Cape Town - Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu was full of jokes at his birthday party on Tuesday night - better known as the fourth annual Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture.
Tutu, regarded by many as South Africa’s most reliable and fearless moral compass, turned 83 on Tuesday.
The peace lecture was delivered by Mary Robinson, former Irish president and UN high commissioner for human rights.
The Great Hall of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) filled up with dignitaries eager to learn from the impressive leadership experience of Robinson and the enduring wisdom of Tutu. The guest list included former president FW de Klerk and mayor Patricia de Lille.
Tutu’s voice showed his age, but his sense of humour was as sharp as ever.
“Eve was quite upset and she said to God, ‘I can’t take this anymore, Adam keeps saying he is superior because you created him first.’ God looked around and said, ‘Hush, we girls know better.’”
Robinson addressed the topic of women at the heart of sustainable peace.
“Arch, how many times have we heard you say that the world would be a peaceful place if it were ruled by women?”
Robinson saluted the Tutus for their commitment to championing women’s rights.
“It is great when men champion women’s equality, as Arch has done all his life.”
She said that women should be at the forefront of building a peaceful world.
“A peaceful world requires not only the end of conflict but also the end of the kind of injustices - poverty, inequality, the risks posed to development by climate change - that plague our world.”
When Robinson became UN special envoy to the Great Lakes region of Africa, blighted with conflict at the time, she was the first woman appointed as a senior mediator in a conflict situation.
In this position, she mediated with 13 heads of state and all the representatives they had delegated to resolve the conflict. Every single one of the heads and delegates was a man.
“Arch, my friend, women do not rule the world yet.”
Shifting focus from peace negotiations, Robinson said that fighting climate change was also crucial for a peaceful world – and that in this area, women had been leading the way.
“We simply cannot have a peaceful and prosperous future unless we act on climate change,” she said. “Responding to climate change means doing things differently, and doing things differently means it is possible to break away from old norms. So climate action can be gender-sensitive and can protect rights. It can be designed to reduce inequalities and to contribute to poverty reduction.”
Robinson finished by saying that the time had come for more women to take their places as world leaders.
“I am particularly hopeful that women will take their rightful place in the 21st century, and that this will make all the difference.”
Cape Argus