Debating Security Plus 2018: Conflict, competition and cooperation in an interconnected world

In her current role, Maureen Achieng ensures effective IOM support to the Ethiopian government as well as the broader Horn of Africa region in responding to migration challenges. She is also the IOM Representative to the African Union, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), helping to formulate policies and implement initiatives that uphold the rights and needs of migrants, promote effective migration management, and mitigate migration-related risks. 

Saad Amrani is a leading actor in Belgium’s fight against radicalisation and ISIS, and is responsible for securing international high-level meetings, maintaining public order at demonstrations, matters dealing with foreign-born communities and international issues. Among other flagship projects, Amrani led an exchange program between the Moroccan anti-terrorist police and the Belgian police on radicalisation issues in the context of the Syrian war. He recently co-founded the think tank “Committee D”, attached to the Belgian Home Affairs Ministry, that promotes a new and “disruptive” approach to security issues.

David Andelman is a veteran foreign correspondent, author and commentator contributing frequently to CNN on international security policy including nuclear and cyber threats as well as global diplomacy. Andelman recently joined the Centre on National Security at Fordham University Law School as a visiting fellow, and previously served as Editor-in-Chief of the World Policy Journal. His CNN columns received the 2018 Deadline Club Award for Opinion Writing by the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists. Andelman is also the author of A Shattered Peace: Versailles 1919 and the Price We Pay Today, which looks at the origins of many of today’s deepest global crises.

One of the world’s most renowned development agencies, GIZ is currently implementing more than 100 projects worldwide to support refugees and migrants. One of its flagship projects is the Better Migration Management programme, which aims to address the trafficking and smuggling of migrants within and from the Horn of Africa, strengthening the rights of migrants and protecting them better from violence, abuse and exploitation. With more than 15 years of experience at GIZ, Dirk Aßmann’s current portofolio includes migration issues. He is a member of the GIZ internal Task Force on migration.

Stefanie Babst leads a team that advises the two most senior leaders of the transatlantic Alliance – the NATO Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Military Committee – on strategic and global security challenges. In this capacity, she is responsible for preparing comprehensive assessments on potential upcoming crisis situations and their implications for NATO. A highly-regarded expert on international security policy, she also previously served as NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Public Diplomacy. 

Christian Friis Bach leads Denmark’s largest international humanitarian organisation, which works in more than 30 conflict-affected countries worldwide. The organisation has developed a strong reputation as a leading actor in insecure environments and in assisting refugees along every phase of the displacement cycle. Prior to joining the DRC, Friis Bach served as Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation and as UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). 

Franziska Brantner is a German politician, who currently serves as Parliamentary State Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. She is also the ministry’s Special Coordinator for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Prior to this, Brantner was a member of the Bundestag and a member of the European Parliament, where her work focused on foreign affairs, conflict resolution and rapid crisis response. She also conducted negotiations on the reform of the European External Action Service. Before entering politics, Brantner worked for the Bertelsmann Foundation and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Gilles de Kerchove has been the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator since 2007, where he plays a central role in monitoring the implementation of the EU counter-terrorism strategy. Prior to this position, he served as Director for Justice and Home Affairs at the EU Council Secretariat and was also worked in national government as the Chief of Cabinet to the Belgian Minister of Justice. Kerchove was the Deputy Secretary of the Convention which drafted the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU.   

During his nearly 30-year diplomatic career, François de Kerchove d’Exaerde has held such prestigious positions as Director of Cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs, Director for Security Policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador for the European Union’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), as well as various diplomatic postings in Japan, Kuwait and Berlin. De Kerchove d’Exaerde also served as Director General of the Egmont Institute.

Tobias Feakin leads Australia’s international engagement for national security and foreign policy in cyberspace. He was a member of the panel that supported the Australian Cyber Security Review to produce the 2016 Cyber Security Strategy. He was previously the Director of National Security Programmes at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, where he established the institute’s International Cyber Policy Centre. He has also held a number of research and advisory positions, including with the Royal United Services Institute, Oxford University and the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace.

As ISD’s founding CEO, Sasha Havlicek leads the organisation’s pioneering programmes, advising governments and working with businesses and civil society to deliver solutions to conflict, extremism and terrorism. She has spearheaded the largest global network of former extremists (AVE) in partnership with Google’s Jigsaw; the Strong Cities Network, the first global counter-extremism cities network; and the Innovation Hub, a partnership with Facebook, Google and Twitter to counter extremists’ online efforts. She recently launched with Sheryl Sandberg the Online Civil Courage Initiative, aimed at challenging hate speech and extremism online.  

Working on the implementation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Leo Hoffmann co-founded the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in Germany. In addition to his current position at ICAN, he is a Research and Advocacy Coordinator at Transparency International, and previously worked at the European Commission on economic and financial affairs and at the Joint Research Centre, the Commission’s science and knowledge service. Hoffmann also previously served as a disarmament attaché for the pacific island Republic of Nauru at the UN.

As Chief Executive Officer of the world’s largest dedicated peacebuilding organisation, Shamil Idriss has led Search’s efforts to end violent conflict in more than 35 countries globally, including some of the most devastating conflict zones in the Middle East and Africa. Previously, Idriss was the Deputy Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, supporting high-level political and religious leaders to improve cross-cultural relations between Western and Muslim-majority countries, before, during, and after the Arab Spring revolutions.

Bjørn Ihler is an international counter extremism expert and activist working as a filmmaker, editor and writer to develop spaces for dialogue and peace-building between different people and communities. In 2016, he co-founded the Khalifa Ihler Institute that works for peace through knowledge, technology and design. Since 2016 Bjørn has also been part of the Kofi Annan Foundation initiative Extremely Together, and he explores means of countering violent extremism as one of ten young leaders in the field from across the world. Bjørn is building his work on a foundation in communication, technology, data and computational sociology as well as his academic background in peace and conflict studies.

In his current role, Edvinas Kerza is responsible for the Baltic state’s national cybersecurity policy. As an IT professional and an expert in all things cyber, Kerza was previously in charge of managing key information systems projects at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, and has participated in several international conferences on this subject. Kerza also previously served As Chief Specialist at the Permanent Representation to the European Union.

A leading expert on migration issues, Khalid Koser has published widely on the prevention of violent extremism, international migration, asylum, refugees and internal displacement. In addition to his current position, he is the Сhair of the Global Future Council on Migration, Editor of the Journal of Refugee Studies, and holds fellowships at a number of top research institutes including the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Brookings, the Lowy Institute and Maastricht University. He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. 

Maqsoud Kruse leads Hedayah, the first independent and international think & do tank aiming to counter violent extremism by supporting dialogue, capacity building, and research. Kruse also serves as a Steering Board Member of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, a public-private partnership supporting local initiatives to counter violent extremism. Kruse previously served in the UAE Armed Forces working on military psychology, strategic planning and leadership development. In addition to violence and extremism, Kruse also has strong expertise in political Islam, political communication and propaganda.

Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian-American journalist and columnist, who exclusively covers stories about Iran in both English and Persian. She is also the host of the Iran Podcast and a frequent commentator on Iranian affairs at MSNBC, BBC, PRI, The New York Times, Aljazeera, HuffPost and international outlets across the world, including Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, Turkey, Switzerland and Japan. Mortazavi previously worked as a TV presenter at Voice of America (VOA) Persian, where she hosted a daily hour-long interactive show that discussed current affairs with Iranians across the world.

Robert Muggah is the co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a Brazilian think and do tank working on security and justice in Latin America and Africa. Muggah is also the co-founder of the SecDev Foundation. He consults with governments, the UN, the World Bank and firms ranging from Google to McKinsey. He is known for designing award-winning interactive data visualisations that track the global arms trade, homicidal violence, fragile cities, and climate change. He has also developed open source body cameras for police accountability and predictive crime dashboards.

In her current position, Izumi Nakamitsu is responsible for managing global threats posed by weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons, and nuclear proliferation. She has previously held several high-level positions at the UN, including as Assistant Administrator for Crisis Response at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Special Advisor Ad Interim on the Follow-up to the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants. She was named one of the 2018 World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune, praising her exceptional diplomatic skills, clearheaded pragmatism and quiet activism.

Having joined Médecins sans Frontières over 20 years ago, Jérôme Oberreit has worked in Kenya, Sierra Leone, Somalia and Palestinian territories, and subsequently in Brussels where he has been managing medical–humanitarian activities over the past decade. Oberreit has developed particular expertise in working in conflict settings and in managing HIV programmes. In his current role, he worked on many migration-related issues such as a relevant and cohesive response to the 2014 Ebola West African epidemic and on supporting strong public positioning linked to the protection of the medical mission and people on the move.

Annalisa Piras is an award-winning Italian director, producer and journalist based in London. Her latest documentary, ‘Europe at Sea’, has gained exclusive access for the first time to the work of the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy at a pivotal moment in time, when Europe is confronted by a changing geopolitical landscape and pressing migration and security challenges. Piras’s prior award-winning documentaries include ‘The Great European Disaster Movie’ (2015) and ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’ (2012).

Maciej Popowski is a Polish diplomat, who previously served as deputy director-general of DG NEAR before assuming his current role. He is the former deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service (EEAS). Popowski has also previously served as the head of Jerzy Buzek’s cabinet, Poland’s permanent representative in the EU’s Political and Security Committee, and deputy head of the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union. At the time of Poland’s EU accession negotiations, he was the director for EU affairs at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A senior EU diplomat, Giles Portman is responsible for communicating and promoting EU policies in the EU’s eastern neighbourhood, strengthening the region’s media independence, and improving the EU’s capacity to anticipate and respond to disinformation. The EEAS East Stratcom Task Force launched in 2015 the EU vs Disinformation campaign, to better forecast, address and respond to pro-Kremlin disinformation. With a career focused on the EU and its neighbourhood, Portman previously worked on EU-Turkey relations as chair of the working group that negotiated the opening of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations in 2005.

Wayne C. Raabe leads a team that embodies a “whole of society” approach in building and strengthening sustainable partnerships to ensure regional security and stability to better execute EUCOM operations. With experience in the development and application of narcotic drug policy, Raabe previously served as Principal Deputy Chief of the US Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section. Raabe also has in-depth expertise in global maritime security, having served a 21-year career in the US Coast Guard.

The EUCAP Sahel Mali mission supports the Malian state in ensuring constitutional and democratic order, establishing the conditions for lasting peace and maintaining its authority throughout the entire territory. A high-ranking officer in the French gendarmerie, Philippe Rio has developed during his 37 years of experience in the gendarmerie and other civilian and military institutions a strong expertise in security-related issues, international cooperation, and crisis management. He previously served at the NATO military headquarters, the French permanent representation to the EU, the French Interior Ministry, and the European Union delegation in Libya.

Retiring from NATO in September 2018 after 38 years at the organisation, Jamie Shea has occupied a number of senior positions at NATO across a wide range of areas, including external relations, press and media, and policy planning. As NATO’s spokesperson, he was the face of the alliance during the Bosnia and Kosovo conflicts. He later worked as the director of policy planning in the private office of former secretary general Rasmussen during the preparation of NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept. Shea is also a regular lecturer and conference speaker on NATO and European security affairs.

Based in Nairobi, Matina covers economics and investment across Africa for the Wall Street Journal. She was previously based in Belgium, where she covered the eurozone crisis from the WSJ Brussels bureau. Before joining the WSJ, she wrote for the Economist, where she won the 2010 Marjorie Deane financial journalism award. Matina is particularly interested in migration-related issues in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. In 2015, she was one of the few foreign journalists reporting from Eritrea as part of an exclusive investigation into Eritrean refugees. She has written for other top media outlets such as Eleftherotypia and the Guardian and has appeared as a political commentator on European and Greek affairs on Al Jazeera English and the BBC.

With a rich political career spanning more than 20 years, Terron previously served as Spanish Secretary of State for Migration, Secretary for the European Union of the Government of Catalonia, and Member of the European Parliament. As President of Instrategies, Anna Terron offers strategic support to institutions, organisations and companies on managing diversity, immigration, asylum and international mobility. She is advised European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on migration and Mediterranean issues. She currently serves as Chair of the Advisory Board of the United Nations University’s Institute on Globalisation, Culture and Mobility.

Ramesh Thakur is a leading expert on issues of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament in Asia, and is the co-Convenor of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. He previously served as UN Assistant Secretary-General and Senior Vice Rector of the United Nations University, and was a principal architect of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine. Thakur has also advised the Australian and New Zealand governments on arms control, disarmament and international security issues. 

Nathalie Tocci is the architect of the 2016 European Global Strategy and is currently working on its implementation, primarily in the field of security and defence. An Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen, she has previously held research positions at prestigious European and American research institutes. An expert on European foreign policy, conflict resolution, the Middle East and the Mediterranean, she was awarded the 2008 Anna Lindh award for the study of European Foreign Policy.

Marjolijn van Deelen’s current portfolio includes all Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)-related Dutch foreign policy with priorities in nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament, nuclear security and NATO nuclear policy. She was part of the Dutch team for the chairmanship of the 2017 Preparatory Committee for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and currently leads on follow-up efforts. Van Deelen formerly headed the Ministry’s Europe Division and served as Deputy Permanent Representative in the Mission to the UN in Vienna dealing with Iran, Syria and DPRK non-proliferation issue.

A leading expert in the field of counter-terrorism, Renske van der Veer has worked with various government organisations in the counter-terrorism field across the interface of local, national and international spheres. Prior to her recent appointment at ICCT, she served as coordinating senior policy advisor and deputy head of unit in the Counter-Terrorism Department of the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV), part of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security.

Prior to his current role in Kyiv, Vaidotas Verba was team leader of the Odessa group of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in 2014. A Lithuanian top diplomat, Verba previously served as the country’s Special Envoy for the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Ambassador to the Netherlands, and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He was also the Chief Coordinator for the preparation of the third Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in 2013.

Before his current appointment, Lamberto Zannier served as OSCE Secretary-General of the OSCE and was also UN Special Representative for Kosovo. An Italian diplomat with more than 30 years of experience, he played a leading role at the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry as Coordinator for EU Foreign Policy and as Director for EU Security and Defence issues, and also served as Italy’s Ambassador to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). He has authored several publications on security, conflict prevention and crisis management issues. 

Lassina Zerbo has been instrumental in cementing the CTBTO’s position as the world’s centre of excellence for ending nuclear testing, as well as in leading efforts towards the entry into force and universalisation of the Treaty. To further achieve this goal he created a group comprising of internationally-recognised decision-makers and experts to promote and advance the Treaty’s aims. In recognition of his work at the CTBTO and in the disarmament and nuclear proliferation field in general, Zerbo was awarded the 2013 “Arms Control Person of the Year”.