Global Elders

The Global Elders or The Elders is a group of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates. The goal of the group is to solve global problems, using "almost 1,000 years of collective experience" to work on solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change, HIV/AIDS, and poverty, and "use their political independence to help resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts." [ [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/59C0C017-4A63-4F97-9D91-D1A336A2B83A.htm Aljazeera.net. "Mandela unveils 'council of elders'] ]

Background

The Elders are chaired by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and currently consists of 12 leaders.

The group was initiated by Sir Richard Branson and musician and human rights activist Peter Gabriel together with anti-apartheid activist and former South African President Nelson Mandela. The Elders are sponsored by a group of founders who helped raise US$18 million for the group over the last three years. Nelson Mandela announced the formation of the group on his 89th birthday on 18 July 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa [ [http://youtube.com/view_play_list?p=C801BC01AA46FEC2 Youtube.com. "The Elders press launch in Johannesburg, South Africa] ] .

The group of Elders present at the announcement were Mandela; Mozambican activist Graça Machel, Mandela's wife; former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan; former Irish President Mary Robinson; Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu, former United States President Jimmy Carter, Grameen Bank founder and microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus; and former Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing. At the launch ceremony a chair was left empty on the stage to signify Aung San Suu Kyi, the human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner who is a political prisoner in Burma. Other members who were not present at the launch were the Indian trade union leader and SEWA founder Ela Bhatt, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Algerian ambassador and veteran U.N. envoy and advisor Lakhdar Brahimi, and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso.

Princess Mabel of Orange of the Netherlands was appointed as the group's first Chief Executive Officer.

The announcement of the Global Elders was greeted with skepticism in some quarters. For example, conservative Canadian journalist Mark Steyn [http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTFhOGRiY2IxOGE5NDNhMjhkNmNmZGZiZGQ1MTc2NTY= "commented"] : "Old boomer slogan: Never trust anybody over 30. New boomer slogan: Never trust anybody under 80."

The Elders' work

The Elders' first mission was to travel to Sudan in September-October 2007 to foster peace in the Darfur crisis.The Elders' other major initiatives thus far was The Every Human Has Rights Campaign. A third initiative, a mission to the Middle East is planned to begin in early April.

The Elders have further made several press statements on issues like Press Freedom, Sustainable Peace, The Middle East, Zimbabwe and Iran.

Every Human Has Rights

The Every Human Has Rights (EHHR) campaign was launched on the 59th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), December 10th, 2007 , in Cape Town, South Africa. The Elders launched the initiative in partnership with a diverse group of global NGOs, civil society organizations and businesses to highlight UDHR principles, including the right to health, women’s rights, and freedom of expression. Launch partners included ActionAid, Amnesty International, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, International PEN, WITNESS, Realizing Rights, Save the Children and UNICEF and throughout the year plans to expand, including partners from civil society organizations in the developing world through networks like CIVICUS and directly. According to the official press release, the EHHR campaign is an ongoing initiative of The Elders, with the stated goal of working to "empower global citizens to protect and realize the first-ever comprehensive agreement on human rights among nations" [ [http://dl.groovygecko.net/anon.groovy/clients/akqa/projectamber/press/20071210-EHHR_Press_Release.pdf "Every Human Has Rights - press release"] ]

The Darfur Mission

The Elders' Darfur Mission took place from September 30th to October 4th of 2007. Elders Desmond Tutu, Lakhdar Brahimi, Jimmy Carter, and Graça Machel traveled to Sudan to assess the situation in Darfur and affirm the group’s support of the fragile peace negotiated between North and South Sudan in the two-year-old Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). They began the trip in Khartoum, where they met with Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir, other government officials, and representatives of opposition political parties, the United Nations, the African Union, the diplomatic community and international organizations, including humanitarian agencies. The Elders published a report on their findings titled "Bringing Hope, Forging Peace: The Elders Sudan Report" [ [http://dl.groovygecko.net/anon.groovy/clients/akqa/projectamber/press/sudan/The_Elders_Mission_to_Sudan.pdf "The Elders Mission to Sudan - press release"] ] .

Middle East Mission

The Elders are planning to send a three-person team on a mission to the Middle East from April 13-21 [ [http://www.archive.org/download/March62008-TheEldersPressRelease-MiddleEastMission/March62008-TheEldersPressRelease-MiddleEastMission.pdf "The Elders Mission to the Middle East - press release"] ] [ [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961968.html Haaretz.com. "Carter, Annan to lead peace delegation to Middle East next month"] ] . Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, and Mary Robinson, will visit Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Saudi Arabia to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the interlocking Middle Eastern conflicts. At the end of the mission, the Elders plan to prepare a report for the public to help people understand the urgency of peace and what is needed to secure it. The Elders also plan to meet and begin to work with groups that will reinforce the efforts by the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to negotiate a peace agreement based on a two-state solution.

References

* [http://abcnews.go.com/International/TenWays/story?id=3389067&page=1 "ABC News"]
* [http://dl.groovygecko.net/anon.groovy/clients/akqa/projectamber/press/The_Elders-Press_Release.pdf "Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu announce The Elders - press release]

External links

* [http://www.theelders.org/ The Elders' Official Website]