UN Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed sadness over the death of Rev. Jesse Jackson, a towering figure in the United States civil rights movement and a longstanding advocate for human rights, equality and justice worldwide.
Jackson passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84.
In a statement delivered in New York by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, Guterres noted that Reverend Jackson “lent his powerful voice to the UN’s work against racism, against apartheid and for human rights.”
The Secretary-General extended his deepest condolences to Jackson’s family, loved ones and friends, as well as to the Government and people of the United States.
During a visit to the United Nations in March 2018, Jackson addressed an event highlighting the contributions of people of African descent globally. He warned that racial idolatry “manifests itself in so many ways, even in our politics.”
In an interview with UN News at the time, the civil rights leader called for “a massive global coalition of conscience” to eliminate racial discrimination.
“We’ve globalized capital, we’ve globalized technology. We must now globalize human rights: workers’ rights; women’s rights; children’s rights; and environmental security,” Jackson said.
“We must globalize all the values that make life ‘life,’ for everybody.”