The Elders have taken the United Nations Security Council, particularly the five permanent members, for failing to live up to its responsibilities. In a briefing to the Council during an open debate on Conflict Prevention and Mediation, the group's Chair Mary Robinson also highlighted the use of the veto by certain permanent members as antithetical to the prescripts of the UN Charter. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon - now a deputy Chair of the Elders - called on Security Council members to act in the service of all rather their national interests.