Struggles for freedom still relevant

Shifting geopolitics is highlighting new and old arenas of conflict and violations of international law

- Gjermund Sæther

In 1960, Albert Luthuli won the Nobel Peace Prize and the Sharpeville massacre unfolded. Those events mobilised Norwegian support for liberation in South Africa.

At the opening of the African Independence, Norwegian Solidarity exhibition at the Apartheid Museum earlier this year, ANC Veterans League representatives Ribbon Mosholi and Mavuso Msimang paid tribute to the significant support from the Nordic countries. They noted that it came from both the government and civil society. (The exhibition is on display at Constitution Hill until next year.)

For the Nordics, colonialism was occupation. Colonialism was an obvious violation of international law, including international human rights law. Apartheid was first recognised as a crime against humanity by the international community in 1973 through the Apartheid Convention, and was later enshrined in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998.

In today's shifting geopolitics, the world is facing many problems. As we look back on the support from the government and people of Norway to the struggle for freedom on this continent, a pertinent question is how this kind of international solidarity can inspire us today?

First, international law must be applied consistently. As a starting point, we must dismiss the idea of "might is right", the notion that big countries can do as they wish, using whatever means to dominate others, including military means.

The international community has a set of rules designed to prevent conflict and limit its effect, should worse come to worst. International law, particularly the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and international human rights law, represent fundamental values of the international community. These principles must be applied in a consistent manner.