Such inequalities are a direct assault on human rights.Īddressing inequality has therefore been a driving force throughout history for social justice, labour rights and gender equality. High levels of inequality are associated with economic instability, corruption, financial crises, increased crime and poor physical and mental health.ĭiscrimination, abuse and lack of access to justice define inequality for many, particularly indigenous people, migrants, refugees and minorities of all kinds. In this way, inequality works against human development – for everyone. The lives and expectations of millions of people are largely determined by their circumstances at birth. Multiple inequalities intersect and reinforce each other across the generations. People’s chances in life depend on their gender, family and ethnic background, race, whether or not they have a disability, and other factors. The 26 richest people in the world hold as much wealth as half the global population.īut income, pay and wealth are not the only measures of inequality. More than 70 per cent of the world’s people are living with rising income and wealth inequality. The myth that we are all in the same boat.īecause while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts while others are clinging to drifting debris. The delusion that we live in a post-racist world The fiction that unpaid care work is not work
#Diminished dominating begins his next free#
The lie that free markets can deliver healthcare for all It is exposing fallacies and falsehoods everywhere: We could see famines of historic proportions.ĬOVID-19 has been likened to an x-ray, revealing fractures in the fragile skeleton of the societies we have built. One hundred million more people could be pushed into extreme poverty. We face the deepest global recession since World War II, and the broadest collapse in incomes since 1870. The economic fallout of the pandemic is affecting those who work in the informal economy small and medium-size businesses and people with caring responsibilities, who are mainly women. In some countries, health inequalities are amplified as not just private hospitals, but businesses and even individuals are hoarding precious equipment that is urgently needed for everyone.
Health workers are on the front lines, with more than 4,000 infected in South Africa alone. The virus poses the greatest risk to the most vulnerable: those living in poverty, older people, and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions. It has laid bare risks we have ignored for decades: inadequate health systems gaps in social protection structural inequalities environmental degradation the climate crisis.Įntire regions that were making progress on eradicating poverty and narrowing inequality have been set back years, in a matter of months.
The pandemic has demonstrated the fragility of our world. We have been brought to our knees – by a microscopic virus. He devoted his life to fighting the inequality that has reached crisis proportions around the world in recent decades – and that poses a growing threat to our future.Īnd so today, on Madiba’s birthday, I will talk about how we can address the many mutually reinforcing strands and layers of inequality, before they destroy our economies and societies.ĬOVID-19 is shining a spotlight on this injustice. Nelson Mandela rose above his jailers to liberate millions of South Africans and become a global inspiration and a modern icon. But he never allowed this experience to define him or his life. Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison, 18 of them at Robben island. I stood there, looking through the bars, humbled again by his enormous mental strength and incalculable courage. Last August, I visited Madiba’s cell at Robben Island. I will never forget his wisdom, determination and compassion, which shone forth in everything he said and did. I was fortunate enough to meet Nelson Mandela several times. And I send my deepest condolences to the Mandela family and to the Government and people of South Africa on the untimely passing of Ambassador Zindzi Mandela earlier this week. I thank the Nelson Mandela Foundation for this opportunity and commend their work to keep his vision alive. It is a privilege to join you in honouring Nelson Mandela, an extraordinary global leader, advocate, and role model. My dear friends, President Cyril Ramaphosa, excellencies, distinguished guests, friends,
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