By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GettyImages.
Human rights lawyer and UN Special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, will deliver the upcoming 23rd Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, taking place this Saturday, 25 October 2025.
The lecture will be held under the theme “Enhancing Peace and Global Cooperation.”
Albanese said, it is a “call of destiny” to be invited to deliver the lecture by a foundation whose mission is to “steer good trouble.”
She will be reflecting on the challenges of advancing social justice in a fragmented geopolitical order. With added scrutiny following US sanctions targeted towards her, she will probably draw on reflections based on her institutional and personal experiences and knowledge.
Under US sanctions since July for her outspoken criticism of Israel, she will also present her next report to the United Nations from South Africa in the coming days.
In a first version of that report, published on the UN website, Albanese calls the Western support for Israel during the war with Hamas “the culmination of a long history of complicity”.
“Even as the genocidal violence became visible, states, mostly Western ones, have provided, and continue to provide, Israel with military, diplomatic, economic and ideological support,” Albanese wrote.
Recent years have seen growing tensions in the geopolitical landscape, which have exacerbated the crisis of multilateralism as global governance structures find themselves unable to fulfil their original mandates, especially in the area of peace, security and development.
The lecture will thus give an opportunity to reflect on the challenges of pursuing lasting peace in Palestine, and in other theatres of conflict, even as the recent ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel faces various pressures and debate on whether it can achieve lasting peace.
The lecture will also offer an opportunity to discuss the challenges facing the pursuit of social justice in a fragmented geopolitical landscape and consequences faced by UN structures and personnel when pursuing matters perceived to be hurting US and Israeli interests.
However, the fact that Albanese was invited and is being hosted by a non-state actor in the form of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, will show that South Africa tends to not recognise unilateral sanctions as a matter of principle. It is thus demonstrating its own agency by not restricting her movements and continuing to recognise her work as an integral part of the UN.
The Lecture was initially scheduled to take place at the Linder Auditorium, but due to high public demand, tickets sold out in just 30 minutes. The venue was moved to accommodate a larger audience.