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This is President Lula’s moment to cement his status as a global climate leader

Graça Machel Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

19 November 2024

Graça Machel and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf write for Le Monde Diplomatique Brasil, urging President Lula to lead the G20 in advancing climate justice

Why Oppenheimer's nuclear fears are just as relevant today

Mary Robinson Mary Robinson called for greater urgency and political commitment to reduce the risk posed by nuclear weapons in TIME.

The path to an international tribunal on aggression in Ukraine must run through the UNGA

Ban Ki-moon urges leaders at the UNGA to support an international tribunal as a way to hold Russia's top leadership accountable for the crime of aggression in Ukraine, tackle impunity and defend the essence of the UN Charter.

International financial institution ambition needed to rebuild trust in multilateralism

Juan Manuel Santos

In an op-ed for the Financial Times, Juan Manuel Santos calls on World Bank and IMF governors to take the “historic opportunity to address the triple crises of climate, debt and poverty.”

Unity on Ukraine is unity on peace and justice

Ban Ki-moon Juan Manuel Santos

One year after Putin's invasion, Ban Ki-moon and Juan Manuel Santos affirm that unity in support of Ukraine is crucial for upholding the broader rules-based global order.

We are living outside our experience: we need more than empty promises from world leaders at COP27

Mary Robinson on the criticality of the climate crisis and The Elders' calls for action at COP27 in Egypt

Leaders must go beyond platitudes at COP27: they must deliver on climate finance promises

21 October 2022

Mary Robinson writes for the New Statesman on power, action and the need for progress on Loss and Damage to be prioritised at COP27.

We are all shamed by Syria’s suffering

"Weapons, not blankets, are pouring into the country"As Syria's humanitarian crisis escalates, Desmond Tutu makes an impassioned call to the international community to put the safety of Syrians above politics.

A oportunidade para a ação de pacificar a Síria

"A cúpula dos BRICS é uma oportunidade para as potências mundiais emergentes demonstrarem seu compromisso e solidariedade com o povo da Síria em seu momento de maior necessidade."
Escrevendo no jornal O Estado de São Paulo, Martti Ahtisaari e Fernan

Le Conseil des droits de l'homme doit serrer la vis au Sri Lanka

"Nous soutenons la mise en place d’une enquête internationale crédible et indépendante sur les violations présumées des droits de l’homme au Sri Lanka"
Quatre ans après la fin de la guerre civile au Sri Lanka, le climat est loin d'être propice

Defeating discrimination: how to end violence against women

“Violence against women is rooted in deeply ingrained social norms that portray women as less than men.”Writing on International Women’s Day for Skoll World Forum, Gro Harlem Brundtland argues that to end the violence affecting millions of women w

Deepening democracy: why elections with integrity matter

“When citizens go to the polls and cast their votes, they aspire not only to elect their leaders, but to choose a direction for their nation.”Kofi Annan warns that while elections with integrity can bolster democracy, flawed elections can undermine

African women driving change

“The 21st century is Africa’s century”
From the women peace-builders telling senior African Union officials “enough is enough” to the activists demanding justice for victims of sexual violence: Mary Robinson blogs about the inspiring women she

2030: a world free of child marriage

“It is ambitious to say that we can end child marriage by 2030, but I am convinced it is possible.”
Writing for Impatient Optimists, Gro Harlem Brundtland argues that including an end to child marriage in the UN’s new development goals would do muc

A peace agenda for global development

"No conflict-affected low-income country has achieved a single Millennium Development Goal."
Graça Machel, a member of the High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, calls for a new development framework that can break the cycle of conflict a

To end child marriage we need to speak louder, with one voice

“To be successful in eradicating child marriage by 2030, there is no village, no township, no corner of this great continent that should not hear the message that child marriage can end.”
Following a meeting with Girls Not Brides member organisations

Protecting fundamental freedoms, online and offline

"The more we grow accustomed to voicing our opinions online, the more we resist being silenced."In a blog for Skoll World Forum on Human Rights Day 2012, Mary Robinson argues that we must protect the internet as a space where fundamental freedoms prevai

L’Europe peut encore restaurer sa crédibilité au Proche Orient

Les Elders appellent l’Union européenne à faire pression sur Israël pour mettre fin à l’expansion des colonies en Cisjordanie. Dans une tribune publiée par Libération, ils estiment que l’Europe, en prenant des mesures concernant l’importatio

Two-state solution on the line

"The peace process established in Oslo has not just stalled; it is going backwards fast."A vote for the Palestinian statehood resolution at the UN General Assembly will help safeguard the two-state solution, write Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jimmy Carter

Let us measure up as men

“I call on men and boys everywhere to take a stand against the mistreatment of girls and women. It is by standing up for the rights of girls and women that we truly measure up as men.”To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Aga

على حافة الانهيار: حل الدولتين

Une promesse faite aux filles

"L'autonomisation des filles est la clé du développement."
Dans une tribune publiée dans plusieurs journaux à travers le monde, pour la Journée internationale de la fille, Desmond Tutu et Ela Bhatt demandent à la communauté internationale d’en f

When we empower girls, everybody benefits

"Girls have no status, no protection and no prospects in many families and communities – and this is simply the way things are. Inequality is so entrenched that it isn’t even questioned." In a blog for DFID (the UK Department for International Devel

Early marriage robs children of their opportunities

"With or without legislation, we urge the Obama administration to make eliminating child marriage a foreign policy goal."
Writing in the Washington Post, Graça Machel and Desmond Tutu say we are not doing enough to fulfil our responsibility to protect y

From Juba to Brussels: our meetings with EU leaders

“Our visit was very timely; just a few days ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at which Sudan and South Sudan would be on the agenda.” 
Mary Robinson blogs about visiting Brussels a week after travelling to Ethiopia and South S

South Sudan’s peace dividends: the short and long term goals

“While outsiders such as the AU and the UN can help, what is crucial is for the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan to talk directly and build mutual trust; the task cannot be left to anybody else”
Martti Ahtisaari argues that Sudan and South Sudan need

Under critical strain: our visit to Yusuf Batil refugee camp

“The camp, which did not exist two months ago, is remarkably well organised. And yet the international community is not doing enough to support them.”
Exactly one year since South Sudan gained its independence, Mary Robinson blogs about the Elders' v

End the suffering in the Sudans

"We are already witnessing an unbearable catastrophe with the fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan in Sudan, and the ensuing outpouring of refugees into South Sudan and Ethiopia."Writing from Addis Ababa at the start of an Elders delegation to Sudan

Forging a peace plan for Syria

“It is time for all who have influence on the parties, and all who bear responsibility for international peace and security, to act positively for peace.”
Writing in the Washington Post, Kofi Annan calls on the international community to support Syri

Was Rio+20 a failure of political leadership?

"If government representatives had heard the heartfelt yearning for change, perhaps they would have given their negotiators a stronger mandate: a mandate to create the future we want and which the earth needs."Writing for CNN, Mary Robinson echoes the f

A cruel and unusual record

Tackling poverty and inequality must be at the heart of Rio+20

"We cannot continue to live as we do now."
Writing as Global Ambassador for Oxfam International as Rio+20 begins, Desmond Tutu reflects on the achievements of the first Rio Earth Summit twenty years ago and calls for strong, unequivocal political co

Earth Agonistes

"Like no other generation before, we can choose the type of future that we will leave to the next generation. A transition to a safe and prosperous future is possible, but will require the full use of humanity’s extraordinary capacity for innovation and

الجيش والسياسيون والدستور: لماذا من المهم للمصريين جميعا تحديد العلاقة بينهم بشكل صحيح

"الشعب المصري متحمس لمستقبل بلده – ويرفض أن يتم تجاهله بعد الآن".
يتناول مارتي أهتيساري بعض التحديات الرئيسية التي تواجه ميلاد الديمقراطية

Rio+20's opportunity will be squandered without courage and vision

"We have not yet seen the necessary courage or political will to turn good intentions into effective, collective action."In an opinion piece published in newspapers around the world, Gro Brundtland and Fernando H Cardoso outline the key steps that must

We have always been impatient, but change is now urgent

“Economies are stalling. Ecosystems are under siege. Inequality – within and between countries – is soaring. I will make the point I always make: these afflictions are clearly rooted in political short-sightedness, where narrow interests triumph ove

A moral leader: India’s chance to spearhead efforts to end child marriage worldwide

“Indian communities and their leaders are starting to realise how much potential lies in the empowerment of their sisters, mothers, wives and daughters.”
Despite India's rapid economic growth, it remains home to one third of the world's poorest peopl

Our duty to Sri Lanka, and human rights

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.

Unlocking India’s potential: youth lead campaign to stop child marriage

“They want to be part of their country’s tremendous growth and opportunity; they want the chance to grow up before becoming parents themselves.”
After returning from India, Gro Brundtland blogs about the Elders' visit to an innovative youth-led pro

Welcoming my fellow Elders to India

“We hope to listen to girls affected by child marriage, their parents, their teachers and community leaders – and amplify their needs and concerns in our conversations with government, media and other influential people.”Ela Bhatt is joined in India

Women, religion and change

“This shouldn’t be such a difficult topic for people of faith. It seems entirely consistent with the teachings of the world’s great religions that men and women are equal in the eyes of God.”After a meeting with fellow religious leaders at the Wor

Women must be at the heart of the new Egypt

As Egyptians celebrate the first anniversary of the uprising that removed Hosni Mubarak from power, Mary Robinson argues that it is time to challenge the patriarchal norms that continue to restrict women's political participation – and that Egypt's futu

Time to close the gap

"We can no longer ignore this growing distance between rich and poor. It is time to close the gap. It is time to talk about making real changes so that the world becomes a more equitable place."Ahead of his appearance in the opening session of the World E

על המנהיגים הפלסטינים לשים את מטרתם הלאומית בראש

Time to move on Mideast peace

Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter reflect on the stalled efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East in USA Today.

Ending child marriage helps communities across the developing world

Commenting in The Washington Post, Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu describe how empowering girls can be one of the most effective ways to improve the health and prosperity of societies.

Speaking to Aung San Suu Kyi – at long last!

Shortly after her release from house arrest, Aung San Suu Kyi spoke over the phone with Desmond Tutu, Chair of The Elders. In this blog, Archbishop Tutu describes their conversation, urging the international community to keep its focus on Burma until all

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Mary Robinson, Ban Ki-moon & Ernesto Zedillo enjoyed a good meeting with @antonioguterres at @UN. They discussed global security issues inc. Ukraine and Israel/Palestine, how to strengthen multilateralism amid geopolitical tensions, & plans for the upcoming Summit of the Future. pic.twitter.com/lY1HWKn8Ku
— The Elders (@TheElders) June 27, 2024

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