As of 6 February 2008, the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition had received more than 150 civil society registrations from 38 countries for the Wellington Conference  on Cluster Munitions. Representatives from more than 98 governments had registered with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A list of biographies of civil society participants follows. This is also available as a PDF file on the Downloads webpages.

Biographies of Civil Society Participants to the Wellington Conference

The following listing provides biographies on some of the 150 civil society participants to the Conference, who are coming in a range of capacities as:
1. CMC Principal Spokespeople
2. Advance Outreach Team (11-16 February)
3. Distinguished Guests
4. Cluster Munition Survivors
5. Demining Experts
6. CMC Steering Committee Members
7. Civil Society Advocates
8. Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition Representatives

All participants speak English unless noted and other languages are listed below. To schedule a media interview, school visit, or public talk please contact Jamila Homayun at +64 (4) 496-9631 or email jamila[AT]oxfam.org.nz

1. Principal CMC Media Spokespersons

The global Cluster Munition Coalition is coordinated by Thomas Nash and has three co-chairs: Simon Conway (Landmine Action), Steve Goose (Human Rights Watch), and Grethe Østern (Norwegian People’s Aid). Mary Wareham (Oxfam NZ) coordinates the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition.

Mr. Simon Conway, Landmine Action (United Kingdom)
Since 2005, Simon Conway has served as director of the London-based Landmine Action, a British non-governmental research and advocacy organisation. He worked for British demining agency the HALO Trust between 1998 and 2004 managing field programmes in Abkhazia, Cambodia, Eritrea, Kosovo, and Sri Lanka. Conway is a former officer in a Scottish regiment of the British Army (the Queen’s Own Highlanders). Landmine Action is a founding member of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Conway serves on the CMC’s leadership Steering Committee. Born 1967 in Sacremento (California), USA. Available: 18-24 February. Conway is joined in Wellington by Landmine Action’s policy and research manager Mr. Richard Moyes, policy and research officer Ms. Portia Stratton, and board member Ms. Kate Moore, MBE.

Mr. Stephen D. Goose, Human Rights Watch (United States)
Steve Goose is executive director of the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch (HRW). One of civil society’s most talented disarmament strategists, Goose has played critical roles in pushing forward the boundaries of international humanitarian law to secure the 1997 treaty banning antipersonnel mines, the 1995 protocol banning blinding laser weapons, and the 2003 protocol on explosive remnants of war. Goose is the intellectual architect behind the creation of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines’ (ICBL) unprecedented civil society monitoring initiative serving as chief editor (1998-2004) of the annual 1,000-page Landmine Monitor report. Human Rights Watch is a founding member of both the ICBL and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Goose serves on the leadership bodies of both the ICBL and CMC. Goose is frequently quoted in international and U.S. media and has testified before the U.S. Congress and foreign legislatures on many occasions. He has contributed to more than a dozen books and periodicals including the February 2008 edition of Arms Control Today. He is co-editor of the book Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy, and Human Security (forthcoming) together with Jody Williams and Mary Wareham.
Born 1954 in Lexington (Kentucky), USA. Available: 16-24 February.

Goose is accompanied by two researchers from the Arms Division at Human Rights Watch: Ms. Bonnie Docherty and Mr. Mark Hiznay. Since authoring HRW’s first full field-based 2002 report on cluster munitions use by the United States in Afghanistan, Bonnie Docherty has gone on to publish extensive field research on cluster munitions, the conduct of war and civilian casualties in Lebanon and Israel (2006), Gaza (2006), and Iraq (2003). She is also a lecturer and clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program. Mark Hiznay has worked as a senior HRW researcher since January 2000, building an unparalleled expertise and knowledge base on all aspects of the landmines and cluster munitions. Hiznay previously served as an enlisted infantryman in the U.S. Army.

Mr. Thomas Nash, Global Cluster Munition Coalition
London-based Thomas Nash worked for Landmine Action UK since 2002. He has served as the coordinator of the international Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) since its establishment in November 2003. Nash has written several reports and articles on cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war including Landmine Action’s Lebanon field investigation Foreseeable Harm (October 2006). Nash previously worked for the New Zealand Mission to the United Nations in Geneva and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa. Born 1979 in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Languages: French, Spanish. Available: 9-25 February. Nash is accompanied by CMC Campaign Officer Ms. Laura Cheeseman and CMC operations officer Ms. Serena Olgiati.

Ms. Grethe Østern, Norwegian People’s Aid
Grethe Østern is a cluster munitions policy advisor at Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), one of the largest humanitarian demining organizations in the world. She played a critical role in influencing Norway’s decision to launch a process in February 2007 to negotiate a new treaty on cluster munitions. On behalf of NPA, Østern has authored several important publications into cluster munitions including the “Yellow Killers” case study on cluster munitions in Serbia and Montenegro and another study on the M-85 cluster munition dropped by Israel in the millions on Lebanon in 2006. Norwegian People’s Aid is a founding member of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Østern serves on the CMC’s leadership Steering Committee. Born 1970 in Horten, Norway. Languages: Norwegian. Available: 16-28 February.

Ms. Mary Wareham, Oxfam New Zealand
Mary Wareham is advocacy director of Oxfam New Zealand. Between 1998 and June 2006, she was senior advocate in the Washington, DC-based Arms Division of Human Rights Watch, coordinating the highly acclaimed Landmine Monitor research initiative by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). In 1996 and 1997, Wareham worked for the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation in Washington DC, helping to spearhead the movement that secured the international treaty prohibiting antipersonnel mines. In 2004, Wareham established a US-based non-profit organization, Next Step Productions, to produce a feature-length documentary film on landmines entitled Disarm. She is co-editor of the book Banning Landmines: Disarmament, Citizen Diplomacy, and Human Security (forthcoming) together with Jody Williams and Steve Goose. Born 1970 in Wellington, New Zealand. Wareham is responsible for Oxfam New Zealand coordination of the Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition and several Oxfam NZ staff are working on the Wellington Conference including advocacy coordinators Jamila Homayun and Trien Steverlynck and communications coordinator Chloe Powell.

2. Advance Outreach Team

Rodsted and Eliseussen are available for school visits and other public outreach from 11-16 February (the week prior to the official conference).

Mr. John Rodsted, Australia
Photographer John Rodsted has documented the humanitarian impacts of landmines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance in some of the most war torn regions on earth. In 2006, he spent weeks in southern Lebanon documenting the civilian impact of impacts of cluster munition strikes by Israel. Rodsted’s work has been widely exhibited in prestigious venues including the Royal Geographical Society (London), Smithsonian Institute (Washington, DC), Sydney Opera House, and the United Nations (Bangkok, Geneva, Nairobi, New York). As the official photographer of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), Rodsted documented the Ottawa Process leading to the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and subsequent Nobel Peace Prize. Born 1961 in Melbourne, Australian. Available: 10-24 February. Speaking at Film Screening, 21 Feb 08.

Ms. Mette Sofie Eliseussen, Norway
Mette Sofie Eliseussen is a Norwegian campaigning for her government to establish a treaty in 2008 to ban cluster munitions. She has extensive experience working in development and conflict situations including Afghanistan where Eliseussen established Save the Children USA’s Kabul office in 1995. She was responsible for the safety and security of the development agency’s 60 staff when the city became the scene of major fighting between the Northern Alliance and Taliban forces. During this difficult time, she designed and implemented several landmine awareness projects for Kabul’s youth including the establishment of 18 mine-free playgrounds throughout the city. Eliseussen also helped establish the Afghan Campaign to Ban Landmines to ensure that Afghan civil society had a strong voice in the global movement to establish the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. As part of this campaign, she collected and delivered thousands of postcards from Afghan children calling for a total ban on landmines. Eliseussen has worked for social service groups in her native Norway providing therapy, trainings and leading wilderness awareness programs. She is also a skilled journalist with experience working for Norwegian media and publishing houses. Born 1965 in Oslo, Norway. Languages: Farsi, German, Spanish, Norwegian. Available 10 February-1 March.

3. Distinguished Guests

Several distinguished guests are expected at the Wellington Conference including a Nobel Peace laureate, an ICBL Ambassador, and a representative of the Diana, Princess of Wales Fund.

Ms. Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Laureate (United States)
Speaking in Wellington (19 Feb) and Auckland (21 Feb)
In 1997, Jody Williams became the tenth woman in its almost 100-year history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She was honored for her role as the founding coordinator (1991-1998) of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), also a recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize. Williams oversaw the growth of the ICBL from two NGOs in 1991 to a global network comprised of 1,300 organizations in 95 countries working to eliminate antipersonnel landmines. Williams served as a chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign in the crucial “Ottawa Process” period that saw an unprecedented cooperative effort by governments, UN bodies, and the International Committee of the Red Cross result in the achievement of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Williams now serves as an ICBL ambassador, speaking out against landmines and cluster munitions.

In January 2006, Williams established the Nobel Women’s Initiative together with five of her sister Nobel Peace laureates Shirin Ebadi of Iran, Wangari Maathai of Kenya, Rigoberta Menchú Tum of Guatemala, and Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire of Ireland. The Nobel Women’s Initiative is committed to working for a democratic world free of physical, economic, cultural, political, religious, sexual and environmental violence and the constant threat of these forms of violence against women – indeed against all of humanity. In early 2007, Williams led a High Level Mission on Darfur, authoring a hard-hitting report to the UN’s Human Rights Council calling for an end to the war in Darfur. She is an eloquent and inspirational speaker who has received fifteen honorary degrees. In 2004, Williams was named by Forbes magazine as one of the 100 most powerful women in the world. Born 1950 in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. Languages: Spanish.

Ms. Margaret Arach Orech, Uganda
Margaret Arach Orech is an ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). In December 1998, she survived an attack by the rebel movement Lord’s Resistance Army in northern Uganda when the bus she was traveling in hit an antivehicle mine. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, Orech was robbed and only just managed to crawl away from the bus before the fuel tank exploded. She had her leg amputated as a result of the incident. Since 2000 has lobbied tirelessly for greater assistance to landmine survivors and persons with disabilities speaking in 15 countries in five continents at over 100 official events. Orech is directs the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association, is a commissioner for the Interfaith Action for Peace in Africa coalition, a board member of Uganda’s National Council for Disability, and a partner in the Uganda Mine Action Center. A single mother with five children. Orech was born 1956 in Apach, Uganda. Available 17-23 February.

Ms. Samantha Rennie, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund
Samantha Rennie is head of the Partnership Initiative of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. The Fund was set up in the aftermath of the Princess’s death to carry on her humanitarian work to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people in the UK and around the world. Rennie is responsible for the Fund’s strategies in key programme areas, including ERW and the current focus on cluster munitions. Previously, she was director of Handicap International UK. Rennie has a background in community and organisational development, and she has led a range of civil society partnership initiatives including Fair Share (from 1999), Countryside Communities (from 2001) and the Rural Community Development Commission (2004). Languages: French. Available 17-25 February.

4. Survivors of Cluster Munitions

Mr. Branislav Kapetanovic, Serbia
Branislav Kapetanovic joined the Yugoslav Army when he was 27 years old and worked as a deminer. On 9 November 2000, he was accompanying a group of engineers at the Dubinje airport in Sjenica in southwest Serbia when he found six or seven BLU 97 cluster submunitions hidden in the bush. A bomblet exploded as Kapetanovic was starting the clearance task causing him to lose all four limbs and receive extensive damage to his hearing and sight. Kapetanovic spent four years at the Military Academy Hospital in Belgrade undergoing more than 20 operations. He lives in an apartment in Novi Beograd and became involved in the Cluster Munition Coalition in early 2006, participating in all meetings of the Oslo Process. Born 1965 in Serbia. Kapetanovic is accompanied by his interpreter Ms. Jelena Vicentic from Norwegian People’s Aid in Belgrade, Serbia.

Handicap International Ban Advocates

In 2007, Handicap International created its Ban Advocates team of cluster munition survivors. Survivors from Afghanistan, Iraq, Serbia, and Tajikistan to the Wellington Conference. Ms. Patrizia Pompili coordinates Handicap International’s Ban Advocates programme, which has a blog website: http://blog.banadvocates.org/

Mr. Soraj Ghulam Habib, Afghanistan
In 2002, after the United States aerial bombing campaign in Afghanistan, ten-year-old Soraj Ghulam Habib went for a picnic with his family at a public park near his home. On the way back he saw a yellow can that looked like it might contain food. When he tried to open it, the device exploded killing his cousin and injuring four other members of his family. The BLU-97 cluster submunition also destroyed both Habib’s legs and his finger. Doctors at the local hospital first refused to treat Habib and advised he receive a lethal injection as he’d be “better off dead.“ Now aged 16 years, Habib attends school in Herat. Habib speaks only Dari and is accompanied by his interpreter Mr. Suliman Safdar, who works for the International Rescue Committee in Kabul. Both Habib and Safdar are available 14-23 February.

Mr. Ahmed Najem, Iraq
In 1991, Ahmed Najem was walking around a village near in Basra in Iraq when he came across an unidentified object on the road that looked like a tin can. When he picked it up, a cluster submunition exploded in his hand. Doctors amputated his arm from above the elbow, but with the help of family and friends Najem was able to reintegrate in the socio-economic life of his community by opening his own restaurant. Married with five children, Najem works for the Iraqi Handicapped Society in Baghdad. Born 1959 in Baghdad, Iraq. Najem speaks Arabic only and will be accompanied by an interpreter. Available 14-23 February.

Mr. Dejan Dikic, Serbia
During the 1999 NATO air campaign, Dejan Dikic experienced a cluster munition strike while at home with his 8-year-old son in Nis, Serbia. A cluster bomblet exploded approximately 50 meters away, injuring Dikic’s knee and shrapnel from the explosion destroyed the facade of his house. Dikic is now a software engineer teaching business related technologies at a secondary school. Born 1966 in Nis, Serbia. Available 14-23 February. Dikic is accompanied by his interpreter Ms. Svetlana Bogdanovic from the Belgrade office of Norwegian People’s Aid.

Mr. Slađan Vučković, Serbia
After graduating from secondary school in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slađan Vučković joined the Yugoslav army, becoming a deminer. On 25 April 1999, he was injured by a BLU-97 cluster submunition while clearing the slopes of Kopaonik National Park. This was the 107th bomblet he had cleared that day and it exploded as he approached it (most likely from vibration of his footsteps). Vučković lost both his arms, injured his leg and chest, and damaged his hearing. He is accompanied by his wife Dusica, who has helped him recuperate since the incident. They live together in Nis with their two children aged 9 and 5. Born 1966 in Former Yugoslavia. Available 14-23 February.

Mr. Umarbek Pulodov, Tajikistan
When Umarbek Pulodov was six years old when he was injured in a cluster bomb strike during the 1991 Tajik civil war. His brother, an uncle, and another relative were killed in the strike which injured his sister and two brothers. Pulodov injured in his hand and he lost an eye in the bombing and spent the next year in hospital. After returning home, he found people in his village were collecting unexploded submunitions that remained near their houses and gardens and throwing them into the river so that children couldn’t play with them. Pulodov is currently studying English in Dushanbe. Born 1986 in Shul village (Rasht), Tajikistan.

5. Cluster Munition Clearance Experts

Several global experts in the clearance of unexploded ordnance including landmines and cluster munitions are participating in the Wellington Conference.

Paula Claycomb, UNICEF
Paula Claycomb is a senior adviser on landmines and small arms in UNICEF’s Child Protection Section. Paula joined UNICEF in 1989 and worked for five years in New York in the private sector fundraising area. In 1994, during the height of the genocide in Rwanda, Paula served with the Rwanda Emergency Office, in Nairobi, Kigali and Goma, Zaire. Paula then spent four years in Mozambique. This was followed by postings in Islamabad, Brasilia, Dushanbe, and Khartoum. Paula has a Master’s degree in public health policy from New York University and a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Colorado.  Prior to joining UNICEF, she worked for the US Fund for UNICEF and for Amnesty International USA.

Maj. John Flanagan (retd.), United Nations (New York)
John Flanagan has served as the deputy director of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) since August 2003. He is responsible for the oversight of UN mine action programmes in countries including Afghanistan, Eritrea/Ethiopia, Lebanon, Nepal, and Sudan. From 1983-2003, Flanagan served with the New Zealand Army, primarily as an officer in the Royal New Zealand Engineers, where he was seconded to various UN mine action operations in Cambodia (1992-93), UN Headquarters (1997-99), and Kosovo (1999-2001) where he managed the clearance of mines and cluster munitions.

Mr. Colin King, United Kingdom
Colin King served 14 years in the British Army, mostly in bomb disposal, with operational service including the Falkland Islands, the Persian Gulf, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. He led the first British army team to train Afghan volunteers in mine clearance and bomb disposal and before becoming an instructor at the British bomb disposal school was second-in command of the army counter-terrorist search squadron. He worked as a foreign weapons intelligence analyst for the Ministry of Defence before commanding a squadron of Gurkhas in Hong Kong. King now runs a consultancy company that undertakes bomb disposal assessments and war zone training, most recently for the British and US governments in Iraq, Lebanon and Kosovo. As an editor for Jane’s information group, King is responsible for writing a definitive reference yearbook on mine clearance and bomb disposal. Born 1962 in London, UK.

Mr. Rae McGrath, United Kingdom
Rae McGrath is the Handicap International network’s international spokesperson on cluster munitions. McGrath has specialised in conflict, post-conflict, emergency humanitarian response, and civil society advocacy since leaving the British Army in 1985, where he spent nearly eighteen years as a military engineer. In 1988, McGrath established the first community-based humanitarian mine clearance programmes in Afghanistan and went on to establish British demining agency the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) and to co-found the Afghan NGO Mines Clearance Planning Agency. McGrath is the author of a number of key publications and reports on landmines and cluster munitions. A long-time campaigner against landmines, he provided the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on behalf of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). He is a visiting lecturer at York University’s Post Conflict & Rehabilitation Unit. From 2004 to 2006 he worked in Aceh on tsunami recovery and post-conflict projects and launched the first responses to the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake in Java.

Dr. Mohammad Haider Reza, United Nations (Afghanistan)
Dr. Haider Reza directs the UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan, a position he assumed in July 2007. He was previously directly involved in mine action as Afghanistan’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, when he chaired the government’s Mine Action Consultative Group. Reza has also served as the president and secretary-general of the Afghan Red Crescent Society, as well as a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq and the former Yugoslavia. Born 1950 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reza is accompanied by Mr. Cris Stephens, programme officer for the UN Mine Action Service in Afghanistan since October 2001 and formerly of the New Zealand Army (1989-1997).

6. CMC Steering Committee Members

The Steering Committee of the global Cluster Munition Coalition is a voluntary committee comprised of twelve non-governmental organisations (NGOs) based in countries that use, produce and/or are affected by cluster munitions is responsible for coordination of the Cluster Munition Coalition: DanChurchAid, Handicap International, Human Rights Watch, International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), IPPNW Russia, Landmine Action UK, Landmine Resource Centre Lebanon, Landmine Survivor’s Network, Mines Action Canada, Norwegian People’s Aid, Pax Christi, and Protection (Egypt).

Mr. Sam Christensen, DanChurchAid (Denmark)
Sam Christensen is the head of Humanitarian and Mine Action Operation and Planning at DanChurchAid. Born in Hoersholm, Denmark. He is joined by Ms. Eva Veble, head of DCA’s Mine Action Unit. Available 16-24 February.

Mr. Stan Brabant, Handicap International Belgium
Stan Brabant heads the policy unit at Handicap International (HI) Belgium, where he has worked since 1994 including on mine clearance and mine risk education programs in countries including Afghanistan and Cambodia. Handicap International is a founding member of both the ICBL and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Brabant serves on the leadership bodies of both CMC and ICBL including its Landmine Monitor Editorial Board. Brabant was instrumental in securing Belgium’s domestic cluster munition ban through Belgium’s House of Representatives in February 2006, the first legislation of its kind in the world. Brabant has overseen the publication of several important HI reports on the human impact of cluster munitions including “Fatal Footprint” (Nov. 2006) and “Circle of Impact” (May 2007). Languages: Dutch, French.

Ms. Sylvie Brigot, International Campaign to Ban Landmines
Sylvie Brigot is the executive director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). She began working on antipersonnel mines in 1994 while studying political science at Sorbonne University in Paris. Brigot then worked for six years with the French NGO Handicap International, a founding member of the ICBL, helping gather French public, parliamentary, and government support for the landmine ban and coordinating the ICBL’s European and Francophone work. In 2001, Brigot joined the ICBL as the government relations officer and went on to become advocacy director in 2005, and executive director in 2006. Born in Paris, France. Brigot is accompanied by the ICBL’s Treaty Implementation Director Ms. Tamar Gabelnick, Campaign Office Ms. Kasia Derlicka, and Humanitarian Affairs Adviser Ms. Susan B. Walker.

Mr. Roman Dolgov, IPPNW Russia
Roman Dolgov is the program coordinator for the Russian branch of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). On behalf of IPPNW, 1985 Nobel Peace Laureate, Dolgov organized the first major conference on landmines in Russia in Moscow in May 1998 and has since been active in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) providing Landmine Monitor research updates for Russia and Central Asian countries. Languages: Russian.

Ms. Habbouba Aoun, Landmine Resource Centre (Lebanon)
Habbouba Aoun has coordinated the Landmines Resource Centre in Beirut since 1997. She has been involved with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) since 1998, providing research on Lebanon’s mine problem for the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor report. Aoun has worked extensively on mine risk education and victim assistance, including on the emergency interventions in the aftermath of the 2006 conflict in Lebanon. She is a member of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Balamand in Beirut. Born 1971 in Beiteddine, Lebanon. Languages: Arabic, French.

Dr. Ken Rutherford, Landmine Survivors Network
Ken Rutherford is an associate political science professor at Missouri State University. On 16 December 1993, while working with the International Rescue Committee, Rutherford lost both his legs when his vehicle hit a landmine in southwestern Somalia. Since the incident Rutherford has promoted the landmine ban and raised awareness of the need of mine survivors establishing Landmine Survivors Network in 1997. Rutherford has testified before the U.S. Congress and published articles on the landmine issue in numerous academic and policy journals. Born California, USA. Rutherford is accompanied by Ms. Tracey Begley, a campaign officer based in LSN’s Washington DC office.

Mr. Paul Hannon, Mines Action Canada
Paul Hannon the executive director of Mines Action Canada (MAC), the Canadian wing of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). Mines Action Canada is a member of the ICBL and the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Hannon serves on the leadership bodies of both organizations. In 2005, Mines Action Canada took over lead responsibility for the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor civil society verification initiative. Hannon has 15 years of collective experience in the Canadian development sector working for organisations including AlterNET Communications, the International Development Research Centre, and Oxfam Canada. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. Born 1950 in Guelph (Ontario), Canada. Available: 16 February-6 March. Hannon is joined by MAC’s Ms. Jackie Hansen, global coordinator of the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor initiative.

Mr. Ayman Sorour, Protection (Egypt)
Ayman Sorour is the founder and executive director of Protection Against Armaments and Consequences, the only non-governmental organization working directly on Egypt’s sixty-year-old mine and unexploded ordnance problem. Sorour has been involved with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) since 1999, providing research on Egypt and other countries in the Middle East and North Africa for the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor report. Protection is a founding member of the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) and Sorour represents Protection on the leadership bodies of both the ICBL and CMC. Born 1970 in Cairo, Egypt. Languages: Arabic, French.

7. Civil Society Advocates

Civil society representatives are coming to the Wellington Conference from 38 countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, DR Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Japan, Lebanon, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Russia, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Ms. Maria Pia Devoto, Argentina
Ms. Maria Pia Devoto is director of the Asociacion para politicas publicas (the Association of Public Policies), which works on human security, arms control, and community development Devoto is promoting the Oslo Process with parliamentarians, government officers and civil society in Argentina and Uruguay. Born 1970 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Languages: Spanish. Available 17-25 February.

Mr. Archie Law, Australia
Archie Law is the deputy chief executive officer of Sydney-based development agency Austcare. He is a post-conflict specialist with extensive experience working for the United Nations including in Iraq (2002-2003), Mines Advisory Group in Cambodia (1998-2002), and World Vision Australia’s Emergency Relief Unit (1995-1998). He is accompanied by Austcare’s mine action officer James Turton.

Mr. Mark Zirnsak, Australia
Mark Zirnzak is coordinator of the Australian Network to Ban Landmines. Born 1969 in Melbourne, Australia. Zirnsak is accompanied by Ms. Kerryn Clarke, secretary of the Australian Network to Ban Landmines.

Ms. Judith Majlath, Austria
Judith Majlath directs NGO Austrian Aid for Mine Victims (AAMV) and is the Austrian representative for the ICBL and CMC. In December 2007, Majlath organized civil society support to the Vienna Conference on Cluster Munitions that 138 governments attended. AAMV/CMC Austria was instrumental in securing and strengthening Austria’s strong national legislation banning cluster munitions. Born in Hungary, Majlath fled to Austria in 1956. Languages: German, Hungarian, and Italian. Available 16-24 February.

Ms. Nadira Mallik, Bangladesh
Nadira Mallik has over 30 years of experience with various national and international NGOs working in Bangladesh. Her background is in human development, human rights and democracy, and NGO programming especially with respect to women’s development. For the past five years, Mallik has worked on small arms issues as a member the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) and IANSA’s Women Network. Born 1954 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Languages: Bangali, Hindi. Available 17-24 February.

Mr. Cristian Wittmann, Brazil
Cristian Wittmann is an international environmental lawyer, who has coordinated the Brazilian Campaign Against Landmines (BCAL) work against cluster munitions since 2007. Since joining the campaign in 2004, Wittman has represented the organisation at international conferences in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna and elsewhere. Born 1983 in Ijuí, Brasil. Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French. Available 16-24 February.

Mr. Ny Nhar, Cambodia
Ny Nhar works with the Jesuit Services in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He researches landmine-related issues including for the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor report. Ny began working with the Jesuit Services as a teacher at a vocational training school for people with disablities and he is an advocate advocates for poverty alleviation, mine victim assistance and disability rights. Languages: Khmer. Born 1972 in Cambodia. Ny is joined by Jesuit Service Cambodia director Sister Denise Coghlan, an Australian nun who was instrumental in helping secure the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. Both are available 16-23 February.

Ms. Pamela Velasquez, Chile
Pamela Velasquez works for the Instituto de Ecologia Politica, an NGO that is the Chilean country contact point for the Cluster Munition Coalition. Born 1970 in Santiago, Chile. Languages: Spanish. Available: 17-23 February.

Mr. Par-Dieu Mayenikini, DR Congo
Par-Dieu Mayenikini coordinates the ICBL’s Democratic Republic of the Congo campaign (Campaign Congolaise pour interdire les mines, CCIM) which is based out Congolese human rights NGO Agence de Diffusion du Droit Hummanitaire International. Born 1971 in Kinshasa, DR Congo. Languages: French. Available: 16-24 February.

Mr. Ambachew Negus, Ethiopia
Ambachew Negus has coordinated mine action for the Rehabilitation and Development Organization in Ethiopia (RaDO), a humanitarian NGO that provides physical and social rehabilitation services, since 1999. He provides mine risk education training to communities in Ethiopia’s mine-affected regions, as well as for Sudanese refugees in five refugee camps in Gambella, Ethiopia. He is also coordinating a sexual reproductive health project in Afar, Ethiopia, and studying for a master’s degree in rural development at Indra Ghandi National Open University. Born 1963 in Tigray, Mekelle, Ethiopia. Languages: Amharic, Tigrigna. Available: 16-24 February.

Ms. Ema Tagicakibau, Fiji
Ema Tagicakibau is assistant director of Suva-based Pacific Concerns Resource Centre (PCRC), working on human security issues including small arms trade and nuclear disarmament. Tagicakibau worked for the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement before she was elected Member of Parliament in 1999. During the 2000 coup, Tagicakibau and four other women MPs were held hostage; she was subsequently freed to attend a relative’s funeral. Born 1958 in Taveuni, Fiji. Available 17-22 February.

Ms. Marion Libertucci, France
Marion Libertucci is Handicap International (France)’s advocacy project officer. Born 1978 in Saint Germain en Laye, France. She is joined by HI’s victim assistance project officer Wanda Berenice Munoz Jaike. Both are available 17-25 February.

Ms. Theodora Williams, Ghana
Theodora Williams is a research officer for the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa, a human security NGO focused on West Africa. Previously, Williams worked as an accounts manager for the Credit Reference Bureau in Accra. She obtained her bachelors degree in French and Psychology from the University of Ghana. Born 1980 in Odumase, Ghana. Languages: French, Krobo, Ga, Twi. Available 16-23 February.

Dr. Maria Eugenia Villarreal, Guatemala
Maria Eugenia Villarreal directs the Guatemala branch of the ECPAT(End Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation). She has been a member of the ICBL since 1999 providing the Landmine Monitor research updates on Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Villarreal has a doctorate in sociology. Born in Mexico City. Languages: French and Spanish. Available 17-23 February.

Mr. Balkrishna Kurvey, India
Balkrishna Kurvey has been campaign for the antipersonnel mine ban since June 1995, including organizing public exhibitions, seminars and trainings. He provides Landmine Monitor research updates on India.

Ms. Binalakshmi Nepram, India
Bina Nepram is Oxfam International’s policy advisor on small arms and light weapons in India. She is a founding member of Control Arms Foundation of India, which is a member of the International Action Network Against Small Arms (IANSA). Nepram is the author of a 2002 report “South Asia’s Fractured Frontier” and has written extensively on conflict and small arms proliferation, including the impacts on women. Born 1974 in Imphal (Manipur), India. Available 18-23 February.

Dr. Motoko Mekata, Japan
Motoko Mekata has been a fellow in transnational civil society at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI) since April 2001. She has been a committee member of the Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines(JCBL) since 1997. Dr. Mekata is joined by JCBL Steering Committee member Mr. Toshihiro Shimizu.

Dr. Katsumi Furitsu, Japan
Katsumi Furitsu is a member of the Osaka-based Campaign Against Radiation Exposure as well as the steering committee of the (International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons), which seeks to tackle (depleted) uranium weapons.

Ms. Miriam Struyk, The Netherlands
Miriam Struyk is a policy advisor on human security and disarmament for IKV Pax Christi, a Dutch peace organization working in partnership with local NGOs in more than 25 conflict-affected countries including DR Congo, Iraq, and Sudan. Struyk has worked for IKV Pax Christi since 1996. She helped produce a Dutch documentary ‘The Clusterbomb Feeling’ that revealed how Dutch pension funds were being invested in the production of antipersonnel mines and cluster munitions. Following a public outcry, the biggest pension funds changed their policies to divest from cluster munitions and landmine manufactuers. Pax Christi was instrumental in helping to launch the the global Cluster Munitions Coalition in November 2003 and serves on the campaign’s leadership steering committee, in addition to coordinating the domestic campaign against cluster munitions. Struyk previously worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and the south Caucasus. Born 1971 in Rotterdam. Available 17-23 February.

Mr. Javier Meléndez, Nicaragua
Javier Meléndez is the executive director of the Managua-based Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policies. Meléndez conducts advocacy and research on a range of defense and security issues, particularly small arms transfers.

Mr. Raza Shah Khan, Pakistan
Raza Shah Khan is executive director of Sustainable Peace & Development Organization (SPADO), a Pakistani sustainable development organization. He is the South Asia representative of International Peace Bureau. Khan provides the Pakistan country update for the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor report and has conducted research on small arms, as well as explosive remnants of war. Born 1970 near the Federally Administered Tribal Areas adjoining Afghanistan. Languages: Urdu, Pashto.

Ms. Eileen Kolma, Papua New Guinea
Speaking in Auckland (21 Feb).
Eileen Kolma has been Oxfam International’s Papua New Guinea country representative since 2003. Oxfam’s work in PNG includes water and sanitation, HIV & Aids, disaster management, and other community development initiatives including in the rugged highlands. In Port Moresby, Kolma engaged in a range of advocacy initiatives; she is founding coordinator of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence PNG, a nation-wide campaign launched in early 2007.  Kolma has worked as a journalist for several PNG news media outlets and organisations, reporting on a range of issue particularly with respect to children, youth and women’s issues. From 1990–1994, Kolma has worked on communications and establishing a publication unit for the government’s Department of Home Affairs & Youth. From 1994-1999, she undertook advocacy and communications for UNICEF’s Port Moresby office including in support of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Born 1965 in Buro village (Madang), Papua New Guinea. Languages: Tok Pisin, Ra’o. Available 17-22 February.

Ms. Lidia Szafaryn, Poland
Szafaryn is the landmines and cluster munitions project coordinator for the Polish Red Cross. Szafryn has secured financial support from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to support Red Cross advocacy to encourage Poland’s ratification of the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and active support for the cluster munition ban. Szafryn provides the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor research update on Poland and is completing her master’s degree in international humanitarian law at the University of Warsaw. Born 1985 in Plock, Poland. Available 17-23 February.

Mr. Abu-bakarr Sheriff, Sierra Leone
Abu-bakarr Sheriff is the programme officer of the Sierra Leone Action Network on Small Arms and the Cluster Munition Coalition’s contact point in Sierra Leone. Since 2004, he has campaigned on human security including small arms proliferation and explosive remnants of war in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). He has worked as a journalist for the Exclusive Newspaper and the UN Radio in Sierra Leone. Born 1977 in Kerema, Sierra Leone. Languages: Mende, Krio. Available 17-25 February.

Mr. Saliya Edirisinghe, Sri Lanka
Saliya Edirisinghe is a human rights lawyer who has been involved with the Sri Lanka Campaign to Ban Landmines since 1998. From 2000-2003, he provided the Sri Lanka updates for the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor report. Edirisinghe has engaged in extensive research on Sri Lanka’s problem with unexploded ordnance and is the ICBL and Cluster Munition Coalition’s contact point for Sri Lanka.

Mr. Paul Vermeulen, Switzerland
Geneva-based Paul Vermeulen directs Handicap International Switzerland, the main NGO campaigning against cluster munitions in Switzerland. Vermeulen lobbies Swiss parliamentians, politicians and officials to take greater action against cluster bombs. Vermeulen and Handicap International were instrumental in securing strong Swiss government support for the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty. http://www.sousmunitions.ch/ Born 1953 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Languages: Dutch, French and German. Available: 10-23 February.

Ms. Katherine Harrison, Switzerland
Katherine Harrison works for the Geneva office of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. Born 1982 in Annapolis (Maryland), USA. Available 17-26 February.

Mr. Bakhtiyor Begmuradov, Tajikistan
Bakhtiyor Begmuradov is the vice-chairman of Harmony of the World, a Tajik NGO and member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition. Begmuradov is the Tajikistan country researcher for the ICBL’s Landmine Monitor report. He has a Masters degree in political science from St. Petersburg University. Languages: Russian, Tajik-Persian, Uzbek. Available 18-24 February.

Ms Emilie Ketudat, Thailand
Emilie Ketudat coordinates the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (TCBL). Ketudat has lived in Bangkok since 1962, when she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Since completing her academic career, Ketudat has taken up voluntary work with refugees and displaced people as well as mine action and campaign activities on behalf of the TCBL.

Mr. Alfredo Ferrariz Lubang, Thailand
Fred Lubang directs Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, a Bangkok-based NGO. He previously directed the peace program at the Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (GZOPI), a leading peace institute in the Philippines. He was the founding coordinator of the Philippine Action Network on Small Arms and a member of the executive committee of the Philippine Campaign to Ban Landmines. He is also an active member of the Cluster Munitions Coalition and ICBL. He has provided Landmine Monitor research updates on the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and Burma since 1999. Born 1972 in the Philippines. Available 17-24 February.

Mr. Vai’uli Kohinoa, Tonga
Vai’uli Kohinoa is the director of Nuku’alofa-based disability NGO Tonga Disable Self Help Organization (Naunau oe Alamaite Tonga Association, NATA). Born 1980 in Tonga. Languages: Tongan. Available: 17-23 February.

Ms. Anna MacDonald, United Kingdom
Anna MacDonald is the Control Arms campaigns manager for Oxfam International. She has worked for Oxfam for 10 years, representing the agency at several United Nations conferences on the arms trade. MacDonald is a board member of Landmine Action UK. Born 1969 in Watford, UK . Available 17-28 February.

Ms. Becky Maynard, United Kingdom
Becky Maynard is the head of fundraising for “No More Landmines,” a UK-based charity.

Ms. Andonia Piau-Lynch, Vanuatu
Andonia Piau-Lynch is the national coordinator of the Port Vila-based Disability Promotion & Advocacy Association (DPA), an NGO established in 1999 to advocate for rights and promote abilities of people with disabilities throughout Vanuatu. First runner-up for the 2007 UNDP’s Pacific Human Rights Award, DPA lobbied successfully for Vanuatu to ratify the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and to become the first Pacific government to ratify the 2006 Disability Rights Convention.

Mr. Tran Gia Quang, Vietnam
Tran Gia Quang is the programme assistant for US NGO the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF), where he works on Project RENEW (Restore the Environment and Neutralize the Effects of the War), a mine action project in Quang Tri province. Born 1982 in Ha Tinh, Vietnam. Languages: Vietnamese. Available 17-23 February

Dr. Robert E. Mtonga, Zambia
Bob Mtonga is program director of the International Council for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims in Zambia. He is the Zambia representative of both the Cluster Munition Coalition and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and provides research for the ICBL’s annual Landmine Monitor report. Mtonga was a board member for the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) for eight years. He received his medical degree from the University of Zambia. Born 1965 in Lusaka, Zambia. Languages: French and Portuguese. Available 18-23 February

8. Aotearoa New Zealand Cluster Munition Coalition Participants

Amnesty International NZ
Ms. Margaret Taylor (delegation coordinator), Ms. Asha Anderson, Ms. Jean Chapman, Ms. Suzanne Burgess, Ms. Kate Mulcahy, Ms. Sarah Watson, Ms. Joanne Looyen

NZ Campaign Against Landmines
Ms. Deborah Morris-Travers

Christian World Service
Mr. Rob Ritchie

Development Resource Centre
Ms. Elena Wrelton, Ms. Alice Beban

Engineers for Social Responsibility NZ
Dr. Lawrence Carter, School of Engineering, University of Auckland

National Council of Women of New Zealand
Dame Laurie Salas, Ms. Bridget Mayne

National Consultative Committee on Disarmament
Prof. Rod Alley, Mr. Murray Bartle

Oxfam NZ
Ms. Mary Wareham (delegation coordinator), Mr. Barry Coates, Ms. Jamila Homayun, Mr. Daniell Cowley

Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, NZ
Mr. Alyn Ware

Pax Christi Aotearoa-NZ
Mr. Kevin McBride, Mr. Richard Archer

Peace Foundation NZ
Mr. Lachlan Mackay

Peace Movement Aotearoa
Ms. Edwina Hughes (& WILPF)

United Nations Association NZ
Ms. Robin Halliday (delegation coordinator), Mr. John Morgan, Ms. Mary McGivern, Ms. Mary Gray, Ms. Christine Greenwood, Ms. Gordana Vukomanovic

United Nations Youth Association of NZ
Mr. Matt McGrath (delegation coordinator), Mr. David Macaskill, Ms. Sarah Foster, Mr. Mark Mulholland

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Aotearoa
Ms. Joy Davies-Payne

Friends of NZCMC
Dr. Treasa Dunworth, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland
Mr. Peter Harwood, Rangitoto College (Auckland)
Dr. Mary Nash, School of Social Work, Massey University (Palmerston North)

NZ CMCNZ Volunteers (please contact NZCMC to vounteer)
Mr. Shamim Homayun (Wellington)
Mr. John Howse (Eastbourne)
Ms. Anna Padarath (Auckland)
Ms. Helen Prangley, DraftFCB (Auckland)

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