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June 4, 2025 | New York, United Nations Headquarters — The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has once again earned international distinction through the service of Her Excellency Dame Marcella Liburd, Governor-General, who played a pivotal role as one of four Eminent Persons advising the official Selection Committee for the prestigious 2025 United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize.

Dame Marcella’s appointment to the advisory group placed her among a select and highly respected cadre of global statespersons, including Finland’s former President Tarja Halonen, Nobel Laureate Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei of Egypt, and Polish legal scholar Elżbieta Mikos-Skuza. The advisory panel guided the official committee made up of UN Member States’ permanent representatives under the leadership of General Assembly President Philemon Yang.

The Nelson Mandela Prize, awarded every five years, honours individuals who have dedicated their lives to the service of humanity and exemplify the values embodied by Mandela — reconciliation, peace, justice, and social transformation. This year, the Prize will be awarded to two exceptional laureates: Brenda Reynolds, a Saulteaux social worker dedicated to improving the lives of Indigenous peoples in Canada, and Kennedy Odede, founder and CEO of Kenya’s Shining Hope for Communities, a grassroots movement transforming life in urban slums.

Her Excellency Dr. Mutryce Williams, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations and the representative for the Latin American and Caribbean Group on the Selection Committee, remarked:

“We now inhabit a world at war and with widening inequality. Nelson Mandela’s legacy is one of peace, reconciliation, inclusion, and dialogue — values St. Kitts and Nevis has championed long before independence and continues to uphold today.”

Dame Marcella, in commenting on her invitation to serve, underscored the significance of her role:

“St. Kitts and Nevis’ national anthem calls on us to be stalwarts of peace and justice. Our participation in this process aligns perfectly with the tireless diplomatic work of Ambassador Williams and her team in elevating our voice globally as a champion of diplomacy, equity, and peace.”

From a pool of 331 nominations across 66 countries, Reynolds and Odede were ultimately chosen, with the selection guided by the UN’s Department of Global Communications and the Office of the General Assembly President, alongside key mission deputies including St. Kitts and Nevis’ own Minister Counsellor, Mr. Eustace T. Wallace.

The official prize ceremony will be held during the annual Nelson Mandela International Day commemoration on July 18, 2025, under the theme “It’s still in our hands to combat poverty and inequality”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres and General Assembly President Yang will jointly confer the awards.

With this contribution to one of the UN’s most principled and inspiring global recognitions, St. Kitts and Nevis has reaffirmed its commitment to justice, dignity, and humanity — values that the late Nelson Mandela championed and that leaders like Dame Marcella Liburd continue to embody on the world stage.