Abyei - UNISFA Mission
Mr. Jes Luckett is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Abyei supporting the UNISFA mission. Previously, Mr. Luckett has been working with UNOPS in Ukraine as Chief of Operations, and prior to that he was with UNDP as a Mine Action Specialist. He also worked with UNMAS as Acting Chief of Operations in Turkey and as a Training/Operations Officer in Mogadishu, Somalia. Mr. Luckett served in the British Army for a period of six years before joining the United Nations and proceeding into Humanitarian Mine Action in Sudan during the ceasefire and subsequent signing of the peace agreement for Landmine Action (iNGO), Armor Group (Commercial) and UNMAS (2003-2008). He holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid from the KALU Institute of Humanitarian Aid Studies Centre in Spain and also holds certificates in Protective Security from Bucks New University in the UK and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the British Army.
Afghanistan
Mr. Nick Pond is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Afghanistan. Previously he was the Senior Advisor to the Programme Manager of The HALO Trust in Afghanistan, and he was the Senior Military Advisor for United Nations mission UNAMA from April 2021 to April 2022. He has worked regularly in Afghanistan since 2005 and has always strived to improve the lives of those that are suffering. Prior to working with HALO, Mr. Pond served in the British Army for 36 years, leading teams in highly volatile environments, working to maintain, preserve, build, and sustain peace. His deployments included Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. He holds a master’s degree in military studies from Cranfield University, and a postgraduate certificate in security and strategy for global leaders from King's College London.
Burkina Faso
In transition.
Central African Republic
Ms. Sophie Van Royen is the Chief Mine Action Programme in Central African Republic in support of the UN Peacekeeping Operation MINUSCA. She joined UNMAS in 2022 in Mali in the MINUSMA Safety and Security of Peacekeepers project, where she actively supported the Mission in developing a comprehensive and holistic explosive threat mitigation framework of mutually reinforcing activities that made peacekeeping operations in Mali stronger and safer. Before joining the United Nations, Sophie served in the Belgian army for 18 years, first as a Combat Engineer Officer, then as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer, and she was deployed to Afghanistan, Lebanon and Mali, in addition to daily explosive threat mitigation and management duties in Belgium. She holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering.
Colombia
Mr. Antonio S. Armentano is the Chief Mine Action Programme in Colombia. He has 15 years’ experience in leading and managing complex humanitarian programmes of international non-governmental organizations in a variety of challenging contexts including, but not limited to, Eastern and Southern Africa, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. He has more than seven years of experience in humanitarian mine action; physical security and stockpile management; and weapons and ammunition management. He was worked as the Country Director for The Mines Advisory Group – MAG, where he provided critical leadership in establishing and overseeing business operations in a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean Region. Mr. Armentano holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations and recently passed two courses at Harvard Business School focused on business administration and entrepreneurship.
Cyprus
Mr. Mark Connelly is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Cyprus supporting the UN peacekeeping operation UNFICYP. During his 15 years of service within UNMAS, Mr. Connelly has served in Abyei, Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Uganda. He has held several positions including Chief of Quality Assurance, Project Manager, Programme Manager and Chief of Operations.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mr. Jean-Denis Larsen is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Mr. Larsen holds a MSc Economics (specializing in international business and development studies) from Copenhagen Business School and a B Engineering (specializing in telecommunications) from the Technical University of Denmark. He was most recently employed at the MONUSCO Arms Embargo Cell (AEC) tasked with collection, analysis and dissemination of data on the flow of illegal weapons and ammunition within and around the DRC. He has experience as consultant and manager with commercial enterprises, development agencies and diplomatic missions predominately working in Central and Western Africa. Before joining the UN, Jean-Denis worked for eight years as the Country Director of mine action organizations in Mali and DRC.
Ethiopia
Under recruitment.
Iraq
Mr. Pehr Lodhammar is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Iraq, managing all international and national staff in the program, in addition to donor relations and resource mobilization. As a key advocate for the mine action sector in Iraq, he is often involved with coordination with the highest levels of the Iraqi government, and represents UNMAS at international venues and conferences. Mr. Lodhammar holds a Master’s Degree in International Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, and has more than 30 years of military and humanitarian mine action experience.
Lebanon
Ms. Julie Myers is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Lebanon supporting the UN peacekeeping operation UNIFIL. She has 19 years of service in the mine action sector, including assignments in five UN missions: UNISFA (Abyei), UNMISS (South Sudan), UNFICYP (Cyprus), UNSMIL (Libya), and UNIFIL. In addition to field assignments, Ms. Myers served in headquarters positions in UNMAS and the United Nations Children’s Fund’s Landmines and Small Arms Team. Before joining the United Nations, Julie served in the United States Army in tactical and strategic level assignments in Europe and the United States.
Libya
Ms. Fatma Zourrig is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in UNSMIL, Libya. Ms. Zourrig has over eight years of experience with MINUSMA (Mali), UNAMA (Afghanistan) and UNMHA (Yemen). She has held various positions with the UN including Senior Coordinator Officer of the G5 Sahel Interim Support Programme, Special Assistant to the SRSG, Coordination Officer and Political Affairs Officer. Prior to joining the UN, Fatma served as Special Assistant to the Secretary-General of the Arab Information and Communication Technologies Organization in the League of Arab States. Ms. Zourrig is of Tunisian nationality and holds a Master’s degree in Journalism.
Mali
Ms. Iveta Havlickova is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Mali. With 13 years of service in the Czech Army, Iveta transitioned to the United Nations in 2020. Her UN career includes various roles such as Field Coordinator or Operations Specialist with UNMAS in South Sudan and Mali. Most recently, she has served as a Programme Management Officer with UNMHA in Yemen, where she supported the Mission’s mine action mandate.
Iveta holds a Master’s degree in Military Technologies from the University of Defense, along with Bachelor’s degrees in Public Administration from Masaryk University and Environmental Studies from the University of Jan Evangelista Purkyně.
Nigeria
Mr. Edwin Faigmane is the Chief of the Mine Action Programme, representing UNMAS in Nigeria. He joined UNMAS in 2011 as the Senior Programme Officer in Afghanistan and has deployed to various peacekeeping missions. Before Nigeria, he was the Head of Project Unit in the UNMAS programme in MINURSO, the Territory of Western Sahara, where he also acted as the CMAP for almost half a year. Edwin joined mine action in 2005 with UNDP in Lao PDR as a programme advisor and was more recently, as the Chief Technical Adviser of the UNDP mine action programme in Cambodia. Edwin has assisted the Royal Thai Government and the Royal Cambodian Government in developing their respective national mine action strategies as well as Cambodia's extension request under Article 5 of the AP Mine Ban Convention. For the services he rendered to Cambodia, he was awarded the Royal Order of Sahametrei by the Cambodian Prime Minister. He holds a master’s degree in Business Administration.
State of Palestine
Mr
. Luke Irving is the Chief of the Mine Action Programme, in the occupied Palestinian territories. Luke joined UNMAS oPt from the World Food Programme, bringing 17 years’ experience to the role. After completing higher education, Luke undertook service as a combat engineer with the British Army. Completing exercises/deployments in Germany, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Jordan, Canada and the UK. After leaving the military in 2014, Luke worked in the humanitarian and development sector predominately in Africa and the Middle East. Specializing in humanitarian mine action, civil-military coordination, programming and operations. Between 2015-18, Luke worked closely with civil society organizations in Syria. He provided capacity development and technical training in humanitarian explosive hazard clearance. Luke then became a country director for DanChurchAid (DCA) in Iraq working in partnerships with local NGOs to assist displaced persons in their return to conflict impacted areas in the north of the country. With WFP Luke deployed to missions across the Middle East and Europe, notably to Türkiye/Syria after the 2023 earthquake and to Lebanon and Ukraine. Luke is a graduate of Peace Studies and postgraduate in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London, UK.
Somalia
Mr. Fran O’Grady is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Somalia beginning February 2025. With more than two decades of cross-role mine action experience, Fran has led large teams and implemented complex initiatives in military, emergency response, humanitarian, and development settings. Since first working with UNMAS in Eritrea as an Operations Officer in 2002, Fran has had mine action deployments to South Sudan, DR Congo, Syria Response, Iraq, Mali, Somalia and Ethiopia. He also served as a Platoon Commander in Liberia, NATO Analyst in Kosovo, and Military Staff Officer in Chad, as well as Senior Programme Manager Rule of Law Reform in Ukraine. Most recently, in establishing the UNMAS Standing Capacity, he provided strategic and technical support to several UNMAS programmes. He holds a Master’s Degree from Trinity College Dublin, and is a Chartered Professional Engineer and professional mentor.
South Sudan
Zehrudin (Zed) Sukanovic is a Chief of the Mine Action Programme in South Sudan, leveraging over 28 years of humanitarian mine action experience since 1996. He has dedicated more than 17 of those years to UNMAS, undertaking various technical and managerial roles in Darfur, South Sudan, Lebanon, and the DRC, and supported UNMAS in Palestine and Ethiopia in a Standing Capacity role before returning to South Sudan. His background encompasses military, governmental, NGO, and UN sectors, coordinating complex mine action projects and programmes that facilitate emergency responses and enhance national capacities. He holds a Master’s in Project Management from the University of Liverpool.
Sudan
Mr. Mohammad Sediq Rashid is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Sudan. Mr. Rashid joined the mine action sector in 1989 and progressively gained experience through various roles with the United Nations in Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan. He has worked with UNMAS since 2002. He joined the UNCT in Sudan as an UNMAS Programme Manager in July 2019. Sediq came to Sudan with over 30 years of relevant experience. He is specialized in managing mine action programmes, strategic planning and capacity development of national mine action institutions. He holds a master’s degree from Cranfield university.
Syria
Mr. Joseph McCartan is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Syria. He has worked with UN FAO as its Regional Security Advisor for Asia and Pacific, with OCHA as a Civil-Military Coordination Officer and spent 5 years with OPCW Mission in Syria as the Programme Manager. He has also worked with the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina as an Exhumations Officer, been deployed by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Joint Military Commission and the International Military Advisory Team in Sudan before joining the UN Mine Action Service in Sudan in 2006. He deployed to Iraq as UNOPS Deputy Director before returning to UNMAS to establish the programme with the UN Interim Security Force, Abyei. Mr. McCartan is an ex-British Army Officer and holds a BA (War) from King’s College, London and an MA (Security, Violence and Terrorism) from Queen’s University, Belfast.
Ukraine
Mr. Paul Heslop is the Senior Mine Action Advisor to the Resident Coordinator and United Nations Country Team in Ukraine. Mr. Heslop was the UNMAS Chief of Programme and Planning and was previously seconded to UNDP in Ukraine and is now in the RC office. He has 30 years of experience in Mine Action. He began his demining career in 1994 working for “The HALO Trust” in seven mine affected countries at all levels in mine action from deminer to programme manager. He joined the UN in 2004 in Sudan as the Chief of Staff/Deputy Director of the UNMAS/UNMIS programme before moving to UN HQ in New York in 2006. He was involved in developing and supporting UN mine action programmes in over 25 countries between 2006 and 2020 as Chief of Operations in UNMAS HQ NY, including 15 rapid emergency deployments via the UNMAS rapid response and technical support team.
Western Sahara
Mr. El hadji Mamadou Kebe is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in the Territory of Western Sahara. Mr. Kebe holds a Master’s degree in social sciences and development studies. He has more than 12 years’ experience working in mine action, international humanitarian law (IHL) and project development. He has experience working in Senegal, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Territory of Western Sahara, in Iraq and in the Central African Republic.
Yemen
Mr. Leon Louw is Chief of the Mine Action Programme in Yemen. During his 12 years with UNMAS, he has served in Sudan (including Darfur), Lebanon, and Western Sahara, eight years as UNMAS programme manager in Lebanon, Abyei, and the Territory of Western Sahara. Before joining the United Nations, Leon worked on mine action in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.