© Nelson Mandela Foundation/Matthew Willman
It is easy to break down and destroy.
The heroes are those who make peace and build.- Nelson Mandela
19 June 2026, virtual discussion —
Art Remembers: Culture as Witness and Prevention
From the live discussion series "Beyond the Long Shadow: Engaging with Difficult Histories," a virtual discussion will be held June 19, 2026, exploring how the arts and cultural practice can serve as a vital space for interrupting harmful narratives, fostering empathy, safeguarding histories, and sustaining more just and inclusive societies. The discussants draw on histories of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, the Holocaust, the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica.
Secretary-General's Message for 2026
To be announced.
Informal Plenary Meeting & Events
Nelson Mandela International Day is marked by the United Nations General Assembly with an informal plenary meeting and an annual NYC volunteer event in honour of Mandela. Details are forthcoming.
Radio Programme
Looking back at the struggle against apartheid and the campaign for Mandela's release in which the United Nations played an important role — special programme for the first commemorative Mandela Day in 2010.
What is Mandela Day?
On 18 July every year, we invite you to mark Nelson Mandela International Day by making a difference in your communities. Everyone has the ability and the responsibility to change the world for the better! Mandela Day is an occasion for all to take action and inspire change.
67 years in service of humanity
Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity — as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.
How did the day come about?
November 2009 - in recognition of the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom, UN General Assembly declares 18 July "Nelson Mandela International Day". Resolution A/RES/64/13 recognizes Mandela’s values and his dedication to the service of humanity in: conflict resolution; race relations; promotion and protection of human rights; reconciliation; gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups; the fight against poverty; the promotion of social justice. The resolution acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.
Nelson Mandela Rules
December 2015 - the General Assembly decides to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day to also be utilized in order to promote humane conditions of imprisonment, raise awareness about prisoners being a continuous part of society, and to value the work of prison staff as a social service of particular importance.
General Assembly resolution A/RES/70/175 not only adopted the revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, but also approved that they should be known as the "Nelson Mandela Rules" in order to honour the legacy of the late President of South Africa, who spent 27 years in prison in the course of his struggle referred to above.