27th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors & UN Advisers

Question 1

Opening Session

Answer

Room: D

Master of Ceremonies
- Ms. Ilene Cohn, Director, UNMAS

Welcome Remarks
- Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva
- H.E. Mr. Julien Thöni, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the Conference on Disarmament

Opening of the Meeting by Co-Organizers
- Ambassador Stefano Toscano, Director, GICHD
- Ms. Ilene Cohn, Director, UNMAS

Question 2

Keynote Speech

Answer

Room: D

The keynote speech will be delivered by:

- Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations / Chair, Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action, United Nations

Question 3

Mine Action and Food Security - Making the Investment Case

Answer

Room: D

Chair
- Mr. Dominique Burgeon, Director, FAO Liaison Office with the UN in Geneva

Speakers
- Brig. Gen. Al Bechelany, Director, Lebanon Mine Action Center
- Ms. Josephine Dresner, Director, Policy and Strategic Partnerships, MAG
- Mr. Ihor Bezkaravainyi, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine
- Ms. Marianne Ward, WFP Country Director ad interim in Ukraine

Purpose of the session:
Food security remains a critical challenge facing the world. Over 300 million people suffer from acute food insecurity. Armed conflict is a main driver of hunger. Explosive ordnance impedes land cultivation, threatens the physical safety of farmers, and disrupts the food supply chain in many countries. In particular, landmines often prevent farmers from reaching their fields or transporting crops to market. Mine action is therefore key to food security. This plenary will explore potential ways to strengthen coordination between mine action and food security actors to improve food security, farming, and livelihoods, as well as promote access to land for women and men who need it the most.

Question 4

Collaborating for Impact with GIS

Answer

Room: B

Organized by: ESRI & NPA

Question 5

Ukraine: Meeting Food Security Needs Through Mine Action

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: WFP & FAO

Question 6

Performance Management and Monitoring – How to Assess Your Performance to Improve?

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: NPA, APOPO & GICHD

Question 7

The Republic of Korea Mine Action and The Way Forward

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: The Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defense & UNDP

Question 8

Risk Education in conflict: Creating Resilience

Answer

Room: D

Chair:
- Mr. Dahir Abdurrahman Abdulle, Director General, Somali Explosive Management Authority

Speakers:
- Mr. Colin Bent, Global Special Advisor, Norwegian People’s Aid
- Ms. Lisa Anouk Müller-Dormann, Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding Coordinator, Danish Refugee Council
- Mr. William Kollie, Chief, Child Protection, UNICEF Yemen
- Mr. Ben Lark, Weapon Contamination Coordinator, ICRC Syria

Purpose of this session:
This plenary will take stock of the initiatives in the Conflict Preparedness and Protection (CPP) and Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE) sectors in both active and post-conflict settings that improve the resilience of people and institutions, be they individuals, households, communities, or nations. It will unpack the relationship between risk education and resilience from four angles:

How CPP, combined with EORE, improve resilience in active conflict?
How peacebuilding advocacy messaging, combined with EORE, can lead to stronger resilience in post-conflict situations?
How inclusive EORE, including disability-focused risk education, can uplift a risk education campaign to a new dimension and be a game changer for resilience?
How emergency EORE can be delivered at scale in protracted conflict and, in doing so, boost individual, community, and national resilience?

The panel will then explore and discuss how effective risk education that leads to resilience can contribute to overall peace and development and a safer society.

Question 9

Animal Detection Systems Incorporation into Mine Action programmes: Considerations from the field

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: MAG, Apopo & NPA

Question 10

Transcending the Frontiers of Conflict: Challenges and Solutions Around Demining Border Areas

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: Organization of American States, Ecuador & Peru

Question 11

EORE Digital Development and Application

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: Catholic Relief Services Vietnam

Question 12

National Directors Day: Introduction Session

Answer

Room: D

Chair:
Ms. Ilene Cohn, Director, UNMAS

Purpose of the Session:
The second day of the NDM-UN 27 plenary programme is dedicated to an exchange and discussion of topics of interest, challenges, concerns, and best practices among national directors. After a brief introduction in plenary of objectives and format of the day, and of the topics for discussion, national directors will be asked to join one of four breakout groups from 10:15–12:00.

Breakout discussion groups will be chaired by national directors, who will moderate a discussion of topics that will be shared ahead of time. The topics will be based on issues raised by national directors either during past meetings or in the survey disseminated prior to the NDM-UN27.

Breakout discussion groups are organized according to English, Arabic, and French language preferences.

For further background, click here.

Question 13

Breakout Group French

Answer

Room: B

The aim of the smaller breakout group discussions is to encourage peer-to-peer exchanges between national directors. Each group will report back on the outcomes of discussions during Plenary 3 at 15:00.

The breakout group in room B will have interpretation provided between French and English.

* Other NDM-UN27 participants are welcome to voluntarily join the breakout groups as observers.

Question 14

Breakout Group English (One)

Answer

Room: C

The aim of the smaller breakout group discussions is to encourage peer-to-peer exchanges between national directors. Each group will report back on the outcomes of discussions during Plenary 3 at 15:00.

The breakout group in room C will be conducted in English.

* Other NDM-UN27 participants are welcome to voluntarily join the breakout groups as observers.

Question 15

Breakout Group Arabic

Answer

Room: D

The aim of the smaller breakout group discussions is to encourage peer-to-peer exchanges between national directors. Each group will report back on the outcomes of discussions during Plenary 3 at 15:00.

The breakout group in room D will have interpretation provided between Arabic and English.

* Other NDM-UN27 participants are welcome to voluntarily join the breakout groups as observers.

Question 16

Breakout Group English (two)

Answer

Room: E

The aim of the smaller breakout group discussions is to encourage peer-to-peer exchanges between national directors. Each group will report back on the outcomes of discussions during Plenary 3 at 15:00.

The breakout group in room E will be conducted in English.

* Other NDM-UN27 participants are welcome to voluntarily join the breakout groups as observers.

Question 17

Gaza Cross-Sectoral Coordination. Mine Action as an Enabler

Answer

Room: B

Organized by: UNMAS & Mine Action AOR

Question 18

Enhancing National Capacity and International Cooperation - The Case of Japan and Cambodia

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: Japan International Cooperation Agency & Cambodian Mine Action Centre

Question 19

Disability Data in Mine Action: Moving Beyond Data Collection

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: GICHD

Question 20

National Achievements in Mine Action: Inclusive approach and SDGs Azerbaijan

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: Azerbaijan & UNDP

Question 21

Report back from National Directors Breakout Groups

Answer

Room: D

Chair:
Mr. Steinar Essen, UNDP

Purpose of the session:
A rapporteur from each of the four breakout groups will provide an overview of their respective group discussions and propose next steps and action points, followed by a general discussion

Question 22

Enabling Mine Action in Conflict Settings: Finding Humanitarian Space in a Context of Instability

Answer

Room: B

Organized by: Organization of American States (OAS) & Colombia

Question 23

Mine Action in Libya

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: LibMAC & UNMAS

Question 24

Addressing Recent IED Contamination: Insights, Lessons, and Future Strategies by Affected States

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: UNMAS

Question 25

Mine Action in Ethiopia: Current Status and the Way Forward

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: Ethiopian Mine Action Office & UNMAS

Question 26

The Role of Mine Action in Reducing the Human Cost of Weapons and Building Peace

Answer

Room: D

Chair:
- Ms. Mélanie Régimbal, Chief of Service, United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs’ Geneva Office

Speakers:
- Ms. Nathalie Ochoa NIÑO, Director, Colombia Mine Action Group, Office of the Peace Commissioner Adviser
- Dr. Perrine Benoist, Director, Armed Violence Reduction Technical Division, Humanity & Inclusion
- Mr. Edwin Faigmane, Chief, Mine Action Programme, UNMAS Nigeria
- Ms. Ingrid Schøyen, Minister-Counsellor, Humanitarian Affairs, Norway

Purpose of this session:
The plenary session will delve into the integral role of mine action in reducing the human cost of weapons and building peace. After a brief introduction of United Nations efforts, including through the United Nations Mine Action Strategy and ongoing deliberations on the Pact for the Future, attention will turn to broader agendas related to humanitarian, disarmament, development, and peacebuilding frameworks. Speakers will provide concrete examples from country contexts of challenges and gains towards building peace, including at the community level. Mine action will be highlighted with respect of its specific contribution to peace processes. Moreover, the session will also explore the challenges of addressing threats posed by improvised explosive devices and mines of an improvised nature and examine the impact of these on stabilization and peacebuilding efforts.

Question 27

The Mine Action Trauma Care Collaborative: One Year Later

Answer

Room: B

Organized by: MAG, Explosive Weapons Trauma Care Collective & Mine Action Area of Responsibility

Question 28

SESSION CANCELLED - Protecting Lives and Building Peace through the Inclusion of Persons with Disability

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: Disability Working Group Nigeria

Question 29

Humanitarian Mine Action as a building block for inclusive development and peace

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: HI & DRC

Question 30

Expanding the AI Toolkit for NTS Processes

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: The Halo Trust & Tech 4 Tracing

Question 31

Unpacking the Localization Debate in Mine Action - Status Quo and the Road Ahead

Answer

Room: B

Organized by: DanChurchAid & Danish Refugee Council

Question 32

Innovation in Mine Action: Ukraine

Answer

Room: C

Organized by: Ukraine & UNDP

Question 33

Human Rights Due Diligence in Mine Action

Answer

Room: E

Organized by: OHCHR & UNMAS

Question 34

Partnering for Impact - Lessons Learned from Implementation

Answer

Room: F

Organized by: UNOPS

Question 35

Innovation in mine action: Building a collaborative way forward

Answer

Room: D

Chair
- Mr. Pedro Basto, Programme Manager, Research & Innovation, GICHD

Speakers
- Mr. Gerald Guilbert, Director of Programs, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement, U.S. Department of State
- Dr. Mariazel López, Head of Division, Essential Tech Center of Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne
- Mr. Michael Nevard, Head of Research and Development, The HALO Trust
- Mr. Narciso Tiacafe, Head of Operations and Accreditation, Angola National Mine Action Agency

Purpose of the session:
One of the key challenges of innovating in mine action is the need for collaboration and communication among different stakeholders, such as national mine action authorities, donors, mine action organizations, research institutions, technology developers, academia, standards bodies, and other humanitarian and international organizations. All these entities have different motivations and objectives, and their interactions are influenced by specific contexts.

This plenary will examine the system around the emergence, dissemination, and adoption of mine action innovation, which involves various actors, activities, institutions, and relationships. The plenary aims to discuss collaboration and communication mechanisms that can promote effective collaborative and needs-based approaches to innovation in the sector. The principles guiding the discussion are evidence-based approaches, multistakeholder collaboration, inclusiveness, and going beyond technology. 

Question 36

Closing Session

Answer

Room: D

- Ambassador Stefano Toscano, Director, GICHD
- Ms. Ilene Cohn, Director, UNMAS

27th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors & UN Advisers

Protecting Lives. Building Peace: NDM-UN 27

Programme

Monday 29/04

Tuesday 30/04

Wednesday 01/05

Meeting Information

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