Jillian van Turnhout (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I would like to join in the tributes. As we are more than aware, Nelson Mandela steered South Africa out of apartheid without recourse to widespread bloodshed.

That is a testament to the man he was. He was a man with an unwavering ability to forgive in spite of 27 years of arbitrary imprisonment by a minority white separatist regime. He knew true freedom was multifaceted and recognised from the outset of his presidency that freedom without gender equality and a respect for children's rights was freedom denied. At the opening of the first parliament in 1994 he declared: "Freedom cannot be achieved unless women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression ... Our endeavours must be about the liberation of the woman, the emancipation of the man and the liberty of the child." Further recognising the role of the women of South Africa in bringing down the apartheid regime in 1995 at the time of the drafting of South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, he said, "As a tribute to the legions of women who navigated the path fighting for justice before us, we ought to imprint in the supreme law of the land firm principles upholding the rights of women."
On that note, I commend the role of Irish women in the fight against apartheid and, in particular, Mary Manning and her fellow Dunnes Stores colleagues who in the mid-1980s went on strike for two and a half years for the right not to handle goods from apartheid South Africa. They were certainly before their time in taking such a principled stand. Nelson Mandela said their stand had helped to sustain him during his imprisonment.
Equality and non-discrimination as the cornerstones of the new post-apartheid South Africa are exemplified by the constitution of the Republic of South Africa, being the first constitution in the world to prohibit expressly discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. South Africa was the fifth country in the world and the first in Africa to legislate for same sex marriage.
As a children's rights activist, I, of course, was very cognisant of Nelson Mandela's view of children and their importance in gauging the overall success of a society. He said: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." He took political action to improve the lives of women and children. For example, he introduced free prenatal and postnatal care for mothers in the public health system and free care for children up to the age of six years. In the constitution of the Republic of South Africa he ensured children's rights were clearly articulated. In fact, it is the standard bearer for children's rights throughout the world. We should all keep in mind that he said: "History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children."