BuaNews (Tshwane)
Proffesor Ndawonde
2 October 2008
South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will on Thursday join UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to deliver an address on the UN's First International Day of Non-Violence.
The inaugural event will take place at the UN Headquarters in New York and comes after the UN General Assembly earlier this week.
The International Day of Non-Violence will be used to emphasise the philosophy of non-violence as a foundation of resolving conflicts.
This philosophy is based on Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of non-violence which he developed during his stay in South Africa, against the system of apartheid. His birthday was also on 2 October.
The General Assembly issued a resolution requesting all members of the UN system to commemorate 2 October in an appropriate manner and disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness.
The resolution reaffirmed the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence and the desire to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence.
The President of the UN General Assembly Father Miguel d' Escoto Brockmann and India's Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee are also expected to address the event.
This is the second time Ms Dlamini Zuma is honoured with the invitation to address the gathering on behalf of South Africa, having addressed the inaugural launch alongside Sonja Gandhi in New York in 2007.
During her visit to New York, Minister Dlamini Zuma represented South Africa in the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, round table discussions on the Millennium Development Goals and signed a framework co-operation agreement with Guinea Bissau and Timor Lest.
The minister has also held a number of bilateral discussions with other Heads of State and Government represented at the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly.
South Africa participated once more in this world assembly inspired, correctly, by the notion that the multilateral system of global governance remains the only hope against challenges facing humanity today at the centre of which remains the struggle against poverty and under-development.
Minister Dlamini Zuma is scheduled to return to South Africa on Saturday.
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