Ex-Indian diplomat Placido D'Souza remembers Mandela

Former Indian diplomat Placido D'Souza has remembered former South African President Nelson Mandela, who passed away last night.

D'Souza recalled today that when he was India's High Commissioner to Kenya, he had prepared a sketch of Mandela and later got it signed by the veteran South African leader when he met him in Nairobi.

Placido recalls that every year, on July 18, - the day Nelson Mandela was born - the United Nations joins a call by the Nelson Mandela Foundation to devote 67 minutes of time to helping others, as a way to mark Nelson Mandela International Day.

It is because for 67 years, Nelson Mandela devoted his life to the service of humanity as a human rights lawyer, a prisoner of conscience, an international peacemaker and the first democratically elected president of a free South Africa.

In November 2009, the UN General Assembly declared July 18 as 'Nelson Mandela International Day' in recognition of the former South African President's contribution to the culture of peace and freedom.

The General Assembly resolution recognizes Nelson Mandela's values and his dedication to the service of humanity, in the fields of conflict resolution, race relations, the promotion and protection of human rights, reconciliation, gender equality and the rights of children and other vulnerable groups, as well as the upliftment of poor and underdeveloped communities. It acknowledges his contribution to the struggle for democracy internationally and the promotion of a culture of peace throughout the world.