“We ought to do everything in our power to ensure girls can become all they can be.” Desmond Tutu

In November, Desmond Tutu and Graça Machel took part in a Girls Not Brides conference discussing how to end child marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa. The event in South Africa brought together activists, campaigners and experts from across the continent.

"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 young people from early marriage, and call on the United States government to make tackling child marriage a central focus of its international development agenda.

Dans une tribune publiée dans Le Figaro, Graça Machel et Desmond Tutu s'inquiètent des revers démocratiques en Afrique de l'ouest. Ils exhortent les dirigeants africains à se mettre au service de leurs concitoyens et non pas à agir en maîtres.

Writing in Le Figaro, Desmond Tutu and Graça Machel describe their sense of pride in the economic, political and social progress across Africa. They warn, however, that if Africa is to fulfil its rich potential, its leaders must understand they are the servants, not the masters, of their people.