Johannesburg: President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the listing of several iconic sites in South Africa linked to the late President Nelson Mandela as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Listed generically as ‘The Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), these include 14 human rights and liberation struggle sites linked to Mandela, who served 27 years as a political prisoner before becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected President after decades of white minority apartheid rule.
The announcement was made at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, which ends on Wednesday.
“Collectively, this serial property demonstrates the events and ideas that served as the core of South Africa’s liberation struggle, which continues to inspire humanity embracing reconciliation, a quarter century later," the Ramaphosa's office said on Monday.
“The 14 components exemplify strong memories and beliefs in the triumph of human rights, liberation and reconciliation,” it said, thanking UNESCO “for the honour bestowed to the country, its history and rich legacy.” The sites include the Union Buildings in Pretoria, where Mandela first assumed office, and the Constitution Hill in Johannesburg, the seat of South Africa’s highest judicial office, which was once the notorious Fort Prison, where both Mandela, and Mahatma Gandhi before him, were imprisoned.
The Union Buildings join global sites like the Kremlin, Kasubi Tombs, Taj Mahal, The Vatican and others on the World Heritage List.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee also inscribed three Middle Stone Age sites in recognition of South Africa’s significant contribution to the understanding of the origins of modern human behaviour.
The inscription of these two serial properties increases South Africa’s list of World Heritage Sites to 12, the statement said.
The Presidency called on all South Africans, spheres of Government, management authorities and heritage stakeholders to work in a coordinated manner to ensure that "these precious treasures of humanity are safeguarded and optimally deployed to meaningfully contribute to sustainable development in communities and further entrench the values of human rights, freedom, peace and reconciliation."