Author(s):
Chayer Amelie <amelie@icbl.org> .
Friday 27 November 2009
Click here to access this document in PDF.
Over 400 people from civil societies around the world will converge in Cartagena, representing the many faces of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). They come from some 50 countries and all have interesting personal stories, perspectives and a variety of expert knowledge on the landmine issue. They can provide interviews on the status of countries in all geographical regions, thematic areas such as mine risk education, victim assistance, mine clearance and policy.in addition to personal stories of survival.
To request an interview: tel. +57 320 201 7721 or email media@icbl.org
Here is a small sample of the campaigners, mine action experts and landmine survivors available for interviews. They are listed by themes or regions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in another area or theme not listed on this sheet.
ICBL AMBASSADORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Margaret Arach Orech - A landmine survivor herself, Arach Orech founded the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association that carries out advocacy and victim assistance programs. She was appointed ICBL Ambassador in 2006. Language: English
Sylvie Brigot - Brigot is the Executive Director of the ICBL. She has worked on the landmines issue since 1994. Languages: English, French
Tun Channareth - A mine survivor and activist from Cambodia, Reth received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the ICBL. He is an ICBL Ambassador. Languages: English, Khmer
Tamar Gabelnick - Treaty Implementation Director for the ICBL, Gabelnick has in-depth knowledge of the status of the Mine Ban Treaty implementation worldwide, including political and financial challenges associated with mine clearance, victim assistance, and other treaty obligations. Languages: English, French
Stephen Goose - Executive Director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch, Goose is the official Head of the ICBL delegation. He also sits on the Editorial Board of the Landmine Monitor. He has been campaigning with the ICBL since 1993. Language: English
Song Kosal - Kosal lost her leg as a small girl in Battambang, Cambodia. She has campaigned against landmines since the age of 12, and is currently ICBL Youth Ambassador. She will address the opening of the Summit. Languages: English, Khmer
Jody Williams - Williams coordinated the ICBL from 1991 to 1998, and is now ICBL Ambassador. She received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work to bring about the Mine Ban Treaty. She has been a life-long advocate of freedom, self-determination and human and civil rights. Languages: English, Spanish
LANDMINE MONITOR
Paul Hannon - Campaigning with the ICBL since 1995, Hannon is the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada, a coalition representing the Canadian arm of the ICBL. He leads the team that coordinates Landmine Monitor.
Language: English
Jackie Hansen - Hansen served on ICBL staff until early 2005 when she joined Mines Action Canada as the Landmine Monitor Project Manager. Languages: English, Spanish
VICTIM ASSISTANCE
Firoz Ali Alizada - A landmine survivor since the age of 12, Alizada is now working for the ICBL as Treaty Implementation Officer. He has addressed audiences throughout the world on the rights of people with disabilities, and has extensive knowledge of the landmine situation in Afghanistan. Languages: English, Dari
Stan Brabant - Brabant serves as Head of the Policy Unit for Handicap International Belgium and has extensive knowledge of the challenges faced by mine survivors worldwide. He sits on the Editorial Board of Landmine Monitor and has been campaigning with the ICBL since 1995. Languages: Dutch, English, French
Sr. Denise Coghlan - Coghlan was a founding member of the Cambodian Campaign to Ban Landmine in 1995, one of the first country campaigns to form in the ICBL. She has over 20 years of experience working with landmine survivors in Cambodia through her work at the Jesuit Service. Languages: English, Khmer
Jesús Martinez - Martinez has been the director of Fundación Red de Sobrevivientes in El Salvador since 2000. He was 17 and living through El Salvador's civil war in 1989 when he had a landmine accident. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on the need for victim assistance in post-conflict countries. Language: Spanish
MINE CLEARANCE
Jackie Hansen - Hansen served on ICBL staff until early 2005 when she joined Mines Action Canada as the Landmine Monitor Project Manager. Languages: English, Spanish
Atle Karlsen - Karlsen works for Norwegian People's Aid and sits on the Landmine Monitor Editorial Board. He has extensive experience of strategic planning, quality assurance and land release. Languages: English, Norwegian
Eva Veble - Head of the Mine Action Unit at DanChurchAid, Veble has engaged in mine action in South-Eastern Europe, on advocacy for a ban on landmines and cluster munitions, and in mine clearance and victim assistance program implementation. Languages: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Serbian, Slovenian
MINE RISK EDUCATION
Stan Brabant - Brabant serves as Head of the Policy Unit for Handicap International Belgium and has extensive knowledge of the challenges faced by mine survivors worldwide. He sits on the Editorial Board of Landmine Monitor and has been campaigning with the ICBL since 1995. Languages: Dutch, English, French
NON-STATE ARMED GROUPS
Yeshua Moser-Puangsuwan - Moser-Puangsuwan has continued to follow a life-long vocation of peace activism working in Guatemala, Germany, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. A co-founder of the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1995, he currently works as thematic coordinator on non-states armed groups for the Landmine Monitor.
Languages: English, Thai
Elisabeth Decrey-Warner - Decrey-Warner is the President of Geneva Call, a Swiss organization dedicated to engaging non-state armed groups in the Mine Ban Treaty movement by negotiating with them to sign a deed of commitment to abide by conditions laid out in the treaty. Languages: English, French
AFRICA
Dr. Robert Mtonga - Since he founded the Zambia Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1996, Mtonga has extensively engaged with governments throughout Africa on the landmine issue. He provides research on Zambia for Landmine Monitor, the ICBL's global monitoring initiative. Language: English
Boubine Touré - Touré is a lawyer and, through his work with the Senegal Campaign to Ban Landmines, has extensively engaged with governments in francophone Sub-Saharan Africa. He works in close cooperation with survivors' organizations in Casamance, Senegal's mine-affected region. Language: French
AMERICAS
Zach Hudson - Hudson coordinates the United States Campaign to Ban Landmines and in this capacity he leads the initiative to bring the United States in line with the international treaties banning landmines and cluster munitions. Languages: English
Alvaro Jiménez Millan- Millan is the Coordinator of the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines. His professional background encompasses armed conflict, public administration and the construction of social policy. Language: Spanish
ASIA-PACIFIC
Sulaiman Aminy - Before he co-founded the Afghan Landmine Survivors Association, Aminy worked for Handicap International and the International Rescue Committee. He has actively campaigned for survivor assistance throughout Afghanistan. Languages: English, Dari
Purna Shova Chitrakar - Chitrakar has coordinated NGO efforts to ban mines in Nepal since 1995, and in this capacity has extensively engaged with her government, including to ensure non-use of landmines would be included in peace agreements with armed opposition groups. Languages: English, Nepali
Prasanna Rajiv Kuruppu - A Sri Lankan landmine survivor, Kuruppu has led efforts to establish rights and social services for combat casualties and persons with disabilities in the wake of civil war in Sri Lanka. He was the first individual award recipient of the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation Prize for Survivorship, awarded to a survivor who has contributed to reconstruction and reconciliation. Language: English
EUROPE, CAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
Ramiz Becirovic - Advocacy Coordinator for Landmine Survivors Initiatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Becirovic has extensive knowledge of the challenges faced by landmine survivors and other people with disabilities in South-Eastern Europe. Languages: Bosnian, English
Jonuz Kola - Kola is the Executive Director of the Albanian organization ALB-AID, which provides mine-risk education in affected communities and supports the socio-economic reintegration of mine victims through vocational training and economical opportunities such as animal husbandry. Languages: Albanian, English
Umarbek Pulodov - Pulodov studies English in Dushanbe. He survived a cluster munition blast when he was six years old and joined Handicap International's Ban Advocates team in 2007, where he contributed to the successful campaign for a ban on cluster munitions. Languages: Russian, Tajik, English
MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Moaffak Al-Khafaji - A mine survivor himself, Al-Khafaji is the head of the Iraqi Handicapped Society and has engaged extensively with the Iraqi government to promote adhesion to the Mine Ban Treaty and enhanced support for the rights of mine survivors and other persons with disabilities. Language: Arabic
Ayman Sorour - Sorour is the director of Protection, the only non-governmental organization working directly on the problem of mines and explosive remnants of war in Egypt. He has extensive knowledge of the landmine situation in North Africa and the Middle-East. Languages: Arabic, English, French
BANNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS
Branislav Kapetanovic - Kapetanovic is a clearance expert and spokesperson for the Cluster Munition Coalition. He was injured by a cluster sub-munition during a clearance operation in Serbia. Language: Serbian
Richard Moyes - Moyes is Director of Policy and Research at the British NGO Landmine Action, and is one of the Co-Chairs of the Cluster Munition Coalition. Prior to that he has managed programs for Mines Advisory Group and has conducted research on risk-taking behavior in communities affected by landmines and cluster munitions. Language: English
Thomas Nash - Nash is the Coordinator of the Cluster Munition Coalition, the umbrella group for more than 300 civil society organizations that successfully campaigned to bring about the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Languages: English, French, Spanish
YOUTH CAMPAIGNERS
Alongside the official Cartagena Summit, 36 aspiring young social justice leaders will be participating in a parallel international Youth Leaders Forum, organized by Mines Action Canada. The goal of the Forum is to build the skills and knowledge of young civil society advocates for achieving universalization and effective implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions. The Youth Leaders represent 25 countries, with 75% of participants coming from mine-affected areas. Youth Leaders are available for interviews upon request in 18 languages including Arabic, Azerbaijani, English, Farsi, Filipino, French, Georgian, Italian, Khmer, Nepali, Portuguese, Rundi, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Tajik, Urdu and Wolspeak.
