Mary Robinson: The pioneering Elder who works for peace

Dubai: Mary Robinson, first female president of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is also a member of the Elders. It is an independent group of global leaders that were brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007 in order to work for peace and human rights. Currently the group consists of 11 Elders including Mandela. Though he is not an active member he remains the founder and Honorary Elder.

The concept behind the Elders comes from the idea that many communities look to their elders for guidance, and similarly the Elders consist of a group of dedicated former leaders with years of experience and influence and together they work to resolve disputes all around the world.

Each and every Elder has a different field of expertise whether it is as a peace maker with experience in mediating, a peace builder who has helped rebuild post-conflict societies, social revolutionaries or in the case of Robinson, the pioneering woman who became the first female president of Ireland which created a positive change in the history of women in politics in Ireland.

As an activist for gender equality and human dignity, Robinson’s list of accomplishments is many. In 2008, she participated in the Global Philanthropy Forum panel ‘Women, Children and Conflict’ and stressed the importance of finding effective solutions to address poverty and gender-based violence.

In light of the Israel-Palestine conflict in 2009, Robinson wrote ‘A crisis of dignity’, an article that first appeared in openDemocracy, where she emphasised the importance of diplomatic efforts for a new cease-fire.

In her article, Robinson stressed that “a new way forward must be found, one which ensures both that Israelis can live in peace and security and that the Palestinian people, who have suffered far too much for far too long, are finally able to live in dignity”.

Recently, as part of the ‘Elders in the Middle East’ excursion, Robinson along with her fellow Elders Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jimmy Carter, travelled to Israel and the West Bank to shine a light on the developments that are threatening the two-state solution and highlighted the danger of the situation heading towards a one-state outcome.

Having made history as the first female president of Ireland, Robinson strongly emphasises giving women a greater role in the international arena in terms of peace building. At the recent biannual meeting of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign in Addis Ababa, Robinson stressed the importance of including women at the negotiating table to solve the issues between Sudan and South Sudan.

Robinson is the pioneering woman who changed the status of women when she became the first president of Ireland, and even after presidency continued to be a change-maker in her work as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as her work as an Elder and, most recently, in her new appointment as UN Special Envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa.

Robinson will play a key role in supporting the implementation of the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

The writer is an intern with Gulf News