“Have men done more for peace than have women? I don’t think so.”

Gro Harlem Brundtland delivers the Nadia Younes Memorial Lecture at the American University in Cairo, 12 March 2012.

Why did The Elders, “more accustomed to sitting down with government officials in North and South Korea, antagonists in the Middle East or peacemakers in Africa,” decide to launch a global campaign to protect the basic rights of girls and women?

Writing in The Nation, Barbara Crossette interviews members of The Elders about their efforts to bring together a global partnership of organisations working for an end child marriage.

In an interview with Metro International published in eight countries in Europe and the Americas, Graça Machel discusses progress on gender equality in Africa and her long involvement in the struggle to end child marriage. The story was published in English on the Huffington Post.

In this interview for BBC Radio's Focus on Africa, Archbishop Tutu calls child marriage "a devastating social custom used against innocent, vulnerable girls” and discusses the Elders' recent visit to Ethiopia where he met child brides and the people campaigning to end the practice.

At the World YWCA International Women's Summit in Zurich, July 2011, Mary Robinson speaks about the role of girls and young women as human rights defenders and leaders of their communities.

In the Amhara region of Ethiopia, where girls are commonly married off at the age of 12, Elders Desmond Tutu, Gro Brundtland and Mary Robinson meet young girls determined to avoid early marriage and hear from women who were child brides themselves. The Elders and the young women are interviewed by Will Ross from the BBC.

Speaking at an international conference held in Paris, February 2011, Mary Robinson discusses the relationship between religion, tradition and gender inequality. Citing the issue of child marriage as one example, she argues that promoting the rights of girls and women cannot be imposed on a society; instead, we must support activists working to change their culture from within.

Commenting in The Washington Post, Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu describe how empowering girls can be one of the most effective ways to improve the health and prosperity of societies.

Lakhdar Brahimi and Mary Robinson write for The Huffington Post following the Elders' recent visit to Gaza and the Middle East.

Mary Robinson and Bineta Diop reflect in The Huffington Post on the ten-year anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. Noting that women across the world have the potential to become effective agents of change, they argue that the inclusion of women is crucial for post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation.