The global community needs to pick up the rulebook and remember the fundamental principles of international law and human rights, and stand up for what is right.

Forty-five years ago I joined the labour youth movement in Norway. My first national position was on the board of the Norwegian anti-apartheid movement. From the early 1980s I participated in daily chants of "Free Nelson Mandela", and we held meetings and lobbied for sanctions against the apartheid regime.

We live in a complex world. Having spent 60 years on this planet, I don't think there's ever been a time with such a complex set of realities. We have more wars, both internal and between countries. In addition, the number of regional hotspots is rising, and geopolitical competition has re-emerged substantially.

I'm proud of the fact that in Norway there were many who stood up against apartheid. The anti-apartheid Struggle was a cause that resonated greatly with the Norwegian people. We felt that apartheid was fundamentally irreconcilable with values and principles of the UN charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other key international principles.

The world should simply not accept systematic discrimination between people as the apartheid regime was predicated on. So, we took a clear position of supporting the liberation movements. It followed the lead...