United Nations-. Nelson Mandela is a colossus of courage and conviction, a leader with immense achievements and extraordinary humanity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said today, referring to the work of the South African leader.
As part of the commemoration of International Nelson Mandela Day, the head of the multilateral organization called for his legacy to be honored through measures to “ban racism, discrimination and hatred”; to blur the footprint of colonialism; and promote equality, human rights and above all justice”.
He also invited to take the spirit of humanity of the fighter against apartheid as an inspiration to face the current challenges.
“Let’s join women and girls, youth and change agents around the world. And let’s act to build a better world,” he urged.
On that date, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called for the application of minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules.
Under the motto “Prisoners Matter”, the panel released a brief report on people in prison, which includes the latest data on the number of men and women deprived of their liberty around the world.
It is estimated that 11.7 million people were in prison around the world at the end of 2019.
Although the majority of those incarcerated are male at 93 percent, the number of incarcerated women has risen faster than that of men over the past 20 years, he noted.
In about half of all countries with available data from 2014 to 2019, the prison systems are being used at more than 100 percent of the planned capacity, it also said.
In every fifth case, he added, inmates exceeded prison capacity by more than 150 percent.