Archbishop Justin Welby is one of 18 global leaders and experts asked by António Guterres, secretary general of the United Nations, to form a new high-level advisory board on mediation. The board will provide the secretary-general with advice on mediation initiatives and back specific mediation efforts around the world.
In addition to Archbishop Welby, members of the new board include:
- President Michelle Bachelet (Chile) is serving a second, non-consecutive term as president of Chile. She is the former executive director of U.N. Women.
- Radhika Coomaraswamy (Sri Lanka) is an internationally recognized lawyer and human rights advocate with a long history of work with the United Nations and in Sri Lanka.
- Leymah Gbowee (Liberia) is a 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, peace activist, trained social worker, and women’s rights advocate.
- Jean-Marie Guéhenno (France) is a former French diplomat who served as the undersecretary general for Peacekeeping Operations between 2000 and 2008.
- Tarja Halonen (Finland) was president of Finland from 2000 to 2012, and the first woman to hold the post.
- David Harland (New Zealand) has been executive director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which works globally to help prevent, mitigate, or resolve armed conflicts through dialogue and mediation.
- Noeleen Heyzer (Singapore) is a distinguished fellow at the Singapore Management University and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
- Nasser Judeh (Jordan): Judeh is a member of the Jordanian Senate and the former deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs and expatriates of Jordan.
- Ramtane Lamamra (Algeria), minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Algeria between 2013 and 2017.
- Graça Machel (Mozambique) is an international advocate for women’s and children’s rights.
- Asha-Rose Migiro (Tanzania) is high commissioner of Tanzania to the United Kingdom.
- Raden Mohammad Marty Muliana Natalegawa (Indonesia) has served as minister of foreign affairs of Indonesia (2009-14), permanent representative to the U.N. and ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland.
- Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) served as president of the Republic of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007.
- Roza Otunbayeva (Kyrgyzstan) is former President of Kyrgyzstan.
- Michèle Pierre-Louis (Haiti) served as prime minister and minister of justice and public security of Haiti from September 2008 to November 2009.
- José Manuel Ramos-Horta (Timor-Leste) is a Nobel Laureate, journalist, and promoter of independence for Timor-Leste for 30 years.
- Gert Rosenthal (Guatemala) has served as his nation’s minister of planning (1969-74) and foreign minister (2006-08).
Read the rest on the Archbishop of Canterbury’s website.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
