In Dublin this week for their twice-yearly meeting, the Elders are taking the opportunity to hear from young leaders about their work promoting peace, human rights and inclusion in Northern Ireland.

“I do this because I feel I have a responsibility to use the experience I have. All conflicts can be solved.” Martti Ahtisaari

From behind-the-scenes advocacy to occasional "blasts of indignation", Sophie Grove, writing for Monocle, examines what makes the Elders effective after observing them at work during their trip to South Sudan in July 2012.

Writing in The Guardian as the UN Human Rights Council session opens in Geneva, Archbishop Tutu and Mary Robinson say it is not just Sri Lanka's people that the Council must serve this week, but the cause of international law.

The Elders have written to world leaders urging them to support Palestinian unity. Having welcomed the reconciliation agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas in May 2011, The Elders are now calling on the international community to demonstrate a fresh approach to its pursuit of a viable two-state solution based on international law and respect for fundamental human rights.

Writing in The Washington Post, Jimmy Carter argues that the international community can help Palestinian democracy and further the path to Arab-Israeli peace by supporting Palestinian reconciliation.

Reflecting in The Guardian on the one-year anniversary of the end of the Sri Lankan conflict, Desmond Tutu and Lakhdar Brahimi caution that genuine peace is more than simply the absence of fighting.

While in Cyprus, Desmond Tutu spoke to Christiana Voniati from POLITIS newspaper. During the interview, he tells her about his reasons for visiting Cyprus, the importance of dealing with the past when resolving conflicts, and what, if any, place there is for a truth and reconciliation process on the island.

Shortly before returning to Cyprus with his fellow Elders Lakhdar Brahimi and Gro Brundtland, Desmond Tutu argues in Havadis that both sides must take advantage of the opportunity for peace and unity before it is lost.

Following the results of the parliamentary elections in northern Cyprus, Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Lakhdar Brahimi argue that time is running out on the best chance in thirty years for a settlement on the island. This article first appeared in Today's Zaman, The Cyprus Mail and The Guatemala Times.