Printed from: www.icbl.org/Treaty/MBT/Annual-Meetings/9MSP/Media/presskit/interview_opps
The Ninth Meeting of the States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 24-28 November 2008. The meeting represents an opportunity for governments and non-governmental organizations to continue evaluating progress made in the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty, signed in Ottawa in December 1997, and the Nairobi Action Plan 2005-2009, an ambitious 70-step commitment plan adopted by States Parties at the conclusion of the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World – the Mine Ban Treaty’s first review conference – in 2004.
Over 140 people from civil societies around the world will converge in Geneva, representing the many faces of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, to ensure governments remain vigilant in fulfilling their obligations for the full universalization and implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty including clearance of mined areas by deadlines; the full rehabilitation and reintegration of landmine survivors back into their communities; and that this work remains priority for all States Parties.
They come from some 50 countries and all have interesting personal stories, perspectives and a variety of expert knowledge on the landmine issue. Representatives can provide interviews on the status of countries in all geographical regions; thematic areas related to the Mine Ban Treaty; and stories of survival.
Interviews can be arranged in various languages: English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Khmer, Thai and more. Below is a small sample of some of the spokespeople available for interviews.
To request an interview please contact the ICBL media office on +41 (0)22 917 67 04 / +41 (0)78 606 94 22, or write to media@icbl.org
Interviewable campaigners, mine action experts and landmine survivors are listed here under the following thematic categories or geographic regions:
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in another area or theme not listed on this sheet, as we have a wide range of experts available at the MSP and in the field during this week.
ICBL AMBASSADORS AND REPRESENTATIVES
Margaret Arach Orech - A landmine survivor from Uganda, Orech works on victim assistance programmes in Uganda and was appointed ICBL ambassador in 2006. Language: English
Simona Beltrami - Beltrami joined the ICBL as Advocacy Director in 2006. She was previously the Coordinator of the Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines. Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
Sylvie Brigot - Brigot is the Executive Director of the ICBL. She was previously the Advocacy Director and has worked on the landmines issue since 1994. Languages: English, French
Tamar Gabelnick – Before joining the ICBL as Treaty Implementation Director in 2005, Gabelnick has worked on U.S. and international conventional arms control as an independent researcher from 2003-2005 and as Director of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists from 1998-2003. Languages: English, French
Stephen Goose - Serving as the Editor-in-chief of the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor report from 1999-2004 and the Executive Director of the Arms division at Human Rights Watch, Goose is the official Head of the ICBL delegation. Goose also sits on the Editorial Board of the Landmine Monitor. 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 in 1997 launched the Youth Against War Campaign. Kosal is currently ICBL Ambassador. Languages:English, Khmer
LANDMINE MONITOR
Paul Hannon - Hannon is the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada (MAC), a coalition representing the Canadian arm of the ICBL. MAC is the new lead agency responsible for the coordination of the Landmine Monitor Initiative and Hannon leads this team. Languages: English, French
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, Firoz Ali Alizada is now working for the ICBL as Treaty Implementation Officer. Languages: English, Dari
Sr. Denise Coghlan - Sr. 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. Sr. Coghlan has over 20 years of experience working with landmine survivors in Cambodia through her work at the Jesuit Service of Cambodia. Sr. Coghlan has also provided leadership to the ICBL through her long service on its former management body, the ICBL Coordination Committee, and currently on the ICBL’s Advisory Board. Language: English, Khmer
Soraj Ghulam Habib – Habib, 17, was ten years old when he lost both legs to a cluster munition. Since then he actively took part in the civil society efforts to ban cluster munitions, and participated in the series of diplomatic meetings that culminated in Dublin with the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions in May 2008. Languages: English, Dari.
Katleen Maes - Maes works with Handicap International and coordinates Landmine Monitor’s research on victim assistance. Languages: English, French, German, Dutch
Jesús Martinez - Martinez has been the director of Landmine Survivors Network-El Salvador since 2000. Martinez was 17 and living through El Salvador’s civil war in 1989 when he had a landmine accident. He has spoken out around the world for the rights of disabled people and testified before the U.S. Congress on the need for Victim Assistance in post-conflict countries. Language: Spanish
MINE CLEARANCE
Mohammed Shohab Hakimi - Mohammed Shohab Hakimi has directed the Mine Dog Centre (MDC) in Afghanistan since its establishment in 1989. The MDC has grown from a dozen mine dog handlers and deminers into a major programme with 1,100 personnel and 250 mine dogs. Hakimi has participated in a number of international conferences on the mine issue and assisted in the establishment of a demining project in Yemen. Languages: English, Pashtun
Stuart Casey-Maslen – Casey-Maslen works with Norweigan People’s Aid, he is the Landmine Monitor Final Editor and coordinates Landmine Monitor’s research on mine action. Languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish
MINE RISK EDUCATION
Stan Brabant - Brabant serves as Head of the Policy Unit for Handicap International Belgium, and also sits on the Editorial Board of the Landmine Monitor. 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. Language: English
Elisabeth Reusse-Decrey - Reusse-Decrey 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 Ottawa Convention. Languages: English, French
MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA
Ayman Sorour - Sorour is the director of Protection, the only NGO working directly on the mines and UXO problem in Egypt. Sorour is the Landmine Monitor researcher for Egypt, and other countries of the Middle East. Languages: Arabic, English, French
AFRICA
Robert Mtonga – Since he founded the Zambia Campaign to Ban Landmines in 1996, Mtonga has extensively engaged with governments throughout Africa. He is the Landmine Monitor researcher for Zambia. Language: English
Boubine Touré – Touré is a lawyer and, as an ICBL member, 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
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. He is also an experienced public speaker. Language: Spanish
Jesús Martinez - Martinez has been the director of Survivor Corps-El Salvador since 2000. Jesús Martinez was 17 and living through El Salvador’s civil war in 1989 when he had a landmine accident. He has spoken out around the world for the rights of disabled people and testified before the U.S. Congress on the need for Victim Assistance in post-conflict countries. Language: Spanish
Fransiney Chaux Grisalez - Grisalez coordinates the Colombian Campaign to Ban Landmines in the department of Caqueta. A landmine survivor himself, he educates landmine survivors about their rights, help them apply for government assistance, and conducts mine risk education workshops. 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. At the 9MSP, he is accompanying cluster munition survivor Soraj Ghulam Habib. Languages: English, Dari.
Purna Shova Chitrakar - Chitrakar has coordinated NGO efforts to ban mines in Nepal since 1995. Additionally, she is the Landmines Monitor country researcher for Nepal and her advocacy work has most recently been focused on ensuring non-use of landmines in peace agreements between the government of Nepal and armed opposition groups. Languages: English, Nepali
Prasanna Rajiv Kuruppu - Kuruppu is a Sri Lankan war-injured landmine survivor and was the primary researcher for the Sri Lanka report in Landmine Monitor 2006. Prasanna has led efforts to establish rights and social services for combat casualties and the disabled in the wake of civil war in Sri Lanka. He was the first individual award recipient of the Landmine Survivors Network’s Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation Prize for Survivorship, awarded to a survivor who has contributed to reconstruction and reconciliation. Language: English