Desmond Tutu: Human Rights Activist and Moral Leader

Early Life and Religious Calling

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is considered one of the most remarkable South African civil rights activists and a Nobel Peace Prize winner (1984) for his efforts to weaken and then bring an end to apartheid. He was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal and became the first Black Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. When Nelson Mandela was elected the first Black president, he appointed Tutu head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated abuses of power during the apartheid era.

In his fight for human rights, Tutu articulated his aim as "a democratic and just society free of discrimination" and identified essential conditions for its achievement: equal civil rights, affordable education, and the cessation of forced deportation.

It is difficult for a contemporary person to realize the magnitude of difficulties Desmond Tutu overcame during his life and career as a Black man from an ordinary family in conditions of apartheid and racial discrimination. In 1957, after the government implemented a discriminatory Bantu educational system, he resigned in protest from his teaching post at Johannesburg Bantu High School, a position he had held since 1953. That decision marked a turning point: Tutu resolved to become an Anglican priest, despite having been baptized as a Methodist. His decision coincided with the intensification of apartheid policy, which would profoundly shape his future activities.

The Struggle Against Apartheid

Tutu earned his degree in theology in England in the 1960s. His experience there communicating with white people gave him greater confidence and ability to advocate for his aims. Hardship only strengthened his resolve and determination to devote himself to the most noble pursuit: aiding those in need and serving as "the voice of the voiceless." Tutu never abandoned his life's cause despite advancing age. Although he officially retired from public life in 2010, he continued to advance his ideals through The Elders organization and The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre. A life devoted to serving people undoubtedly inspires universal respect.

The driving force behind Tutu's perpetual activity was his deep affection for humanity and its diversity. He reflected: "We would not know how to think, or walk, or speak, or behave as human beings unless we learned it from other human beings. We need other human beings in order to be human" (Human Rights Day 2012).

Tutu's accomplishments have been acknowledged universally. Beyond the Nobel Peace Prize, he received numerous other honors including the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism (1986), the Pacem in Terris Award (1987), the Sydney Peace Prize (1999), the Gandhi Peace Prize (2007), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009).

The first and most important problem Tutu fought against for decades was apartheid itself. Speaking on behalf of the Black population of South Africa, deprived of their civil rights, he criticized the regime and attempted to resolve numerous disputes stemming from it. Tutu also supported the economic boycott of South Africa. After returning from England, he became chaplain at the University of Fort Hare, one of the few higher educational establishments that accepted Black students and was known as a center of dissidence. This appointment gave him opportunities to popularize his ideas among students. As a lecturer at the National University of Lesotho (1967–1972), Tutu used his lectures to draw attention to conditions in South Africa. He even addressed Prime Minister Balthazar Johannes Vorster, describing the country's situation as a powder keg ready to explode, though his warning went unanswered.

During the 1970s, tension in South Africa intensified. Tutu became Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg and later Bishop of Lesotho. In his view, religion and politics had never been separated; he called God the embodiment of political experience. Tutu believed violence could solve nothing. When protests in Soweto began in 1976, Tutu and other activists worked to transform the uprising into peaceful demonstrations. In 1978, he was named Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches, which aided families of political prisoners arrested during the demonstrations. The council, funded by donations from churches in Western Europe, faced attempts by authorities to cease its work—attempts that ultimately failed.

Post-Apartheid Activism and Global Advocacy

In 1985, Tutu became Bishop of Johannesburg, a position that gave him greater opportunities to champion the interests of the native African population. He continued drawing comparisons between apartheid and Nazism in their cruelty and depravity. After F. W. de Klerk became president of South Africa and took the first steps toward abolishing the apartheid system, Tutu was among the first political figures to join the process of transferring power to the Black majority.

After receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Tutu saw it as another opportunity to advocate for equality and equal rights. He reflected: "The minute you got the Nobel Peace Prize, things that I said yesterday, with nobody paying too much attention, I say the same things after I got it—oh! It was quite crucial for people, and it helped our morale because apartheid did look invincible."

The issues Tutu dedicated himself to after apartheid fell proved no less important. One significant concern was the right of terminal patients to choose death with dignity. In an interview with The Guardian on June 12, 2014, he emphasized that death is a natural part of life and that every person has the right to die with dignity: "We need a mind shift in our societies. We need to think. We need to question. What is life? And isn't death part of living—a natural part of life?" He noted that the way his friend Nelson Mandela had been treated before his death was disgraceful and unacceptable. When Mandela was hospitalized on June 27, 2013 and connected to mechanical ventilation, media coverage of his images led Tutu to call it a disparagement of dignity.

Most religious traditions oppose euthanasia, viewing it as murder or suicide. However, Tutu stated that he would not wish artificial prolongation of life upon himself. His opinion carries significant weight for those who respect him as both a human rights fighter and a religious figure. By speaking openly on this controversial issue, Tutu offered hope to terminal patients seeking death with dignity. He appealed to his country's authorities to reconsider existing legislation and follow the example of jurisdictions such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, some American states (Washington, Oregon), and the Canadian province of Quebec.

Another focal point of Tutu's attention was prejudiced attitudes toward homosexuality. His appeal to stop homophobic discrimination became part of LGBT educational campaigns and was seconded by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Tutu stated: "Can you imagine me having said it's unjust to penalize something they cannot do anything about, their race or gender, and then to keep quiet when people are hounded, people are killed, because of their sexual orientation? I think it's as utterly unjust as racism ever was" (July 26, 2013).

South Africa is one of only 11 nations that recognize same-sex marriage; however, more than 70 countries still criminalize it. The tolerance toward the LGBT community in South Africa is, in many respects, a reflection of Tutu's accomplishment.

Broader Humanitarian Concerns

The status of stateless people constituted another of Tutu's concerns. On November 4, 2014, in Geneva, under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a global campaign for eliminating statelessness was launched. Desmond Tutu was among those who signed the open letter stating that it was time to end the phenomenon, 60 years after the UN agreed to grant asylum to stateless persons. Approximately 10 million people lack citizenship in any state and are deprived of principal rights and benefits. Every ten minutes, a stateless child is born.

Environmental problems, though seemingly distant from Tutu's political sphere, concerned him deeply because of their impact on people. He was particularly worried about global warming, which threatens the wellbeing of billions, especially Africa's population. Tutu joined voices calling for immediate international action to correct the economic mistakes that led to ecological disaster and to consider the future of coming generations rather than momentary benefits. He emphasized that political leaders must ensure the planet is preserved for posterity.

Tutu refused to ignore any issue troubling people. When armed conflicts arose—the Iraq wars, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—he attempted to serve as a mediator, urging participants to negotiate and find common ground. He said: "If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies."

He drew awareness to poverty in the Third World, criticized China for not listening to the 14th Dalai Lama's pleas to stop violence during Tibetan unrest in 2008, and campaigned for health and the control of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, as well as women's rights. Tutu even expressed a relatively unpopular clerical opinion on artificial contraception and abortion, finding them acceptable in certain circumstances.