Mohamed Azab, Representative of the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Bishop Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Desmond Tutu, Bill and Melinda Gates, Aliko Dangote, Rupert Murdoch, Mo and Hadeel Ibrahim, Ted Turner and François-Henri Pinault among global business, civil society and religious leaders calling for urgent action and resources to #BringBackOurGirls.
On April 14, more than 200 schoolgirls were abducted at gunpoint from Chibok community in Borno State, Nigeria. 26 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
- President Joaquim Albert Chissano, Former President of the Republic of Mozambique and Chairperson of the Africa Forum
- 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
- Raza Jafar, Founder and CEO of Enshaa
- Abdoulie Janneh , Former Executive-Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
- Hina Jilani, Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Member of the Elders
- 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
- President Ali Hassan Mwinyi , Former President of the Republic of Tanzania and Member of the Africa Forum
- Jay Naidoo , Chair of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
- Babacar N’Diaye, Former President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Member of the Africa Forum.
- President Karl Auguste Offman, Former President of the Republic of Mauritius and Member of the Africa Forum
- 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
- President Pedro Pires , Former President Republic of Cape Verde and Member of the Africa Forum
- 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
- President Amos Claudius Sawyer, Former President of the Republic of Liberia and Member of the Africa Forum
- 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
- Danny Sriskandarajah, Secretary General, CIVICUS
- Ted Turner , Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation and Founder of CNN
- Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu , Honorary Member of the Elders
- President Cassam Uteem, Former President of the Republic of Mauritius
- 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
The open letter has been coordinated by The B Team, Femmes Africa Solidarité, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, One, UN Foundation and Walk Free Foundation.
