Canada will continue to call out the unfair treatment of racial and ethnic minorities, of women and girls, and of Indigenous peoples, said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Monday, speaking at a United Nations event in honour of the late South African leader Nelson Mandela.

“We will continue to speak up for the refugees of Rohingya, for the Yazidis of northern Iraq, for the people of Venezuela,” Trudeau said, addressing the Nelson Mandela Peace Summit in New York.

“Canada will always stand tall for democracy and rule of law at home and abroad.”

The peace summit, which is being held a day before the start of the General Debate of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in honour of the centenary of the birth of Nelson Mandela, “offers the opportunity for world leaders to renew their commitment to global peace, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, promotion and protection of human rights,” organizers said.

While global threats like armed conflict, climate change and other “emerging threats” continue to test that commitment and “bounds of our compassion,” Mandela, also known affectionately as “Madiba,” believed that we should not despair because these challenges bear witness to a job unfinished, Trudeau said.

“Peace is the work of many generations,” Trudeau said. “Madiba took up the cause of peace and it is now up to us to keep carrying the torch forward. The flames of his ideals must live on in each and every one of us.”

Trudeau is leading a large Canadian delegation that also includes several cabinet ministers, including Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland who will address the General Assembly instead of Trudeau.

A major item on Canada’s to-do list at this week’s summit is to resume its stalled campaign for a coveted two-year temporary seat on the UN Security Council — an endeavour that has taken a back seat to the government’s efforts to rescue the North American Free Trade Agreement.