UK Parliamentarians Pay Tribute to Nelson Mandela Print
Senior UK Parliamentarians across party lines, from both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, supported a tribute to Nelson Mandela in recognition of his inspiration and leadership. 

Parliamentary Tribute to Nelson Mandela

At the occasion of your 90th birthday celebration and the London 46664 event,

President Mandela, your life and work has been an inspiration and example for political leaders everywhere. Your fortitude in demanding integrity in democratic life, human rights and reconciliation in relating to past adversaries has set a high standard for all of us to follow.

Already in 2003, at the outset of the 46664 campaign, you alerted us to the importance of AIDS, breaking the silence, and stating: "HIV/AIDS is no longer just a health problem, it is a human rights issue." We took your words to heart, and followed this with action.

Parliamentarians across all parties in the United Kingdom, individually, collectively and in cooperation with inter-parliamentary bodies, have helped to raise awareness of AIDS and to promote HIV prevention measures.

With this statement we would like to call attention to the charitable organisations founded by you, The Nelson Mandela Foundation, The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and The Mandela Rhodes Foundation, and to seek support for the continuation of their work.

When we survey the multitude of challenges facing the international community, whether in health, nutrition, poverty or security, we recall your reminder of our common humanity and the challenge for us to not be the generation that turned our backs on a global crisis.

We embrace your message that: "it's in our hands". We re-dedicate ourselves to take appropriate action to help end the scourge of AIDS as we did to end the scourge of apartheid. In this struggle too, we pay tribute to your leadership and inspiration.

This tribute was supported by many senior representatives in the House of Commons, in the House of Lords, in the Association of European Parliamentarians for Africa, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and in the Inter Parliamentary Union, including:-

Hugh Bayley MP, John Bercow MP, Rt Hon. Malcolm Bruce MP, Nigel Evans MP, Rt Hon. Peter  Hain MP; Rt Hon. Baroness Amos, Rt Hon. Lord Anderson of Swansea,  The Lord Chidgey, Rt Hon. Lord Steel of Aikwood.
 
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