Former South African President Nelson Mandela and several world
leaders on Wednesday in Johannesburg, South Africa, announced the
formation of a private alliance dedicated to tackling global issues,
including pandemics like HIV/AIDS and malaria, London's Guardian reports (McGreal, Guardian, 7/19).
The
alliance, called the "Elders," was unveiled during events to mark
Mandela's 89th birthday. The alliance includes former President Jimmy
Carter; former Archbishop Desmond Tutu; former U.N. Secretary-General
Kofi Annan; Ela Bhatt, an Indian women's rights advocate; former
Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland; Li Zhaoxing, a former
Chinese envoy to the United Nations who worked in Africa; Graca Machel,
Mandela's wife and a longtime campaigner for children's rights; former
Irish President Mary Robinson; Bangladeshi microcredit pioneer Muhammad
Yunus; and Myanmarese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was
invited to join the group in Johannesburg but is held under house
arrest by the country's military government (Jacobson, AP/Yahoo! News, 7/18).
According
to Mandela, the Elders will be effective by "working objectively and
without any personal or vested interest" on problems where others are
not successful because of "political, economic and geographic
constraints" (Guardian, 7/19). Mandela added that because
Elders' members no longer hold public office, they "can speak freely
and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever
actions need to be taken." None of the issues to be addressed by the
group has been chosen. In addition, not all of the Elders' members, who
eventually will number about 12, have been selected. "The Elders won't
get involved in delivering bed nets for malaria prevention," Carter
said, adding, "The issue is to fill vacuums -- to address major issues
that aren't being adequately addressed" (Wines, New York Times, 7/18).
(From KaiserNetwork.org)
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