“Our visit was very timely; just a few days ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting at which Sudan and South Sudan would be on the agenda.” 

Mary Robinson blogs about visiting Brussels a week after travelling to Ethiopia and South Sudan on an Elders delegation. Together with her fellow Elder Martti Ahtisaari, she discussed the situation in the region with EU officials – as well as raising the issue of international sanctions against Zimbabwe.

"We are already witnessing an unbearable catastrophe with the fighting in Blue Nile and South Kordofan in Sudan, and the ensuing outpouring of refugees into South Sudan and Ethiopia."

Writing from Addis Ababa at the start of an Elders delegation to Sudan and South Sudan, Desmond Tutu blogs for CNN about the region's urgent humanitarian needs and what he hopes the Elders can achieve on their visit.