Please scroll down for the schedule and resource person bios.
Schedule (All times in IST/ UTC+5:30)
Day 1
Facilitator: Swarna Rajagopalan
4-420 pm || Course Introduction
Swarna Rajagopalan (Prajnya), Ida Scarpino and Steven Humphries (UNRCPD)
421-540 pm ||
Disarmament Agenda: Steven Humphries (UNRCPD)
Gender and Disarmament: Manaved Nambiar (UNIDIR)
541-650 pm || The Women, Peace and Security Agenda
Dr. Soumita Basu (South Asian University)
Day 2
Facilitator: Ida Scarpino
4-5 pm || Conventional Arms, Small Arms and Light Weapons
Hardy Giezendanner (UNIDIR)
500-550 pm || Arms Trafficking and Global Instruments
Max Menn (UNODC)
550-650 pm || Land Mines
Llewelyn Jones (Mines Action Group)
Day 3
Facilitator: Steven Humphries
4-450 pm || Chemical & Biological Weapons
Anne Glick (OPCW)
Ngoc Phuong Van Der Blij (UNODA Biological Weapons Convention Implementation Support Unit)
5-550 || Nuclear Weapons
Gabiden Laumulin (UNODA WMD Branch)
6-650 pm || Missiles
Emmanuelle Maitre (FRS)
Day 4
Facilitator: Ji Yeon Rho
4-5 pm || Emerging Technologies + Responsible innovation
Charles Ovink (UNODA)
5-640 pm || Private Security and Mercenaries
Sorcha MacLeod (University of Copenhagen; Chair, UN Working Group on the use of Mercenaries)
Day 5
Facilitator: Swarna Rajagopalan
4-445 pm || Youth
Linh Trang Phuong (UN Youth Champion)
445-530 || Disarmament Education and SDG
Ji Yeon Rho (UNODA)
530-650 || States, Markets, War and Patriarchy
Dr. Asha Hans (Sansristi) and Dr. Andrea Ellner (King’s College, London)
Resource Person Bios (in order of appearance on the programme)
Swarna Rajagopalan works as a writer, political analyst, consultant and social entrepreneur in Chennai, India. She is the founding trustee of The Prajnya Trust, which is building a centre for policy research, advocacy and networking in the areas of peace, justice and security. She is also a founding member of the Women’s Regional Network- a network of women civil society leaders advancing women’s rights and regional peace in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan. She is also a Visiting Professor of Politics at Krea University. Her consultancy, Chaitanya, has undertaken educational programming, research conferences, commissioned research, research direction and reviews as well as project evaluations and reviews. She is active as a scholar on traditional and non-traditional security topics. She also writes for both print and electronic media. Dr. Rajagopalan received her Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1998), an M.A. in International Relations from Syracuse University (1985) and a B.A. in Political Science from Elphinstone College, University of Bombay (1984). Her Ph.D. dissertation was published as State and Nation in South Asia (Lynne Rienner 2001/ Viva 2006). She is the author of several articles and book chapters. She has edited Security and South Asia: Ideas, Institutions and Initiatives (Routledge 2006) and co-edited Openings for Peace: UNSCR 1325, Women and Security in India (Sage 2016); Women and Disasters in South Asia: Survival, Security and Development (Routledge 2016); Women, Security, South Asia: A Clearing in the Thicket, with Farah Faizal (Sage 2005) and Re-Distribution of Authority: A Cross-Regional Perspective with Jeanie J. Bukowski (Praeger 2000). Her portfolio is online.
Ida Scarpino is the Regional Project Coordinator for Gender and Small Arms and Light Weapons at the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. Ida holds a Master’s Degree in Governance and Organizational Theory as well as in Diplomacy. She has over 10 years of professional experience working in the development and humanitarian sector, with field experience in post-conflict and fragile settings (Burundi, Uganda, Mali). Prior to joining ODA’s Regional Centre in Asia and the Pacific, she worked for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) in Mali and contributed to the design and project management of several projects in Humanitarian Mine Action and Weapons and Ammunition Management.
Steven Humphries is a Disarmament and Non-proliferation Project Manager for the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD) – the regional branch of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) – based in Kathmandu, Nepal. His work is focused on creating and implementing WMD-related projects in Asia-Pacific, specifically on UN Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), to prevent the proliferation of WMD, their materials, and means of delivery to non-state actors. Steven began his ODA career as an intern in July 2015, and from 2016-2019 served as a Programme Officer for UNRCPD, assisting and executing various disarmament activities under the Centre’s mandate, including in conventional weapons control and WMD. Steven is a Canadian citizen, hailing from Toronto, Ontario. Steve holds a Bachelor’s Degree with Honours in Political Science from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.
Manaved Nambiar is a Graduate Professional in the Gender and Disarmament Programme. He graduated with a M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School in Medford. Prior to that, he received a Law degree from GGSIPU, Delhi. Most recently, he worked with the UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement. He has experience working with various UN agencies, judicial bodies, law firms, and media houses. Manaved has multiple publications in various law journals and some of his areas of expertise include arms trade, gender, peacekeeping, international humanitarian law and human rights law.
Dr. Soumita Basu is Associate Professor of International Relations at the South Asian University, New Delhi. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein (South Africa). Soumita has published on gender, security and the United Nations in edited volumes as well as journals, including International Affairs, International Political Science Review, International Studies Perspectives, Politics & Gender, and Security Dialogue. She is a Senior Editor of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, and serves on the editorial boards of International Feminist Journal of Politics, Journal of Global Security Studies, Politics & Gender, and Review of International Studies.
Hardy Giezendanner is a Senior Researcher for UNIDIR’s Conventional Arms Programme. He coordinates the research pillar on weapons and ammunition management. His other areas of expertise and research interests include UN peace operations, UN arms embargoes, prevention of diversion, illicit arms and ammunition flows, counter-terrorism, and conflict prevention. Prior to re-joining UNIDIR, Hardy worked for the Arms Embargo Cell of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO), UNMAS, MONUSCO, Geneva Call and the Swiss Federal Department for Foreign Affairs. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations, Peace and Security Studies from the Institute for International Studies in Barcelona, as well as a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Geneva. Hardy has authored, co-authored, and contributed to numerous publications on conventional arms control.
Since October 2019, Mr. Max Menn is an Associate Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer with the Firearms Trafficking Section of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). In this capacity he is in charge of the Section’s intergovernmental work, coordinates its legislative and normative assistance and supports the Section’s activities related to international cooperation and information exchange. Prior to joining UNODC, Mr. Menn worked in one of Germany’s leading law firms specialized on criminal defence law and white-collar crime and held various positions with the Office of the Public Prosecutor, the Regional Court of Wuppertal, the Federal Foreign Office (German Embassy in Colombia) and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. He holds two State examinations in law (equivalent to a Masters degree and a bar exam) and is barred to practice law in Germany.
Llewelyn Jones has worked for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG), an international NGO specializing in landmine clearance and other disarmament issues, since 2001. He has worked in a variety of roles in both the HQ in the UK and a number of other countries that MAG works in globally. Most recently, he was the global Programmes Director for 6 years until taking on the role of Regional Director for South and South-East Asia in February 2021
Anne Glick joined OPCW in October 2019 where she is the Public Affairs Officer. She is an expert in communications and storytelling related to security issues. She has worked with non-governmental and international organisations and the private sector in Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New York, Burundi and now, The Netherlands. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, French and Political Science from Goshen College and a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).
Ngoc Phuong van der Blij completed her MA in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. She is currently working as a Political Affairs Officer for the Implementation Support Unit (ISU) for the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) housed in the United Nations Office for Disarmament affairs in Geneva, Switzerland. She joined the BWC ISU since the creation of the Unit, in 2007. She is acting as a core member of the Secretariat for all meetings of the BWC, including as Deputy Secretary and Secretary at BWC meetings and Review Conferences Committees in the past. Additionally, her duties include coordinating of all cooperation and assistance activities under the framework of Article X of the Convention, interacting with States Parties to the Convention on implementation, universalization and building confidence in the treaty regime. She is regularly invited as a speaker, lecturer or moderator at various conferences, workshops, training programmes and roundtables around the world, including for Interpol, the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 Committee.
Gabiden Laumulin is an Associate Expert (Junior Professional Officer) at the Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in New York. He is a graduate of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (currently “Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey”) and prior to joining ODA, he worked at the Department of Multilateral Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan where he was responsible for matters related to UN Security Council, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In his current role at ODA, Mr. Laumulin is mainly tasked with advancing and supporting efforts aimed at strengthening cooperation among the existing nuclear-weapon-free zones as well as providing substantive and organizational support on more general themes related to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Emmanuelle MAITRE is a Research Fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). Before joining the FRS in July 2014 and after working as a consultant in the private sector, Emmanuelle worked as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Arms Control Studies (CESIM) and the Brookings Institution. She holds a M.A. from Sciences Po Paris. Her research interests include nuclear non-proliferation, deterrence, and disarmament. At FRS, she is notably in charge of the implementation of the EU’s project in support of the Hague Code of Conduct on the Proliferation of Ballistic Missile. Through this project, she has studied since 2015 the dynamics of missile proliferation, has written dozens of papers and worksheets and has organized more than 40 outreach events. Since 2016, she has been the editor of the “Deterrence Monthly”, a monthly publication on key issues linked to nuclear deterrence and disarmament. In 2021, she was part of the FRS team who led the programme of civil society engagement in the framework of the French presidency of the P5. Emmanuelle has also authored numbers of reports on arms control, the NPT regime, various perspectives on disarmament and emerging strategic weapons. Among her recent publications, she is the author of “French Perspectives on Disarmament and Deterrence” (Europe’s Evolving Deterrence Discourse, Center for Global Security Research, King’s College London and Science Applications International Corporation, 2021) and “Arms Control and Delivery Vehicles: Challenges and Ways Forward” (Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 2022)
Charles Ovink is a Political Affairs Officer with the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs. Working with the Regional Disarmament and Science and Technology briefs of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), Charles Ovink specializes in responsible innovation, the impact of emerging technologies on disarmament and nonproliferation, military uses of AI, Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems, and disarmament education and outreach. He has previously served as Associate Political Affairs Officer at the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific (UNRCPD), Programme Manager for the United Nations World Institute for Development Economics Research, and a consultant for the United Nations University and Creative Environmental Networks. He has led responsible innovation work with New York University, Umeå University, Sorbonne University Pierre and Marie Curie, the University of Tokyo, Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design, ASEAN Foundation, and others. He received his Master’s Degree from Waseda University in Tokyo, focusing on political security and power transition.
Dr. Sorcha MacLeod is an Associate Professor and Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow in the Centre for
Private Governance (CEPRI) at the University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Law. She is the current
Chair-Rapporteur of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries. Sorcha has a particular
research interest in the private military and security industry and human rights and she has
published widely on this topic. She is also an invited expert to the UN Intergovernmental Working
Group on private military and security companies. She participated in the development of the
Montreux Document on private military and security companies, as well as the International Code of
Conduct for Private Security Providers at which she has Observer Status. She also sits on the ICoCA
expert Advisory Group on Responsible Security. She has been involved in the drafting of
international management standards PSC1 and ISO 18788 for private security operations and advises
civil society organisations, governments and industry on business, human rights and security issues.
Linh Trang Phung (Vietnam) is a senior majoring in International Business Economics at Foreign Trade University (FTU), Viet Nam. She is the cofounder of a social project called Vietnamese Youth Leaders for Disarmament aiming at training young people with diplomatic skills and knowledge about disarmament and global context. She has been one of 30 youths participated in the Youth Forum on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation to adopt the Seoul Youth Declaration for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation. Previously, she worked for Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during Vietnam’s 2020 ASEAN Chairmanship, played a leading role at AIESEC in Viet Nam as well as an inspiring representative of Miss FTU Beauty and Charm. She is determined to apply her knowledge and skills to make impacts on her society and on the mission of empowering youth participation in solving social issues to make a more peaceful and better world.
Ji Yeon Rho is an associate expert at the office for disarmament affairs. She works as a desk officer in the regional disarmament and information outreach branch, supporting the activities of the three regional centres in Nepal, Togo and Peru and liaising between the centres and the HQ in New York. She is also a gender focal point in her branch and is responsible for disarmament and non-proliferation education work in ODA. Prior to joining the ODA, she worked with UNDSS in Jerusalem as a security analyst associate, overseeing the security risk level of the Occupied Territories of Palestine.
Dr. Asha Hans is an academic activist in the field of peace studies. She is former Professor of Political Science and Founder Women’s Studies at Utkal University India. She is a founder member of Sansristi a gender resource centre. As a Civil Society representative on the Board of UN Women, Peace and Humanitarian Funds she has guided the organization on support to small women’s grassroots organizations in conflict zones across the globe. In India as Co-Chair Pakistan India People’s Forum for Peace and Democracy she has worked with civil society in Pakistan and India to bring peace in the Sub-Continent. Her writing with Betty Reardon The Gender Imperative: Human Security vs State Security is a marker in the field of gender and human security. She has written and spoken extensively at the UN on UNSCR 1325 and her focus on India developed into a book Openings for Peace with a well known peace educator Swarna Rajagopalan. She has written extensively on barriers to peace including the Kashmir issue, refugee issues from a gendered context. In the last five years she has worked on climate change with an international University Consortium CARIIA and initiated work on climate change gender and militarization a new field in peace studies. 2021 Her work resulted in a book Engendering Climate Change Learnings from South Asia ed., Routeledge New York New Delhi. She is an editorial member of the Journal of Peace Education.
Dr Andrea Ellner is an inter-disciplinary scholar who holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations on British Naval Policy, 1970-1990, Free University of Berlin, and an MA History and German Literature, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich. She has worked in the past on nuclear material security in the former Soviet Union, and on European, EU and British defence, security and arms procurement policy. Her current research focuses on historical and contemporary dimensions of civil-military (military-government-society) relations in Europe and the US, occasionally she is venturing further afield. This includes gender integration in armed forces, gender, violent conflict and peacebuilding, ethics of war and moral injury. She has presented her work, contributed expert advice and engaged in educational outreach with practitioners in the UK and internationally. She was Editor-in-Chief of the peer reviewed journal European Security from 2004 to 2008, and she currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Military Ethics (Euro-ISME).
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