AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah has issued an urgent call to young leaders worldwide, urging them to actively stand with truth, reject selective morality, and challenge attempts to silence human rights advocacy. Speaking on Tuesday during the opening of the “One Young World” summit in Cape Town, South Africa, Her Majesty emphasized that taking a stand against global violations demands deep awareness, rigorous evidence, and systemic accountability, asserting that emotional concern is only the beginning of meaningful action.
Her Majesty opened her keynote by expressing profound grief over a recent terrorist attack targeting a church in the town of Hammoud, within Jordan’s Karak governorate. Condemning the violent act, she stressed that such hostility is alien to Jordan’s societal fabric and core values, sharing that the Jordanian people collectively mourn alongside the affected families.
Addressing an international assembly of over 2,200 emerging leaders representing more than 190 nations, Queen Rania praised the new generation for confronting complex geopolitical crises with intellectual rigor and critical curiosity. She firmly rejected attempts to dismiss youthful advocacy or minimize moral outrage, asserting that indignation toward systemic injustice is not an emotional flaw, but a clear sign of heightened awareness and ethical conviction.
Drawing direct parallels to historical struggles, Her Majesty referenced the systematic use of marginalization aimed at suppressing voices advocating for Palestinian rights. She highlighted how current debates surrounding pro-Palestinian student demonstrations often attempt to undermine participants’ historical knowledge. Recalling South Africa’s anti-apartheid legacy, she cited the late Nelson Mandela’s conviction that South African liberation remained incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people, noting that his movement similarly faced delegitimization efforts.
Queen Rania expressed deep sorrow over the escalating humanitarian crisis in Palestine. She pointed out that residents in Gaza who celebrated a presumed end to their suffering a year ago quickly discovered the ceasefire existed “only in name.” Furthermore, Her Majesty detailed severe operational restrictions across the West Bank, including military checkpoints, land expropriation, ongoing settler violence, and recent forced evictions alongside home demolitions in Hebron.
Strongly criticizing international double standards, Her Majesty condemned foreign policies that overlook systemic violations of international law. In contrast, she commended South Africa for invoking the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide to take legal action before the International Court of Justice.
Concluding her address, Queen Rania urged young changemakers to fortify their advocacy by verifying primary reports and empirical data rather than relying solely on social media algorithms. Asserting that baseline human rights require no complex geographic verification to uphold, she expressed hope for a future where Palestinian self-determination transitions from a ongoing struggle into a recognized chapter of global history.
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