Eminent figures urge global effort to help free kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls
A group of over 40 eminent individuals from around the world are today calling for a global effort to free the more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls who were kidnapped last month.
In an open letter published today, the high level group of business, civil society and religious leaders, calls on the Nigerian authorities and international community to mobilise all necessary resources and expertise to help locate and free the missing girls.
The letter says: “On April 14, more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted at gunpoint from Chibok community in Borno State, Nigeria. 24 days later, the girls are still missing.
We urge all local, national and regional governments, with the full support of the international community, to dedicate their expertise and resources - from satellite imagery to intelligence services to multinational corporations' supply chains - to #BringBackOurGirls.”
Signed by:
Martti Ahtisaari, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Member of the Elders
Mohamed Azab, Representative of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar
Aïcha Bah Diallo, Chairperson of the Forum of African Women Educationalists
Ela Bhatt, Founder of the Self-Employed Women's Association of India and Member of the Elders
Bono, Co-founder, ONE
Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group and co-Chair of the B Team
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Executive Chair of the UN Foundation and Member of the Elders
Susan A Buffett, Chairman of The Sherwood Foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the Buffett Early Childhood Fund
Kathy Calvin, President and CEO of the UN Foundation and B Team Leader
President Fernando H Cardoso, Former President of Brazil and Member of the Elders
Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and Former Prime Minister of New Zealand
Aliko and Halima Dangote, Dangote Group
Bineta Diop, African Union Special Envoy for Women Peace and Security
Andrew Forrest, Founder of the Walk Free Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates, co-Founders and co-Chairs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Helene Gayle, President and CEO of CARE USA
Mort Halperin, Senior Advisor to the Open Society Institute and the Open Society Policy Center
Arianna Huffington, Chair, President and Editor-in-Chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, and B Team leader
Mo and Hadeel Ibrahim, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Abdoulie Janneh, Former Executive-Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Guilherme Leal, co-Founder of Natura and B Team Leader
Graça Machel, Member of the Elders
Mark Malloch-Brown, Former United Nations Deputy Secretary-General
Strive Masiyiwa, Founder of Econet Wireless and B Team Leader
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of UN Women
Amina J Mohamed, United Nations Secretary-General's Special Advisor
Festus Mogae, former President of Botswana, Chairperson of the Coalition for Dialogue on Africa
Rupert Murdoch, Chairman of NewsCorp and Chairman and CEO of 21st Century Fox
Jay Naidoo, Chair of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Finance Minister of Nigeria
Ronald Perelman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc.
François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering and B Team Leader
Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and B Team Leader
Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland and Member of the Elders
Salim Ahmed Salim, Former Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity
Toyin Saraki, Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation
Bobby Shriver, Co-founder and Chairman of (PRODUCT) RED and Co-founder of DATA
Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Bishop-Chancellor, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, The Vatican
Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation and Founder of CNN
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Honorary Member of the Elders
Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and B Team Leader
President Ernesto Zedillo, Former President of Mexico and Member of the Elders
Jochen Zeitz, Former Chairman and CEO of PUMA and co-Chair of the B Team
