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Protecting Lives. Building Peace: NDM-UN 27

The 27th International Meeting of Mine Action National Directors and United Nations Advisers (NDM-UN27) took place in Geneva from 29 April to 1, 2024.

This in-person meeting brought together mine action leaders and experts to network and exchange views on pressing issues facing the sector.

🌟 Save the dates for next year's NDM-UN28

đź“… When: April 9th to April 11th, 2025
đź“Ť Where: Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), Geneva, Switzerland

Meeting Photos

Meeting Report

Plenary session recordings:
- Opening Session (Video)
- Keynote Speech (Video)
- Plenary 1 (Video Pt.1 / Pt.2) (PPT)
- Plenary 2 (Video) (PPT)
- Plenary 3 (Video) (PPT)
- Plenary 4 (Video)
- Plenary 5 (Video)
- Closing Session (Video)

Monday 29/04

08:00 - 09:00

Arrival & Registration of Participants

 

09:00 - 09:30

Coffee & Tea

09:30 - 10:00

Opening Session

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

10:00 - 10:30

Keynote Speech

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

10:30 - 11:45

Plenary Session 1

Mine Action and Food Security - Making the Investment Case

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.

12:00 - 13:00

Lunch break

13:15 - 14:30

Side Events

Collaborating for Impact with GIS

Room: B

Organized by: ESRI & NPA

Ukraine: Meeting Food Security Needs Through Mine Action

Room: C

Organized by: WFP & FAO

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

Room: E

Organized by: NPA, APOPO & GICHD

The Republic of Korea Mine Action and The Way Forward

Room: F

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

14:30 - 15:00

Coffee & Tea

15:00 - 16:15

Plenary Session 2

Risk Education in conflict: Creating Resilience

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 MĂĽller-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.

16:15 - 17:30

Side Events

 

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

Room: C

Organized by: MAG, Apopo & NPA

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

Room: E

Organized by: Organization of American States, Ecuador & Peru

 

EORE Digital Development and Application

Room: F

Organized by: Catholic Relief Services Vietnam

Get in touch

Email: unmasgeneva@un.org

Join the conversation #NDMUN27

Organizers and donors

The NDM-UN27 is co-organized by UNMAS and the GICHD

on behalf of the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action

The meeting is made possible by the generous support of Switzerland.