SOUTH AFRICA: Nelson Mandela marked his 89th birthday by launching his fellow elder statesmen on a new venture to reduce conflict and despair

Nelson Mandela marked his 89th birthday on Wednesday (July 18) by launching an international group of elder statesmen, including fellow Nobel peace laureates Desmond Tutu and Jimmy Carter, to tackle the world's problems. As birthday tributes poured in, Mandela said the group of "elders" would use almost 1,000 years of collective experience to dream up solutions for seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change, HIV/AIDS and poverty. "Using their collective experience, their moral courage and their ability to rise above the parochial concerns of nation, race and creed they can help to make our planet a more peaceful, healthy and equitable place to live," said Mandela, wearing his trademark silk African-style shirt. The leaders, who include former Irish President Mary Robinson and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, would also use their political independence to help resolve some of the world's most intractable conflicts. "My hope is that tis group can help remind the world of these universal values that we all share and should be shared by all governments and implemented to resolve stubborn divides and conflicts," said Mary Robinson. Kofi Annan said everyone needs to stand united on the issues. "We all need to come together and work across national boundaries and deal with these problems and I am referring to problems of poverty, environmental degradation, infectious diseases, internationally organised crime, weapons of mass destruction and I can go on. Yes, there are many organisations and governments and NGO's dealing and trying to tackle these issues and they have made tremendous progress in some areas and yet, we live in a world where immense poverty and extreme wealth live side-by-side, this is not sustainable," said Annan. The leaders heaped praise on Mandela, South Africa's best-loved citizen and a global icon for justice and reconciliation, and guests at the launch sang Happy Birthday to "Madiba" -- the clan name by which he is affectionately known. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said governments had frequently failed to tackle the world's big issues and conflicts because they were beholden to voters, inhibited by their own political agenda and beset with domestic problems. "With no adverse political consequences and prospects of criticism from constituencies or seeking public office, we will be able to risk failure in worthy causes and we will not need to claim credit for any successes that might be achieved. My prayer is that the great potential of the elders, as envisioned by Richard and Peter and Nelson Mandela and others, might be realised through sound judgement and through dedication and through courage," he said. Aides say Mandela is in good physical health for his age, and that he is spending his retirement quietly devoting time to his large family and wife Graca Machel, whom he married on his 80th birthday in 1998. South African newspapers were full of birthday wishes for the man who won the first all-race elections that buried apartheid in 1994.

ITN Source | July 19, 2007