No amendments, no abstentions, no bickering behind the scenes.  All 192 members of the United Nations General Assembly this week unanimously proclaimed July 18 “Nelson Mandela International Day.”

By Hélène Michaud and Marijke Peters

When its former President and Nobel peace prize winner turned 91 this year, South Africa celebrated extensively. Food parcels were donated,  schools were freshly painted, old people’s homes were redecorated and clothes were collected.

Local charities and the South African government - inspired by Nelson Mandela’s wish to achieve social justice -  felt that this movement should be extended the rest of the  world. Their lobbing efforts at the UN resulted in the adoption of a resolution submitted to the General Assembly by South Africa.

Starting in 2010, July 18  will mark Nelson Mandela’s contribution to peace an social justice.

Bigger than South Africa
Sello Hatang, a spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Foundation in South Africa,  says it’s the first time the United Nations has dedicated a special day to a single person.

“Nelson Mandela is not just for South Africa. Nelson Mandela  is for the world. And he has worked tirelessly for the world to achieve peace and social justice.”

Small gestures
Mandela spent 67 years fighting for peace and social justice and often said it was the job of ordinary people to make the world a better place. True to  the spirit of “Madiba”, as South Africans like to call their former leader,  citizens of the world are being asked to symbolically offer, symbolically 67 minutes of their time to their communities. The idea is not to come up with grand gestures, but do little things for ordinary people, Sello Hatang explains:

“It’s basically a global movement for good,  which means that all of us, in small ways, should try to change the world to be a better place. People tend to think big, thinking that they must go and build schools, but what people want is for you to go out and create a vegetable garden to feed the school children. That’s how small it can be.”

No big international celebrations
But while South Africans have reacted enthusiastically to the UN plan, international organisations have been more tempered in their response. NIZA, a Dutch NGO with links to the country, told Radio Netherlands there is no need for this kind of worldwide celebration.

“Mr Mandela has done a lot for world peace so he deserves all the recognition he can get, but we think it's a bit too early to proclaim a worldwide Nelson Mandela Day. I mean, allow this man to live a quiet life at this age.

“That doesn't mean we won't do anything on Mandela Day. On July 18th, we'll mention it on our website and we'll congratulate him - like we do every year. But we won't organise big celebrations to mark Nelson Mandela Day; we'd like to keep it low key for the moment.”