deaths of more than 110,000 Iraqis and the displacement of millions, as well as destruction and destabilisation in the Middle East. Mr. Tutu also highlighted a significant double standard during his lifetime between the leaders of the West and the South, whereby leaders from Africa and Asia have been held to account for their actions yet Western leaders have not been required to answer to anyone.
He even spoke out against those closest to him including the woman he admired and called a dearly beloved sister, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi following the ethnic cleansing of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority population. Archbishop Tutu was never one to stray from his moral code and called upon the former Nobel Peace Prize winner to intervene and put an end to the violence.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) sends its condolences to the Tutu family, South Africans, and all those who were influenced by his work. May his legacy live on.
Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
