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Sending a strong political signal

Press release

Kofi Annan appointed Chair of The Elders

The Elders in Gaza

Middle East peace

After decades of peace process, there is still no peace.

Find out more about The Elders' work to support civil society working for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East

Press release

The Elders call on Europe to play a stronger role in the Middle East

Pursing peace with all men as admonished by the Holy Bible is a creed that all men should live by. People from all over the world are one regardless of race, education and economic independence.
Wanda Kenneth Oluka
Lagos, Nigeria
You elders are showing us how to build a better world community. Please keep working as a force for compassionate listening and taking a stand for what's right. Thank you.
Tom Gibbons
Tucson, AZ USA
Pursuing peace with all men as admonished by the Holy Bible is a creed that all men should live by. People from all over the world are one regardless of race, education and economic independence.
Wanda Kenneth Oluka
Lagos, Nigeria
Those who stand in the way of peace and empowerment of the residents of Gaza and East Jerusalem deserve to be exposed and embarrassed. We must stop sowing the seeds of future conflict now.
Darrell Gudmundson
Saskatoon, Canada
For the construction of a better world, you don't need to wait until something changes, you have to change in order for things to happen.
Anne
México
Thank you to everyone who is working and praying for peace and justice, and especially to the Elders.
Nick Bell
Switzerland
Gandhi said "Be the change you wish to see in the world". The Elders are leading the way. Let us follow.
Sabita Banerji
Oxford, UK
It is time to move forward. Israel must recognise the State of Palestine on the 1967 border, Jerusalem internationalized. Palestine will recognize Israel.
Mike
United States of America
I cannot express it any better than Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh: "Peace is not simply the absence of violence; it is the cultivation of understanding, insight and compassion combined with action."
Andrew Smith
England
'Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.' 'Do unto others as you would have them do to you'. We learn this simple wisdom as children, yet somehow as we 'grow' we leave it behind. Peace!
Hayley Keane
Scotland
it wonders me that the world wide " wholesale peacemakers"[US&allies] are still supporting israel...
MuHammEd FaZiL BiN MusThaFa
InDIA
Help Greek politicians solve the debt crisis without exhausting to death the Greek people. The way they have begun solving the crisis does not allow growth.
ELENI ANTONOPOULOU
ATHENS, GREECE
Mankind should augment their synapses in the globe brain to promote peace and prosperity and with the presence of Information,Communication Technology we can.
George Darlington Hashaka
Kampala
Reaching across human-made borders to our brothers & sisters in Peace. We are One.
Peace Monger
UK
it´s time to aim for a universal language compulsary for everyone at school to learn beside the native
sture mattsson
åland islands finland
Cow-Boy says Peace comes out from the Barrel of a Gun, wrong, wrong & wrong while Peace is happiness and progress between Life and Death as Nature/God/Allah has Gifted, Peace is by Truth & Respect!
Veteran Dr. A. Momin
EU
We will look back and say, "Remember when the middle east was fraught with violence and peace seemed impossible? Hard to imagine that now…"
Penina S. Finger
USA
Perhaps you would consider highlighting the work of the voluntary Transition Town movement, born here in Kinsale 2005, and now active in communities all over the world ?
Alan Clayton
Ireland
Thank you Hanar Shaat for the wonderful article you published here on October 18, 2010. You have the vision.
DW Duke
USA
There is an historic opportunity for Peace. Palestinians and Israelis should seize it, for their own sake, and that of their children.
Gro Brundtland
Norway
Peace depends not on what we are taught from the outside, but from what we know on the inside. Everyone is born with an innate sense to be at peace. We can return to that.
Michelle Enfield
USA
Let us hope that you can inspire the people of Palestine and the people of Israel to rise up and demand peace despite all the obstacles and rhetoric that the politicians rely on to get elected
Robert Kent
California
Please consider the world our grandchildren will share, and put aside today's political and economic pressures. Our grandchildren must live in the world we leave them. Our problems are irrelevant.
Rob Branch-Dasch
The Garden
What unites us in being human is much greater than that which divides us. Let unity triumph in peace.
Alia
Austin, TX
We hope and pray that Israel and Palestine while utilizing diplomatic channels would come to a permanent solution. That day the world would become secure and serene.
Naeem ur Rehman
Pakistan
Borders are for administrative purposes only. Each granule of sand is the property entrusted to humanity. Humane Society across the border shall break the barrier.
Jayaraman Rajah Iyer
Kodaikanal, India
May wisdom in the form of humanity excel over capitalism among those with influence.
Rob Kingston
Rayleigh, United Kingdom
Hungry, wounded and dispossessed children will not grow with peaceful ideas on their minds. PEACE needs to be understood by children as a source of security, love and nutrition.
Nermine Ghaleb
Riyadh, KSA
We owe it to our grandchildren, to our children, to our parents, to our friends, neighbours and ourselves to act for peace. And the first step for peace is to communicate, have contact with the other.
Joske Diesfeldt
Belgium
Peace is possible. Israelis and Palestinians deserve it and can achieve it. Ordinary people can make a difference. Make your voice heard now.
Fernando H Cardoso
Brazil
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Syria crisis: "We are not able to keep up"

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We must have the courage to defend our values

.@SenatorDurbin & @SenatorSnowe bill to eliminate #childmarriage passed the Foreign Relations Committee yesterday! http://t.co/pTRYqLjJ
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Syrian opposition driven into arms of Islamists - interview w/ Peter Harling in @dw_english http://t.co/IxMS9jT8
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We're reading: 'Is Green The New Gold In Sustainable Olympics?' - Forbes http://t.co/jSpXKXrL via @sharethis #London2012 #sustainability
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To achieve sustainable development our world leaders must agree on stricter rules for businesses, especially bug businesses that are destroying the planet. These rules should enforce recycling,...
Grace Hall
From The Elders' Facebook page
#Egypt Salafists vow more protests for Sharia-based constitution - Ahram Online: Ahram Onlin... http://t.co/NNm7F9Qg #Tahrir #ArabSpring
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I'm passionate about @GirlsNotBrides. I've met several girls <16 yrs, married + preg before finishing school in India http://t.co/v8I5Tvtk
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Recently widowed Boutros is living as a refugee with his two children in Lebanon. Read his moving story:http://t.co/CyoeBMiioV #SyriaCrisis
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Advocates educate Nepali priests in hopes of eradicating #childmarriage by 2015 http://t.co/dLsgQuK5 via @pressinstitute
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Hello Elders - what do you know about The Girl Effect? Similar efforts in the anti child marriage? ...
Carla Octigan
From The Elders' Facebook page
The inclusive wealth of nations: devising alternative measures of human progress & #sustainabledev: http://t.co/BimfmXUN v @OurWorld20
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RT @UN_Rioplus20: Curious about the #FutureWeWant and #RioPlus20? Check out @Rioplustwenties' new youth-friendly video introduction! http://t.co/0zsgGsG0
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RT @FAOnews: #didyouknow The poor spend as much as 70% of their income on food http://t.co/7vREqX3i #rioplus20 #futurewewant
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This cant be repeated enough: 'green economy' means monetising, commodifying nature. This is the "consensus" http://t.co/NmgADWX9 #RioPlus20
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Remembering Martin Luther King: He was assassinated the next day after he made this famous speech: http://www.youtube.com/wa…
Aman K. Endessa
From The Elders' Facebook page
#SriLanka's speech to #HRC19 has just gone up http://t.co/2qe1xyDV
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Arms imports 'fuelling South Sudan fighting' - Africa - Al Jazeera English http://t.co/TUXPUEmL via @ajenglish
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RT @ifpri_enviro: http://t.co/jR5M72Dg #Veggies in their own backyard—a #sustainable development solution for #Indonesia. #RioPlus20 #Ag4Rio
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Les filles subissent la pratique des mariages prècoces dans la région de l'extrême-nord du Cameroun. Elles sont envoyées en mariage entre 9et 15ans. Billé Siké...
Sike Bille
From The Elders' Facebook page
Remember the dignity of your womanhood. Do not appeal, do not beg, do not grovel. Take courage, join hands, stand beside us, fight with us. ~Christabel Pankhust...
Friends of Maiti Nepal
From The Elders' Facebook page
RT @CGIAR: "Feeding the world without destroying the environment = humanity's biggest challenge" (@CGIAR) #rioplus20 #rio4ag http://t.co/2g23TBvg
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With #ObamaInIsrael, our analyst notes lack of concrete steps to improve daily life in #Palestine http://t.co/9Yim0pypTJ
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RT @UN: Ban Ki-moon: "Nowhere in the world should it be an act of bravery for a young girl to go to school." http://t.co/4CqJbzbC #DayoftheGirl
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#Peres to #Obama: "We agree that the goal is a two-state solution" http://t.co/9PFSLhsY0Y #ObamainIsrael
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RT @warisara: Here are some pics of iconic monuments turned pink for the launch of #bcimagirl #dayofthegirl on #BBC Newsround http://t.co/bgGyW7Iz
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RT @Ch16org: Options running out for 37,000 #Sudan refugees in Jamam, #SouthSudan http://t.co/E3XnriGL @Oxfam
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Statement from @ICRW & @GirlsNotBrides ahead of #EducationFirst Summit with Gordon Brown on #childmarriage http://t.co/TGOIk6bMbM
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#Sustainability Pays:How 2 present case 2 the #board.Join me at Responsible Business Summit @Ethical_Corp #csr #green http://t.co/ohG048z6
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Interesting @OxfamGB paper on planetary social & planetary boundaries and life inside the doughnut http://t.co/xP312Bfc #rioplus20 #climate
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Encouraging! RT: @amnesty Myanmar: Political prisoner release major step but gates must open even wider http://t.co/77rGadtg #myanmar #burma
News

Sheikh Jarrah: solidarity in a shared city

The Elders

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Founder and Honorary Elder

Former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Laureate; a leader who has dedicated his life to the anti-apartheid struggle, democracy and equality; founder of The Elders.

Martti Ahtisaari

Martti Ahtisaari

Former President of Finland; Nobel Peace Laureate and expert in international peace mediation, diplomacy and post-conflict state building.

Kofi Annan

Kofi Annan

Chair of The Elders

Former UN Secretary-General, Nobel Peace Laureate and Chair of The Elders; put development, human rights, the rule of law, good governance and peace at the top of the United Nations agenda.

Ela Bhatt

Ela Bhatt

The ‘gentle revolutionary’; a pioneer in women’s empowerment and grassroots development, founder of the more than 1 million-strong Self-Employed Women’s Association in India.

Lakhdar Brahimi

Lakhdar Brahimi

Former Algerian freedom fighter, Foreign Minister, conflict mediator and UN diplomat; an expert in peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction.

Gro Harlem Brundtland

Gro Harlem Brundtland

Deputy Chair of The Elders

First woman Prime Minister of Norway and Deputy Chair of The Elders; a medical doctor who champions health as a human right; put sustainable development on the international agenda.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Fernando H Cardoso

Former President of Brazil; implemented major land reform programme, reduced poverty and significantly improved health and education; an acclaimed sociologist and global advocate for drug policy reform.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter

Former President of the United States, Nobel Peace Laureate and veteran peace negotiator; dedicated to advancing peace, democracy and health worldwide.

Graça Machel

Graça Machel

International advocate for women’s and children's rights; former freedom fighter and first Education Minister of Mozambique.

Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson

First woman President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; a passionate, forceful advocate for gender equality, women’s participation in peace-building and human dignity.

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu

Honorary Elder

Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, Nobel Peace Laureate and Honorary Elder; a veteran anti-apartheid activist and peace campaigner widely regarded as ‘South Africa’s moral conscience’.