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It’s time for a woman to serve as UN Secretary-General

Elbegdorj Tsakhia

Elbegdorj Tsakhia reflects on the shifting geopolitical landscape and urges that women’s voices be at the forefront of global decision-making.

Speeches and Discussions

Cooperation isn’t utopian - it works

At the Tokyo Conference 2025, Helen Clark warned that rising nuclear risks and the breakdown of multilateral cooperation are threatening global security

The Doomsday Clock is moving again: Every second counts

Helen Clark shares insights from her recent visits to Davos and the Norad annual conference, emphasising the importance of collaboration to secure lasting solutions to global threats.

Elders Statements

The Elders warn Gaza ceasefire and recovery at risk if UNRWA is not protected

Juan Manuel Santos

The Elders warn that a sustained ceasefire and recovery in Gaza are at risk if Israel ends cooperation with UNRWA

President Carter exemplified the leadership we need

Ban Ki-moon reflects on the legacy of Jimmy Carter, a founding Elder, and calls for reforms at the UN as its 80th anniversary approaches.

Overwhelming times call for action and ambition

Graça Machel reflects on a year of global challenges, calling for collective action and accountability

Mary Robinson reacts to final COP29 agreement

23 November 2024

Mary Robinson reacts to final COP29 agreement

Speeches and Discussions

The UN Security Council must speak with one voice

On Thursday 3 November Mary Robinson addressed the UN Security Council on building resilience in UN peacekeeping operations and the need to tackle the root causes of conflict.

From G20 to COP27, leaders must act with shared responsibility

Ricardo Lagos urges world leaders to uphold their promises and take multilateral action on the crises facing humanity in our latest newsletter.

Elders Statements

The Elders warn G20: your failure of leadership is worsening global crises

Elders Statement: The Elders today challenge G20 leaders to do their job: to rise above their differences and find consensus on the leadership needed to tackle the inter-connected crises facing humanity.

Women’s leadership is essential to addressing the climate crisis

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf reflects on the injustice of the climate crisis, the need for women's leadership and the importance of solidarity and international cooperation.

Speeches and Discussions

Multilateralism is essential in tackling our shared challenges

Ban Ki-moon emphasises the importance of multilateralism at the One Young World 2022 Summit.

Russia's war on Ukraine is a moral outrage

Ban Ki-moon reflects on his recent visit to Ukraine, the need for international solidarity and the global threat of nuclear weapons

The Elders respond to UN assessment of human rights violations in Xinjiang, China

Following the OHCHR assessment of human rights concerns in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, The Elders express their concern and stress the gravity of the report’s findings.

The Elders deplore Russia’s move to block a consensus outcome to the NPT Review Conference

Mary Robinson expresses disappointment that that consensus has not been reached on a final statement at the NPT Review Conference.

Elders Statements

The Elders stress neutrality on Ukraine cannot be an option following Kyiv visit

Juan Manuel Santos Ban Ki-moon

The Elders call for increased international support for Ukraine and stress that neutrality is not a moral option in the face of continued Russian aggression.

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The Elders visit Kyiv to show solidarity with Ukraine

Ban Ki-moon Juan Manuel Santos

The Elders are today visiting Kyiv to show their support for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression.

Elders Statements

The Elders urge Iran to seize the moment and endorse nuclear breakthrough

The Elders call for participants in the Vienna negotiations to endorse the latest proposals to resolve the talks about the future of the nuclear deal.

With hope and action, we can forge a fairer future

Juan Manuel Santos

Juan Manuel Santos reflects on the state of hope today and the legacies of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu.

Mandela brought the Elders together 15 years ago. They are needed now, more than ever.

Graça Machel reflects on The Elders' May board meeting in South Africa, the climate crisis and Ukraine.

Speeches and Discussions

We must work together to make justice for all a reality

At the World Justice Forum, Mary Robinson reiterates the need for inclusive, intergenerational, people-centered justice systems.

Speeches and Discussions

Cooperation between China and US crucial for sustainability and prosperity

Mary Robinson emphasises how cooperation between China and the US is needed to develop robust frameworks for 21st century governance.

The Elders call on all parties to JCPOA to seek compromise and keep talks alive

Ahead of the resumption of JCPOA talks in Vienna, The Elders call on all parties to show courageous leadership and a willingness to compromise.

Our planet is on the table at COP26

As world leaders gather in Glasgow for the most important climate summit of the decade, Ricardo Lagos reflects on what is at stake, and reiterates The Elders' calls for ambitious leadership at COP26.

Speeches and Discussions

Human rights and solidarity are at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals

Human rights and solidarity are at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The climate crisis and COVID-19 defined this year’s UN General Assembly

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein

Zeid Raad Al Hussein reiterates the need for global solutions to global problems, and the pivotal role of the multilateral system in addressing our shared challenges such as the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speeches and Discussions

The international community must act responsibly on Afghanistan

Lakhdar Brahimi

Lakhdar Brahimi addresses the UN Security Council on the precarious situation in Afghanistan and calls for unity within the international community to support the Afghan people.

Speeches and Discussions

A united and purposeful Security Council is needed now more than ever

Mary Robinson addresses the UN Security Council on its crucial role in preventing conflict, the need for nuclear non-proliferation, and the overhanging threat of climate change.

Multilateralism is key to tackling both global conflicts and the climate crisis

The Elders call for responsible and ethical leadership amid concerns about conflict in Afghanistan and the climate emergency.

A human rights approach to global challenges

The world will neither rebuild from the pandemic, nor have any chance of tackling wider existential threats, until leaders once more instill a sense of hope in political and civic life, writes Mary Robinson.

Elders Statements

The Elders urge heads of state to demonstrate personal leadership on pandemic prevention

The Elders today called on world leaders to take direct, personal responsibility for leading efforts to prevent a future global pandemic and manage the continued threat posed by COVID-19

Marking Mandela’s legacy with a week of Elders’ discussion

The Elders’ State of Hope seeks to explore Nelson Mandela's vision in the context of contemporary challenges.

The Elders call on G7 leaders to seize the moment on vaccines and climate action

The Elders call on G7 leaders to take urgent action on vaccine distribution and pledge new climate finance at the G7 summit 11-13 June, or risk further weakening the multilateral system on which future progress and prosperity depends.

Preventing future pandemics and reforming the UN Security Council

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf reflects on the recent report by the IPPPR and what is needed to ensure its recommendations are meaningfully acted upon by world leaders and international institutions.

Elders Statements

Myanmar risks state failure without significant increase in international pressure, The Elders warn

The Elders call on the international community to intensify pressure on the military leadership in Myanmar to prevent the country descending into endemic violence and state failure.

COVID-19 offers an opportunity to reform the multilateral system

As COVID-19 has exposed the wide failure of global governance, Ernesto Zedillo calls for the world to seize this opportunity to reform the multilateral system to ensure future accountability and effectiveness.

Speeches and Discussions

The UN and its regional partners have a ‘fleeting window’ to cooperate on Myanmar

Highlighting the situation in Myanmar, Ban Ki-moon calls on the UN Security Council to work with regional partners to maintain peace and security.

Women’s leadership must drive the global recovery from COVID-19

Marking International Women's Day 2021, Mary Robinson reflects on why women leadership is crucial in achieving a more equal society post-COVID-19, and why the success of COP26 will depend on it. Published in Inter Press Service.

Speeches and Discussions

The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis for human rights and development

Mary Robinson addresses the UN Human Rights Council on the rights of the child and the SDGs, highlighting the importance to uphold rights for the most vulnerable in the global community amid COVID-19.

The Elders call on President Biden to reverse the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism

The Elders today called on President Biden to take immediate steps to reverse the decision, taken by the former Trump Administration on 11 January, to redesignate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism.

COVID-19 shows that we cannot take stability and competent governance for granted

With the Doomsday Clock remaining at just 100 seconds to midnight, Gro Harlem Brundtland warns of an alarmingly high level of existential risk to humanity. Published in Project Syndicate.

Lakhdar Brahimi: “A return to the world order before Donald Trump is neither possible nor desirable”

While the crisis of multilateralism has been accelerated by the Trump administration, it has its roots in the attitude of the United States, which has imposed its supremacy since the fall of the Berlin Wall, flouting international law.

2021 must be a year of enlightened and empathetic action

Mary Robinson calls for solidarity, inclusion and generosity of spirit, as we seek to overcome our common challenges in 2021.

Elders Statements

The Elders call for urgent action to address multilateral failings exposed by COVID-19

The Elders call on world leaders to urgently strengthen, defend, and realise the potential of the multilateral system, to end the current disarray in the global order.

The need for principled global leadership and cooperation has never been more important

As COVID-19 continues to hit our societies at great cost, the need for far-sighted, innovative and principled global leadership and cooperation has never been more important.

Securing our common future in the era of COVID-19: multilateral action is key

From the achievements of sustainable development and empowering women to the need for pandemic preparedness and investing in universal health coverage, Gro Harlem Brundtland discusses the power of multilateralism, in this interview with The ASEAN magazine

The COVID-19 pandemic presents the UN with its biggest challenge yet

Ban Ki-moon warns that if we fail to respond to COVID-19 and other shared threats with a renewed sense of solidarity and collective action, we will have dishonoured the victims of the virus and betrayed the hopes that the UN’s founding generation had.

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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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