Memorial for Nicholas 'Fink' Haysom

Great, thank you. Cher Delphine, cher Charles, cher Hector, dear Rebecca, Simone, Julian, Chita, and Lou, Fink's sisters, and the rest of the Haysom family, welcome. Dear friends, I don't think there's a need for any other titles here, because for those of us who knew Fink, and those, all of us who are in this room, even if we don't know each other, we're now all friends. We've known Fink in different moments of his UN career, in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Somalia, in South Sudan, and even in the combat zone of the 38th floor. Regardless of where or how we came across Fink, it's clear that we've lost someone who was always on the right side of history, a player, an actor, at critical moments who stood up and was counted, often at real personal cost. Someone with a moral compass that could not be scrambled when it came to choosing right from wrong in world affairs. I know he inspired so many of the people in this room, and most importantly, he will continue to inspire all of us. So thank you for being here today. We're going to hear from a variety of speakers, but I first want to start with our Chef de Cabinet, Courtenay Rattray. CDC, please.

The Hasom family, excellencies, dear friends, today we pay tribute to the life and legacy of Nicholas Hasom, a distinguished and principled lawyer, tireless peacemaker, and steadfast champion of the United Nations. I am honored to join you on behalf of the Secretary-General and to share some reflections of my own. Those of us who worked with Nicholas or think as many affectionately knew him, felt the power of his convictions, his commitment to justice no matter how deep the wounds, his devotion to dialogue no matter how great the tensions, and his pursuit of reconciliation even when differences seemed insurmountable. As a student leader and then as a human rights lawyer, He stood up to apartheid, even when it landed him in jail. He provided vital support for South Africa's democratic transition, serving as chief legal and constitutional advisor to President Nelson Mandela. And after joining the United Nations, he led our work in some of the world's most complex and fragile settings, from Iraq to Afghanistan to Somalia and beyond. I will never forget visiting him during his final posting as head of UNMISS, the UN mission in South Sudan, and witnessing his team's impact up close. I could see the critical role of peacekeeping that he understood in a country recovering from war, and how displacement, alongside the drought and devastating floods driven by climate change, compounded these challenges. Under his leadership, UNMISS worked each day to protect civilians, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and support human rights monitoring. I could also see how his leadership of the mission helped local populations seize the opportunity to rebuild their communities and restart their lives. To every task and in every setting, he brought deep legal insight, sound political judgment, and an unwavering dedication to improving the lives of people. The United Nations mourns the loss of a remarkable colleague, friend, and mentor. The legacy of Nicholas Haysom will endure in the peace processes he advanced, the institutions he strengthened, and the principles he helped bring to life around the world. Let us honor his memory by continuing to work for the values he held dear. Together with the Secretary-General, I offer my profound condolences to his family and loved ones, and to all our colleagues who found inspiration in his pursuit of peace.

Thank you so much, CDC. I know you have to leave us, but thank you for those remarks. In 2021, Fink became the head of the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, and as part of those functions, he had to report to Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations. So, Jean-Pierre, if you could please come up. Thank you.

Dear members of the Haisam family, Excellency, colleagues, dear friend, We gather today to remember Nicholas Haysom, or **** to so many of us, who left us at the beginning of this year, but obviously whose memory lives on in our hearts. Shortly after his demise, together with our colleagues in the United Nations missions in South Sudan, where he last served his organization, we pay tribute to a life of extraordinary service to justice, peace, and the United Nations. Today, we have another opportunity to honor Fink here at the United Nations Headquarters, a place that perhaps more than any other embodies the ideals and the values to which he devoted his life and his work. It is indeed difficult to capture in a few minutes a life and career of such breadth. Fink served his country at one of the defining moments in the history of South Africa working alongside President Nelson Mandela and contributing to the country's constitutional transformation. He subsequently made a landmark contribution to peace and reconciliation efforts across the continent, successfully facilitating the negotiations that led to the Burundi and Sudan comprehensive peace agreements. Building on these achievements, he brought his deep commitment to dialogue, peace and justice to the service of the United Nations, both here at headquarters and in some of the organization's most challenging environments, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, once again, and finally, South Sudan. But for those of us who had the privilege of working with him, his legacy is not measured simply by the position he held or the crisis he helped navigate. It was reflected in the way he approached people and problems. **** had an extraordinary ability to bring clarity to difficult situations. He could be deeply principled without being dogmatic, firm without losing sight of the human dimension, and pragmatic while remaining deeply committed to the principle that guided his work. He understood that peace processes are ultimately not about documents or political arrangement alone. They're about people, they're about their dignity, their rights, their security, and their hopes for a better future. This was particularly evident in South Sudan, the country to which he had a longstanding personal and professional connection. From his early engagement in the Sudanese peace process to his years as special representative and head of UNMISS, Fink remained deeply committed to supporting the people of South Sudan in their pursuit of peace and democracy. As head of UNMISS, he led the mission through an exceptionally challenging period. He never lost sight of the responsibility entrusted to the United Nations, to stand with the people of South Sudan, to protect those at risk, to defend human rights, and to support the political process that could give the country a more peaceful and democratic future. For colleagues across UNMISS and here in New York, Fink was also a remarkable colleague and a friend. His intellect was formidable, and it was accompanied by humility, warmth, and a genuine curiosity about people. He listened carefully. He asked difficult questions. And when the circumstances demanded it, he had the courage to speak plainly and to stand firmly by his principles. That combination of conviction and humanity, of experience and humility, is perhaps what defined Fink best. Since he left us in March this year, Fink has been deeply missed by his family, his colleagues, and his many friends. But he also leaves behind a much larger community of people whose lives and work he touched and influenced. His example reminds us that principled leadership matters, particularly when circumstances are difficult and the path forward is uncertain. Our task now is not only to remember him, but to carry forward what he stood for: the belief that peace is possible, that justice matters, and that the dignity and aspiration of people must remain at the center of our work. So on behalf of the Department of Peace Operations and on my personal behalf, I extend my deepest condolences to Fink's family and loved ones. Fink, we are missing you, but we will remember you and we will carry your example with us. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Jean-Pierre. In his many leadership roles, Fink also led a number of political missions for the UN, some of the most demanding missions. So we would now like to hear from Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo from the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. Rosemary, please.

Hey, some family. Excellencies, distinguished guests, and dear colleagues, today we honor a peacemaker and a mediator of rare intuition and unparalleled capacity to bring people together. His were not dreams of a better future emerging out of thin air. Fink was a firm believer that reaching common ground was possible even in the most difficult of circumstances. and that sustaining it required long-term vision, patient confidence building, and never stopping to rolling up one's sleeves, moving forward one step at a time with an end goal in mind and pathway to get there. As Jean-Pierre has noted, Fink came to the UN family having built a distinguished career in South Africa, on the wider African continent, and beyond. During his youthful activism as part of the struggle for justice in his home country, at a time when political change was hard to imagine and the most fundamental human rights were only an aspiration for many, the combination of Fink's ability as an organizer and strategist and his legal and political acumen were instrumental in giving shape to a political transition and reconciliation that the world admired. To the United Nations, these same skills would prove invaluable. Fink strongly believed in the importance of listening patiently and emphatically in order to promote understanding. This gave him a unique capacity to win people's trust in an instant help project their aspirations into something achievable and assist them in realizing them. He joined the UN in 2005 to lead the organization's efforts to support Iraq's constitutional process. In deeply challenging circumstances, he tried to empower Iraqis to draft a legal and political framework that could serve a new social contract. In doing so, he invited parties and colleagues alike to immerse themselves in an exercise of imagination about peace and justice. And on these premises lay the foundations of a better future. This is the approach that Fink brought to the task in all the subsequent UN missions he served, from Afghanistan to Sudan, to Somalia, and to South Sudan. I first met Fink when he was head of the political unit in the Secretary General's office, and I was at the US mission to the UN. When there were heated procedural or other disagreements in the Security Council and the General Assembly, we novice DPRs knew whom to call for help. It was Fink, always Fink. Later, when I joined the UN Secretariat, Fink was preparing to head our mission in Somalia. We could not have asked for a more skilled and principled individual than Fink to lead such a complicated and dangerous mission. After Somalia, Fink worked on Sudan. This was in the aftermath of the fall of Omar al-Bashir. Sudan was very close to Fink's heart. He cared deeply about the country. and was committed to ensuring that the aspirations of the Sudanese people he had worked with for so many years would finally be met. Fink was instrumental in helping us to set up our mission in Khartoum and helped us tremendously along the way as we worked with the Sudanese people to chart a more promising future for the country. Those of us who had the privilege of working alongside him deeply admired his unwavering dedication to service. His natural leadership inspired and empowered everyone whose path he crossed. He was a mentor to many of his colleagues. He became a hero to all of them. I cannot conclude without mentioning Delphine, a dear colleague and a friend who shared his enthusiasm and desire to make a difference. My condolences, sincere condolences to all of you and the family. Thank you.

Thank you, Rosemary. Whether leading political missions or peacekeeping missions, the one constant was having to report back to the Security Council. So it is only apt that we hear from the presidency of the Security Council this month and represented by their Deputy Permanent Representative, Jay Dharma Dhikari. Jay.

Excellencies, dear colleagues, dear family, I would like today, as a presidency of the Security Council, to say a few words to pay tribute to Nicholas Fink-Heysom, a remarkable activist, lawyer, diplomat, peacemaker throughout his life, first his native South Africa, and then within the United States. We've heard it. You know, As a student and young activist, he took part in the struggle to put an end to the South African apartheid regime at considerable personal risk. Later in his life, as one of Nelson Mandela's main legal advisors, he helped shape the modern South African institutions and was a tireless voice for human rights. The last 20 years of his life were largely devoted to peacemaking. He worked on several crises in succession, be it Burundi, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, as we just heard. In 2021, the Secretary-General appointed him Special Representative to South Sudan and head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, a position he held until his death very recently in March this year. A lot of us have had the pleasure and honor to work with him in his capacity, and they can attest, we can attest to this dedication until the very end. On behalf of the Security Council, I want to commend the life dedicated to trying to solve crises through diplomacy, combining deep legal expertise and a pragmatic drive in the pursuit of peace. Nicholas Fink-Hasom exemplified many of the values at the core of the United Nations, and he deserves our gratitude and our respect. On behalf of the Security Council, I want also to express our deep condolences to the family, to the friends, and to the colleagues of Nicholas Fink-Hasom. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Jay. We'll now take a pause from the remarks we'll be hearing. Rebecca, Simone, and Julian, three of Fink's children, have specifically asked for one song to be played today, and that is "Asimbonanga" by Johnny Clegg, which was an anthem of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. And as you can imagine, this song, more importantly, the fight against apartheid, are so closely linked to the Heisim family, so I ask you to take a look at the screen in front of, behind me. We will stay in South Africa. Now I would like to give the floor to Ambassador Nkosi, the permanent representative of South Africa. Please, sir, you have the floor.

Thank you very much. Thank you very much, program director, your excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, the Haisome family, colleagues, friends, on behalf of the government and people of South Africa, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the United Nations, in particular the Under-Secretary-General Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Ms. Rosemary Di Carlo, who worked closely with Mr. Heynsom, a dedicated South African patriot who served with distinction for organizing this event in the honor of the memory of Fink Heynsom. Mr. Heynsom, a distinguished South African lawyer, an anti-apartheid activist, whose work focused on democratic governance, constitutional reforms, and reconciliation and peace, worked closely with former President Nelson Mandela as his advisor and contributed to the drafting of the South African Constitution. Due to his dedication to peace, he made a significant contribution to peace processes in Burundi and mediated in the Sudanese peace process from 2002 to 2005. He joined the United Nations in 2005 and continued his contribution to constitutional reform in Iraq, where he assisted with the drafting of the constitution. He demonstrated a strong sense of justice, advocating for justice even at the risk of arrest and expulsion in some countries. His last mission was in South Sudan, where he was heavily invested in peace and in the implementation of the peace agreement of 2018. In his position as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, he lobbied the South African government to leverage its good relations with the leadership of the South Sudan to mediate and build confidence, particularly between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar. Mr. Haysom was a very passionate person about his work. He had a strong sense of justice. Having worked closely with former President Nelson Mandela, he espoused the values of justice and respect for human dignity deeply. We hope that his memory will be kept alive as he has served humanity with distinction. I thank you.

Thank you very much, Ambassador. We will now hear the first of a number of reflections from staff members. So I would like to invite Keela Janda to come up, please.

Family, Excellencies present, the leadership of the Secretariat, Distinguished colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. To the family, I want to say that I feel very, very fortunate to be here to speak about a man that truly mattered. Many colleagues would have loved to have had this opportunity to stand here and share the depth of their appreciation for him. Since his passing slightly over six months ago, I've had conversations with colleagues, friends, who have been quite apt at describing just how special he was, and I couldn't agree with them anymore. The first thought I had when Francois Grignon told me about his passing was, how does a baobab tree die? How does the ecosystem survive? Family, I know you've heard a lot of anecdotes. You've heard many profound stories of his impact. Colleagues spoke to me about his empathy. Someone in particular said, Fink was a human being. In my mind, there are people and there are human beings. And while he took his political work very, very seriously, He understood that people just needed to be seen. He didn't see societal divides. He saw the circumstances of human beings, very much embodying the spirit of the Charter that we hold so dear. With his leadership, mentorship was an absolutely important aspect. Another close friend said to me, Fink literally taught him everything about leadership. He always told him, you have to do what you believe is morally right, and then apologize later for the bureaucratic mishaps. He never, ever scapegoated anyone. He was always the boss. He was always in charge. and he took every decision full on, even to his own detriment. Though he may not be in this physical space with us, I just want to assure you, family, that in this room, in this physical room, in the virtual room, amongst colleagues who could not attend any of the memorials, there are people who regard themselves Finksters. To the young people in the organization, particularly at a time when there are so many geopolitical shifts, there have been leaders that have shown such profound magnanimity, and Fink was certainly one of them. and for the entirety of my own career and all the other Finksters, we shall keep his memory alive. To the family, we thank you. We thank you for the sacrifices because without Fink, many of us would not have the bravery to try and change the world. He made it simple. He made it reachable. and while he rests, we'll continue. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Kela, for those wonderful words. As we've mentioned, Fink's last assignment was in South Sudan, where he led the UN's peacekeeping mission there. So I'd now like to invite the permanent representative of South Sudan to the United Nations, Ambassador Cecile Ading, to deliver remarks.

Your excellencies. This is the first time I'm going to stand somewhere to remember. His Excellency Nicholas Highsom. In my words, I always called him uncle because he would tell me, don't call me your excellency. Don't mention me as anything. Just call me Haisam. I said, in my tradition, that is not allowed, so I'll call you uncle. So we agreed on the terms uncle. He was an activist, a lawyer, a constitutionalist, diplomat, mediator, name all of it. And for South Sudan, Nicholas Haisam was not simply a senior UN official of the United Nations. He was part of our story. Long before the Republic of South Sudan existed, Nicholas had already committed himself to the difficult work of helping our people find a peaceful path towards determining their own future. But to understand what brought him to South Sudan, we must first remember where his own journey began. And that experience is the experience of seeing a deeply divided community negotiate its way towards a difficult future that would shape much of the rest of his life. For us in South Sudan, one chapter of Nicholas deserves a particular recognition. From 2002 to 2005, he served as the principal advisor to the mediator of the Sudan peace process, working alongside IGAD, led by General Lazaro Simeona. Those negotiations confronted questions that had resisted resolution for decades: the relationship between religion and the state, the structure of governance, the distribution of power and the resources, security arrangements, and fundamentally, the political future of Southern Sudan. Nicholas brought to those negotiations not only legal expertise, but also experience of South Africa's own constitutional transition. During the negotiation at Machakos in 2002, He worked closely with General Sombor and the mediation team to move the parties beyond simply repeating their own established positions. The results was the historical Machakos Protocol that was signed 20th of July, 2002. Among it most consequentially provision was the recognition of the right of the people of Southern Sudan to determine their own future through referendum following six years after the interim period. That principle changed the course of our history. But Machakos was only the beginning. Nicholas remained throughout the process as the parties, the mediator, and the regional international partners worked towards the eventually becoming the comprehensive peace agreement that was signed on the 9th of July, 2005. Six years later, Southern Sudan went to the ballot box and exercised their right that had been secured through that painting processes. They chose independence, and on July 9th, our flag was raised. For that reason, when we remember Nicholas, South Sudan must remember him not only as the man who later led UNMAS, but one who helped accompany our people alongside the diplomatic road towards self-determination. He knew our journey before we became a country. He understood how difficult that journey had been, and he understood enormous sacrifices upon which our independence was built. Years later, when Nicholas returned to our country through the United Nations, after serving the cause of peace in some of the world's most difficult political environment, he was appointed in 2021 as the representative of the Secretary General in South Sudan and the head of UN mission. There was something deeply significant about this return. The man had participated in negotiation that helped establish the pathway towards Southern Sudan's self-determination, was now being asked to help the world's youngest nation navigate another difficult chapter of its history. Nicholas understood that peace was not an event. It was not simply signing of an agreement. Its continuation process requiring patience, institutions, compromises, political courage, and above all, determination of the country's own people to live together He firmly believed in us and challenged us. Sorry. We didn't always agree, but he asked us to step up for our people. And for me personally, I had the privilege of knowing him simply, not simply as a special representative, but as someone who consoled and encouraged me to become an important part to my country and representing South Sudan. No matter how demanding representing responsibilities became, Nicholas found time to meet me. There were moments when I needed to discuss difficult developments concerning my country. There were moments when political environment surrounding South Sudan seemed particularly heavy. And there were moments where carrying the responsibility of representing one country required strength that could not always be seen. Nicholas listened, he advised, and sometimes he challenged me. And often, he encouraged me. He reminded me that on his own way to remain strong and to keep the light of South Sudan shining, regardless of the cloud that gathered among us. He never forgot that, and I will never forget that. But because of those words came from someone who knew South Sudan, and came from someone that had so much potential, and has been in our negotiation, and had witnessed the disagreement that seemingly seemed impossible to overcome, when he encouraged me not to allow the clouds of representing our country take away from the light of South Sudan, I knew those words came from experience. He knew that difficult political moments do not define the entire history of a nation, and he knew that responsibility of those entrusted to lead the leadership and diplomacy is to continue carrying hope, even when circumstances make hope difficult. There is something extraordinary about his life. He fought for justice in his own country. He helped build a democratic South Africa and always found people in conflict to search for a common ground. As an international civil servant, he carried those lessons to some of the rooms that he entered. And his life in South Sudan, a journey that came into full circle, has helped negotiate the framework that opened the road towards our own self-determination. and has found a way to make sure that our people found themselves in the same room even when it was difficult. He saw Southern Sudan become South Sudan. He saw the people once negotiated for the right to determine their own future, take their place among the international community, and he continued to believe our story could still become one of peace, stability, and prosperity. So today, I simply say that South Sudan has lost a special representative. I simply say that South Sudan has not only lost the Secretary-General's representative, it has lost a witness to our history, it has lost a participant in our journey, and it has lost a friend of peace. I have personally lost someone whose counsel, friendship, and encouragement will carry me for many years to come. Rest in peace, Uncle Fred, and we'll see you again. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Ambassadors, for those reflections. We will now switch gears a little bit. As many of you know, Fink loved poetry, and when he worked on the 38th floor as the political director for then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, he and his team published a political update every year. But alongside that update, his team also sent what they called a poetical update, collection of poems. And in preparation for today's memorial, Fink's friends picked poetry he thought he would have liked, and Delphine turned it into a booklet, which I think you all have in front of you. And there are more copies available if you don't have it. We'll now hear one of those poems that's included in the poetical update. It's called "Ceasefire" by Michael Longley, and I will ask Fink's friend and longtime colleague, Michael Keating, to come up and read it for us.

Thank you. Well, let me begin by thanking Delphine for this honor and extending my deepest sympathy to the family. This poem was written 30 years ago by Michael Longley an Irishman at a time when there were rumors of a ceasefire in Northern Ireland. And he drew upon his knowledge of the Iliad. And it depicts the scene when old King Priam goes to beg Achilles, who was a godlike and fierce figure, for the body of his own son, King Priam's son, and it's about the power and pain of reconciliation. Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears, Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king gently away. But Priam curled up at his feet and wept with him until their sadness filled the building. Taking Hector's corpse into his own hands, Achilles made sure it was washed and, for the old king's sake, laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry, wrapped like a present, home to Troy at daybreak. When they had eaten together, it pleased them both to stare at each other's beauty as lovers might, Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still and full of conversation, who had earlier side, I get down on my knees and do what must be done and kiss Achilles' hand, the killer of my son.

Thank you so much, Michael. I would now like to ask Sean Kane to come up. Sean worked closely with Fink in a number of duty stations, and he'll share some reflections. Sean, please.

Members of the Haasan family, colleagues, and as Fink himself liked to greet us, team, it was exceedingly difficult to know how to start in capturing such a remarkable life, or indeed how exactly to give voice to the hundreds of special relationships Fink built during his two decades in the United Nations and with so many people here today. Upon learning of his passing, I took some solace in the tributes that flowed in from around the world. They also became a source of inspiration. I hope you'll recognize some of your own sentiments in what I have to say. and despite the gravity of this occasion, that you allow me to borrow from Fink's humor and love of life. First impressions of Fink were filled by his intellect and easy charisma. His interests were varied, poetry, rugby, opera, and of course, a nice bottle of white wine. He would casually mention that he had once been named South African Playwright of the Year. And as we have movingly heard, he rose first to public awareness as an anti-apartheid student leader. And he continued in the struggle through the labor movement and by representing political prisoners, families of victims, and communities resisting forced removal from their land. He ultimately helped to prepare South Africa's democratic constitution and served as legal advisor to President Nelson Mandela. Of course, we have also heard that this commitment to equality came at a personal cost. He was, by his own count, detained without trial a half dozen times and placed under house arrest for two years. He shared that he was subject to sleep deprivation during interrogations and held in solitary confinement on three occasions. And somehow, Fink could find humor even in this experience. He once told me that his interrogators tried to get him to reveal his political role models. Fink cited Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. Eager to make more arrests, Fink said the interrogator immediately followed up, "And where can we find this King and Kennedy?" Incredibly, Fink had amassed a lifetime's worth of struggle and contribution before many of us even met him. His second international chapter only added to this legacy. Fink wrote one of the first practical guides to negotiating ceasefires. He spread the idea of a constitution as a peace treaty for a divided society. He chaired the multi-party process of nominating South Africa's truth and reconciliation commissioners, becoming an early expert in the field that we now call transitional justice. Fink first applied his experiences from South Africa to help broker landmark peace agreements in Burundi and in Sudan and South Sudan. And then he came to us at the UN. Within a few short years, Fink could be found seemingly everywhere, from the Secretary General's office on the 38th floor to holding court in the delegates' lounge. An indispensable presence in the field from Baghdad to Addis Ababa, Juba, Kabul, Khartoum, and Mogadishu. What made Fink's advice so valued at all these places was evident. He brought a mastery of the craft of peacemaking, but he also spoke with the clarity of lived experience. A common thread across Fink's career is that he did not believe in knowledge for its own sake. 12 years ago in Kabul, Fink asked me to read the eulogy he's about to deliver for a colleague who had been senselessly killed by the Taliban. One line he wrote has stayed with me, and it seems fitting to repeat it today. Fink said, quote, "Mere knowledge on its own is not a valuable asset. unless it is willingly shared, professionally applied, and is placed in the service of meeting the challenges faced by society." Fink was praising our friend Vadim Nazarov, who had been open-handed with his understanding of Afghanistan and its people, history, and culture. But Fink was also telling us something about himself with that line and what he believed to be important. And indeed, he shared from his own vast store of knowledge almost without limit. mentoring scores of activists, constitutionalists, and mediators from dozens of countries. So many of us in this room benefited from his counsel and support. I think it's certainly why I work in the field of mediation, and I saw this same appreciation expressed in tribute after tribute, from his South African student comrades in the 1970s, all the way through to his UN colleagues in South Sudan a half century later. Fink was defined, though, not just by his intellect, but also by his humility and humanity. He had a complete lack of arrogance or pretension, and as one colleague said, "It is hard to think of an occasion where Fink raised his voice in anger." Another observed that even amidst deep conflict, Fink was the only person who had no enemies. And within our missions, in the UN missions where he served, Fink treated everyone as an equal, no matter their level. He had time for anyone and everyone. And despite the weight of the issues he faced, part of his humanity was simply knowing how to have fun. He would, how should I put it, take full advantage of social occasions. He joked about financing his retirement by writing romance novels. And much to Delphine's horror, he would attempt a routine of handsprings and backflips at the Secretary General's holiday parties. One evening, we were trying to figure out if I knew someone Fink was scheduled to meet. I didn't think I did, and for some reason asked how old the person was. Barely pausing to think, Fink said, "You know, he's our age." I gave Fink a look and gestured, "Fink, is he your age or is he my age?" His only reply was the classic big Fink grin. Fink knew, of course, that we were not the same age. In his mind's eye, though, I think he still saw himself as the young activist confronting injustice. And I believe that at some level, everyone who entered Fink's orbit intuited this as well, which accounts for the energy and sense of open possibility we all got from working with him. Towering intellect, humanity, and a persevering shape by his experiences in South Africa's struggle, it is hard to imagine that we will see his like again. All the more necessary now then to cherish his memory today. Our hearts go out to Delphine and the Haysom family. Thank you so much for sharing so much of this remarkable person with all of us. We know it cannot always have been easy. Fink, we miss you.

Thank you very much, Sean. Thank you very much. Given Fink's personal and professional life intertwined so much with the struggles in Africa, it's only apt that we hear from the representative of the African Union. If I could ask Ambassador Idris, the permanent observer of the African Union to the UN, to come up. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Good morning, dear friends, excellencies, dear colleagues. The African group asked me to carry one message into this chamber, and it is gratitude. For more than two decades, Nicholas Haisum served the United Nations in some of its hardest assignments. And Africa claims him with pride as one of our own. His formation was African. He learned the law as an instrument of freedom in South Africa of the struggle, paid for it with detention, and went on to serve President Nelson Mandela as chief legal advisor through the founding years of democracy. Of course, my brother from South Africa spoke with more authority about the contributions of late Nicolas Haisoum in this regard. I will say only that the whole continent watched those years closely and borrowed from them. The African group wishes to place on record the reach of his service to Africa through this organization, the Burundi peace talks, the years as special envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia, and finally, five years at the head of the United Nations mission in South Sudan, where he remained in post to his last days. He also carried the continent's constitutional experience outwards to the constitutional files of Iraq and Afghanistan, and reminded this organization that peacemaking wisdom travels from Africa as well as to Africa. He practiced a particular craft and it deserved naming in this house. Late Nicholas Heisom treated constitutions as peace agreements that continue by other means. And he valued the process that produces a text above the elegance of the text itself because A constitution people have helped to write is one they will defend. In the Sudans, he worked beside the African Union High Level Implementation Panel and he treated the African Union and the United Nations as two hands of one effort. Every African peacemaker who found the door of his office open and it was always open knows that partnership this partnership looked like in practice. The chairperson of the African Union Commission called him a trusted partner and a dear friend. The Secretary General named him a tireless peacemaker. Both are right. Those who served with him, as we heard from many colleagues in Juba, speak of a leader for whom human rights were daily practice and of a mentor who gave younger colleagues, many of them Africans, his time without ceremony. He carried heavy files lightly. Those of us who sat across a table from him will remember something plainer still. He listened before he spoke, and he never confused firmness with volume. He departed this world in post in March of this year and there is a rightness in the membership gathering now in the week the whole world comes to this building to say his name. The surest tribute within our search is the one, is within our reach, is the one he would have asked of us, patience, with South Sudan's peace and the practice and the persistence in it. To his family, to the people of the government of South Africa, to the people and government of South Africa, to his colleagues across the United Nations, and to all who knew him and dealt with him and benefited from him, and to the people of South Sudan whom he served until the end, the African group offers its deepest condolences. May his memory strengthen everybody in this hall who still does the quiet work of peace, and may he continue to rest in peace. I thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ambassadors. Before we hear from the UN choir, we have one more poetry reading, and the poem is called "The Child is Not Dead" by Ingrid Jankers. Fink's two sisters, Chita and Lou Haysom, have asked for this poem to be read today. It will be read by Vaughn Wiles, who was at school with Fink, became a lifelong friend, and his brother-in-law, I'm told. So if I could ask Vaughn, please, to come up. Thank you.

Morning, colleagues and friends and family of Fink. I know that this was one of Fink's favorite poems. I suspect he might be listening, so I will try to do it justice. "The Child Is Not Dead" by Ingrid Jonker. The child raises his fists against his mother who screams, "Africa!" screams the smell of freedom and heather in the location of the heart under siege. The child raises his fists against his father in the march of the generations who scream Africa, scream the smell of justice and blood in the streets of armed pride. The child is not dead, neither at Lunga nor at Nyanga, nor at Orlando, nor at Sharpeville, nor at the police station in Philippi, where he lies with a bullet in his head. The child is the shadow of the soldiers, on guard with guns, saracens, and batons. The child is present at all meetings and legislations. The child peeps through the windows of houses into the hearts of mothers. The child who just wanted to play in the sun at Nyanga is everywhere. The child who became a man treks through all of Africa. The child who became a giant travels through the whole world.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Yvonne. I'd like to ask the UN Choir to make their way up here, please. We are delighted and grateful to have the UN Choir with us today. They will perform a song called "My Soul is a River." It was a piece written by composer Ben Holloway in 2004 to honor Martin Luther King for what would have been his 75th birthday. The song draws on Dr. King's favorite passage of scripture, quote, "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream," which is etched in the Civil Rights Monument in Alabama, in Montgomery. The words of this song are very apt today as we remember Fink, and I will leave you with the choir.

My soul is a river My soul is a river My soul is a river winding through a weary land. My soul is a river. My soul is a river. My Winding through a weary land Oh, let justice roll Roll down like waters Righteousness like a mighty stream Washing o'er righteousness like a mighty stream Join us down the river, fill the mighty ocean with peace. My soul is a river, your soul is a river. Join us down the river, fill the mighty ocean with peace. My soul My soul Thank you.

Thank you so much to our colleagues from the UN choir. We come to the end of this memorial. So, dear Finksters, having listened to all the speakers, I think it is clear that Fink was a cherished colleague, an inspiration, a friend, and an uncle to so many of us. And as we go on, let us keep the seeds of his humanity, his compassion, his moral courage inside all of us as we continue to work every day in the UN. May his memory be a blessing. And before we go, if you are able, I would like you to please rise for a moment of silence. Thank you very much, and I wish you all a good day. Thank you.