response was inadequate and sometimes abusive in practice. Then-president Thabo Mbeki, who had famously stated and restated his identification as ‘an African’ at the time of the adoption of the post-apartheid constitution, was in­explicably slow to speak out against the violence. Yet the leaders of the ruling African National Congress and most other senior politicians have largely continued to condemn xenophobia and re-emphasize the values of that constitution. Keeping to the vision of the 1955 Freedom Charter that ‘South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white’ will no doubt remain a challenge; abandoning it is a sure route to chaos. And integration of the Freedom Charter’s vision into the laws of other countries could provide the basis for resolution of some of the most bitter conflicts Africa has faced. The Freedom Charter We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know: That South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people … Adopted at the Congress of the People, Kliptown, South Africa, 26 June 1955 Introduction 25