Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peace Operations and the Chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Coordination Group for Mine Action, speaking at the Symposium. Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations and Chair of the Inter-agency Group for Mine Action delivering the message of the Secretary-General for the International Day for Mine Action. At the opening of the Symposium the participants held a moment of silence for those killed or maimed by landmines and explosive remnants of war. His Royal Highness, the Special Envoy on the Universalization for the Mine Ban Treaty and Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Hashemite Court, Prince Mired Raad Al-Hussein from Jordan giving opening remarks at the Symposium. From left: His Royal Highness Prince Mired from Jordan, Ambassador Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations Office in Geneva and the President of the 20th Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Convention; Mr. Paul Ronald Clegg, Vice President of the Schonstedt Instrument Company, and Ms. Wendy Ann Hart, Marketing Director of the Schonstedt Instrument Company receiving a Certificate of Appreciation from UNMAS. Ms. Sera Koulabdara, the Executive Director of Legacies of War, the leading U.S.-based educational and advocacy organization working to address the impact of conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War-era, including removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO). Mr. Tun Channareth is an ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and a landmine survivor. He was one of the keynote speakers at the Symposium. Ms. Margaret Arach Orech, a champion of landmine survivors and an Ambassador for the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, was also a keynote speaker at the Symposium. Ms. Rosamund Pike, Goodwill Ambassador of the Mines Advisory Group Ms. Ilene Cohn, the Acting Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service Mr. Hector Guerra the Director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions, and members of his staff, were recognized during the Symposium. Mr. Giles Duley, CEO of the Legacy of war Foundation, IED survivor and advocate for people living with disabilities, was the closing speaker at the Symposium. Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski, Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations, helping to open the exhibition “Safe ground. Safe steps. Safe home.” Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations, speaking about the efforts Swizterland undertakes to clear the world landmines, cluster munitions and explosive remnants of war, and inviting the participants to visit the exhibition. Mr. David Bertrand, renown jazz musician from Trinidad, accompanied the speakers and presentations at the Symposium. Mr. Nguyen Hanh Phuc, Deputy General Director of the Viet Nam Mine Action Authority, speaking by video to the Symposium. Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang Permanent Representative of Viet Nam, describing the devastation that his country has suffered from legacy landmine and unexploded ordnance contamination. The opening of the exhibit, featured in this photo from the left are: ICBL Director Hecctor Guerra; President of the 20th Meeting of State Parties to the Mine Ban Convention Ambassador Alicia Victoria Arango Olmos from Colombia; Acting Director of the UN Mine Action Service, Ms. Ilene Cohn; His Royal Highness, the Special Envoy on the Universalization for the Mine Ban Treaty and Lord Chamberlain of the Royal Hashemite Court, Prince Mired Raad Al-Hussein from Jordan; the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Peace Operations and the Chair of the United Nations Inter-Agency Coordination Group for Mine Action, Jean-Pierre Lacroix; the Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl; the Under-Secretary-General for the Department of Global Communications Ms. Melissa Fleming; and the Permanent Representative of Poland to the United Nations in New York, Ambassador Krzysztof Szczerski.
