The Global Elders or The Elders is a group of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates. Public figure is a legal term applied in the context of Defamation actions ( Libel and Slander) as well as Invasion of privacy. A statesman or stateswoman or statesperson is usually a Politician or other notable figure of State who has had a long and respected career in A peace activist is a Political activist who advocates for a peaceful resolution of political disputes Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled 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. Global warming is the increase in the average measured temperature of the Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of Needs values and interests " [1]
The group is chaired by former Archbishop Desmond Tutu and currently consists of 12 leaders. The Archbishop of Cape Town is the Primate / Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African Cleric and activist who rose to Worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent The Elders' first mission was to travel to Sudan in September-October 2007 to foster peace in the Darfur crisis. Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Darfur (دار فور daar foor, lit "realm of the Fur " is a region in Sudan. The War in Darfur is a military conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
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. Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950 is an English Business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950 in Chobham, Surrey, England) is an English Musician and Songwriter. The President of South Africa, in full the President of the Republic of South Africa is the Head of state and Head of government under South Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (xolíɬaɬa mandéːla born 18 July 1918 is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in fully representative The Elders are sponsored by a group of founders who helped raise US$18 million for the group over the last three years. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Nelson Mandela announced the formation of the group on his 89th birthday on 18 July 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa [2]. Johannesburg ( Pronounced /jō-hān'ĭs-bûrg'/ is the largest city in South Africa. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of 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. Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Moçambique or República de Moçambique, ʁɛ'publikɐ d musɐ̃'bik is a country in southeastern Africa Graça Machel, DBE (born Graça Simbine on 17 October 1945 in Incadine Gaza Province, Mozambique) is the third wife of former South The United Nations ( UN) is an International organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in International law, International security The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. Kofi Atta Annan, GCMG (born 8 April 1938 is a Ghanaian Diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland. Mary Therese Winifred Robinson (Máire Mhic Róibín born 21 May 1944 was the first female President of Ireland, serving from 1990 to 1997 and the United Nations The Nobel Peace Prize ( Swedish, Danish and Nobels fredspris is one of five Nobel Prizes Bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African Cleric and activist who rose to Worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 The Grameen Bank (গ্রামীণ ব্যাংক is a Microfinance organization and Community development bank started in Bangladesh that This article is specific to small loans For financial services to the poor see Microfinance. Muhammad Yunus (মুহাম্মদ ইউনুস pronounced bn-Latn ''Muhammôd Iunus'' (born 28 June 1940 is a Bangladeshi Banker and Economist Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES The Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China is the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China and one of the country's most important Li Zhaoxing ( born October 20, 1940) was the Foreign minister of the People's Republic of China from 2003 to 2007 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. Aung San Suu Kyi ( àunsʰánsṵtʃì born 19 June 1945 in Rangoon, is a pro- Democracy activist and leader of the National League for A political prisoner is someone held in Prison or otherwise detained perhaps under House arrest, for his or her involvement in political activity Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. 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. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming SEWA is the Self-Employed Women's Association of India a trade union founded in 1972 after a split in the Textile Labour Association (TLA Ela Ramesh Bhatt (born on 7 September 1933 in the city of Ahmedabad in India) is the founder of India's Self-Employed Women's Association (or Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional This is a list of viceroys ( visekonge) governors ( rigsstatholder) first ministers ( førstestatsråd) and Prime ministers ( statsminister) of (ɡru hɑɭɛm brʉntlɑn (born Gro Harlem 20 April 1939 Oslo) is a Norwegian politician diplomat and Physician, and an international leader Algeria ( ar [[Arabic]] الجزائر, Al Jaza'ir ælʤæˈzæːʔir Amazigh: ⴷⵥⴰⵢⴻⵔ Dzayer) officially the People's N. envoy and advisor Lakhdar Brahimi, and former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Lakhdar Brahimi ( Arabic: الأخضر الإبراهيمي (born January 1, 1934 in Algeria) was a veteran United Nations envoy and |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld The President of Brazil is both the Head of state and Head of government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, PC (born June 18, 1931) - also known by his initials FHC - was the President of the Federative Republic of
The announcement of the Global Elders was greeted with skepticism in some quarters. For example, conservative Canadian journalist Mark Steyn [commented]: "Old boomer slogan: Never trust anybody over 30. Mark Steyn, born in Canada in 1959, is a self-described conservative writer and commentator about politics arts and culture New boomer slogan: Never trust anybody under 80. "
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The Elders' work
The Elders have undertaken two major initiatives thus far: The Every Human Has Rights Campaign and their Darfur Mission. A third initiative, a mission to the Middle East is planned to begin in early April.
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. On the 59th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR December 10th, 2007, The Elders ' Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly ( 10 December 1948 at Palais Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of 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. ActionAid was founded in 1972 as a child sponsorship charity when 88 UK supporters Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is a Western based international Non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to For the "Postsecondary Education Network International" see PEN-International International PEN, the worldwide association of WITNESS is a New York based Non-profit organization that uses video and online technologies to expose Human rights violations Save the Children is a leading international organisation helping children in need around the world The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946 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" [3]
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). Sudan (officially the Republic of Sudan) ( السودان al-Sūdān is a country in northeastern Africa. Darfur (دار فور daar foor, lit "realm of the Fur " is a region in Sudan. 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. Khartoum ( الخرطوم al-Kharṭūm) is the Capital of Sudan and of Khartoum State. This page contains a list of presidents and other heads of state of Sudan. Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir ( Arabic: عمر حسن أحمد البشير born January 1 1944) is the President of Sudan. The Elders published a report on their findings titled "Bringing Hope, Forging Peace: The Elders Sudan Report" [4].
Middle East Mission
The Elders are planning to send a three-person team on a mission to the Middle East from April 13-21 [5] [6]. 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. Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, KSA ( المملكة العربية السعودية, al-Mamlaka al-ʻArabiyya as-Suʻūdiyya) or Suudi 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. Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic Republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is The "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is the consensus solution that is currently under discussion by the key parties to the conflict
References
- ^ Aljazeera.net. Mandela unveils 'council of elders'
- ^ Youtube.com. The Elders press launch in Johannesburg, South Africa
- ^ Every Human Has Rights - press release
- ^ The Elders Mission to Sudan - press release
- ^ The Elders Mission to the Middle East - press release
- ^ Haaretz.com. Carter, Annan to lead peace delegation to Middle East next month
External links
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