TENTH INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF MINE ACTION PROGRAMME DIRECTORS AND UN ADVISORS

20 – 22 March 2007, Geneva
 
Organized by
the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the UN Mine Action Team,
with the support of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)

UNMAS Conference Secretariat:  Ms. Maria Vardis and Ms. Milena Aguilar
 
TUESDAY - 20 March 2007
13:30 – 13:40 - Welcome Remarks
Mr. Maxwell Gaylard, UN Mine Action Team
Ambassador Stephan Nellen, GICHD
13:40 – 13:50 - Opening Address - Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Under-Secretary-General, Department of Peacekeeping Operations (video message)
13:50 – 14:00 - Approval of Agenda and Timetable and Meeting Format Mr. Maxwell Gaylard, UNMAS
14:00 – 15:00 - Plenary 1.  UN Roles and Responsibilities
Objective: This session will provide, in the first instance, an overview of the UN system and who does what, moving to a clarification of the different roles of UN entities in mine action.  Particular focus will be on presenting mine action in relation to UN Country Teams, inter-action between field programmes and headquarters, responsibilities towards national governments, relevance of mine action to humanitarian efforts, and overall coordination mechanisms including the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Mine Action (IACG-MA) and Cluster Approaches. 
Chair: Mr.  Maxwell Gaylard, UN Mine Action Team
Panel: UNDP, UNICEF, UNMAS, UNOPS, WFP
Presentations: What is UNICEF? (presented by Ms. Paula Claycomb, UNICEF)
                     UN Mine Action Service (presented by Mr. John Flanagan, UNMAS)
                      UNOPS Mine Action Role (presented by Mr. Paul Heslop, UNOPS)
                      WFP and Mine Action (presented by Ms. Sarah Rossman, WFP)
Rapporteur:  Ms. Reiko Kurihara
 
15:00 – 16:00 - Plenary 2.  UN Assistance: Practical Examples
Objective: This session will elaborate on existing models of UN managed and/or assisted programmes and allow for discussion on expectations National Directors and national programmes have of the UN in addition to discussion on criteria for effective residual capacity.  This session will "set the scene" for the plenaries to follow, particularly those related to 'Sustainable Mine Action and Transition' and 'Capacity Building' scheduled for Wednesday 21 March 2007. 
Chair: Mr. Harouna Ouedraogo, UNMAS DRC
Presentations: Case of Kosovo (presented by Mr. Ahmet Sallova)
                       Case of Yemen (presented by Mr. Faiz Mohammed)

                       Case of Afghanistan (presented by Mr. Mohammad Sediq)                  
Rapporteur: Mr. Justin Brady
16:00 – 16:30 - Coffee Break - Foyer
16:30 – 18:00 Plenary 3.  Changing Perceptions of Risk:  Survey, Release, Risk Education
Objective: The session will explore the extent to which programmes have implemented risk management approaches based on previous years' discussions.  Aspects of data management, survey, risk education, information refinement, and time/cost savings will be discussed.   Challenges to applying a risk management approach, including reliability of information and sources, perceived risk by communities and liability concerns, will be weighed to determine the applicability of a risk management approach in different scenarios.
Chair:  Mr. John Flanagan, UNMAS
Panel:   Dr. Maligna Saignavongs, National Regulatory Authority, Lao PDR
             Mr. Tim Horner, UNDP Lao PDR
             Mr. Tim Lardner, GICHD
             Mr. Mark Boswell, Mines Advisory Group 
Presentations:  A Joint Presentation on Risk Management (presented by  Mr. Tim Lardner, GICHD, Dr. Maligna Saignavongs, National Regulatory Authority, Lao PDR, and Mr. Tim Horner, UNDP Lao PDR)   

A Risk Management Approach to Opening and Clearing Roads: Examples from Angola and Sudan (presented by Mr. Mark Boswell, Mines Advisory Group)
Rapporteurs:  Mr. Simon Porter, Ms. Olga Devyatkin
WEDNESDAY - 21 March 2007
09:00 – 11:00 - Plenary 4.  Sustainable Mine Action and Transition
Objective: This session will focus on how to ensure sustainability of mine action by mainstreaming it into development and enabling thereby a greater ownership of mine action programmes. Presentations will examine ways to ensure that mine action is part of major development frameworks (PRSP, UNDAF…) and present specific country experiences and challenges on how mine action can foster development (impact on livelihoods, Millennium Development Goals, security…).
Co - Chairs:  Mr. Arben Braha, Albania
                   Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UNDP
Panel: Mr. Mansoor Mohamed Al-Ezzi, Yemen
Mr. Ahdin Orahovac, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mr. Prosper Bani, UNDP Dakar
Presentations: Yemen Mine Action Programme (presented by Mansoor Mohamed Al-Ezzi, Yemen)
Sustainable Mine Action and Transition: National Ownership – the Case of Bosnia and Herzegovina(presented by Mr. Ahdin Orahovac, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Rapporteurs: Ms. Jackie Seck, Ms. Julie Myers
11:00 – 11:30 - Coffee break - Foyer
11:30 – 13:00 Plenary 5.  Capacity Development
Objective: This session aims to share existing concepts and experiences in developing and building national capacities for mine action as a requirement for institutions to effectively manage mine action so that external support and assistance will be no longer required.
Co-Chairs: Mr.  Oto Jungwirth, Croatia
                Mr. Olaf Juergensen, UNDP Jordan                 
Panel:    Mr. El-Awad El-Bashir  and Mr. Jurkuch Barach Jurkuch, Sudan
             Col. Mohammad Fehmi, Lebanon
             Mr. Vincent Woboya, Uganda
Presentations: Mine Action Capacity Development: Republic of the Sudan (presented by Mr. El-Awad El-Bashir, National Mine Action Center, Khartoum Sudan, Mr. Jurkuc Barac, Southern Sudan Mine Action Center Juba Southern Sudan)
Capacity Development: National Demining Office- Lebanon (presented by Mr. Mohamad Fehmi, National Demining Office – Lebanon)
National Mine Action Programme Uganda: Working Together to Build National Capacity in Mine Action (presented by Mr. Woboya Vicent, Uganda Mine Action Centre)
Capacity Development in Mine Action: Some Preliminary Thoughts on Some New Ideas (presented by Mr. Olaf Juergensen, UNDP Jordan)
Rapporteurs:  Mr. Justus Okoko , Ms. Melissa Sabatier

13:00 – 14:00 - Lunch - Attic
14:00 – 16:00 Working Groups on Capacity Building and Transition towards National Ownership
Six working groups of National Directors and UN Advisors will be asked to examine the process of "transition" and the factors pertaining to their own programmes that enable or challenge the transition process.  Using a modified SWOT (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) model, each working group will examine the present status of capacity development, establish criteria for moving to transition, and develop a rating system.  Each working group will be facilitated by an NGO and a National Director. 
The Working Groups:
WG1: Kosovo, Afghanistan, UNMEE, DRC, Cyprus and Sudan
WG2: Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Somalia (Somaliland &                   
           Puntland), Uganda, Iraq, Angola and Lao PDR
WG3: Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Senegal and Sri Lanka
WG4: Jordan, Lao, Algeria, Egypt, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan
WG5: Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Yemen and Cambodia
WG6: Armenia, Iran, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Argentina, Thailand  and Zambia
16:30 – 17:00 Plenary 6. Presentations of Conclusions of Working Groups
Objective: Presentation of Working Groups to Plenary/Discussion
Co-Chairs: Ms. Sara Sekkenes, UNDP and Ms. Julie Myers, UNICEF
Presentations of Conclusions of Working Groups: Group No. 3 - Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Mauritania, Senegal and Sri Lanka 
Presentations of Conclusions of Working Groups: Group No. 6 - Armenia, Iran, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Argentina, Thailand and Zambia
Rapporteurs:  Representative from each group.
17:00 – 18:00 Plenary 7.  Developments/What's New?
Objective: Dual sensor detectors continue to be tested and developed and are being used in earnest in some locations. This session aims to update on progress and make available the manufacturers/designers for consultation.
Co – Chairs: Mr. Chan Rotha, Cambodia
                   Maj. Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, Thailand
Panel on Advances in Technology:

• Dual Sensors: Handheld Standoff Mine Identification System - HSTAMIDS (Mr. Robert Doheny, US Department of Defense)             
• MINEHOUND (Mr. David Daniels, Electronics Research Agency – ERA and Mr. Uwe Winkle, Vallon)
• Advanced Landmine Identification System - ALIS (Professor Motoyuki Sato, Tohoku University, Japan) 

• Mine Action Standards – UNMAS (Mr. Noel Mulliner), GICHD (Mr. Faiz Mohammed)
• GICHD presentation – GICHD (Mr. Ian Mansfield)
• Landmine Safety Project – UNMAS (Mr. Peter Gray)
• IMSMA Version IV – GICHD (Mr. Alan Arnold) and Burundi (Mr. Antoine Nimbesha)
• OASIS Security Incident System – Veterans for America (Mr. Chuck Conley)   

• Cluster Munitions -  UNICEF (Ms. Paula Claycomb) and Cluster Munition Coalition (Mr. Thomas Nash)
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Ambassador Don MacKay
• Casualty Data Guidelines and Survivor Assistance Support – James Madison University (Mr. Dennis Barlow)
• Article 5 Extensions and April 2007 Intersessionals – ISU (Mr. Kerry Brinkert)
• Advancing Gender Equality in Mine Action Programmes – Afghanistan (Mr. Mohammad Sediq) and Jordan (Mr. Olaf Juergensen)

• Mr. Maxwell Gaylard, UNMAS
• Ambassador Stephan Nellen, GICHD

See Also:

10th Meeting of National Directors and UN Advisors List of Participants

NGO Presentations at MASG Meetings (US Department of State, Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement - WRA)

Ninth International Meeting of Mine Action Programme Directors and UN Advisors

United Nations Inter-Agency Mine Action Strategy: 2006-2010

Mine Action and Effective Coordination: The United Nations Inter-Agency Policy (6 June 2005)