Speakers

Philip Alpers is founding director of GunPolicy.org, a global project of the Sydney School of Public Health which compares armed violence, firearm injury prevention and gun law across 350 jurisdictions world-wide. Currently Adjunct Associate Professor of public health at the University of Sydney and a former Senior Fellow at the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, Harvard School of Public Health, Alpers is a policy analyst in the public health effects of armed violence, firearm injury prevention and small arms proliferation. Accredited to the United Nations small arms Programme of Action since 2001, he participates in the UN process as a member of the Australian government delegation. Publications include a 20-nation regional study (Small Arms in the Pacific), field work with users and traffickers (Gunrunning in Papua New Guinea) and an impact analysis of the world's largest firearm buyback (Australia's 1996 Gun Law Reforms). Philip Alpers is recognised among the ‘Top 100: The most influential people in armed violence reduction’ compiled by the peak international NGO in this field.

Carolyn O. Arguillas is one of the founders of the Mindanao News and Information Center Service Cooperative (MindaNews Co-op) organized in 2001 by Mindanao-based journalists who used to write for a national broadsheet where she was Mindanao Bureau Chief. She has extensively coveredMindanao, including its conflicts and peace processes, for nearly three decades and has won several awards including the Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best News Reporting, the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Investigative Journalism, lifetime achievement award from Titus Brandsma-Philippines and the Hildegarde Awards for Women of the St. Scholastica’s College, the “Investigative Journalist of the Year” award from the Rotary Club of Manila and the Marshall McLuhan Prize from the Canadian Embassy.

General Emmanuel Trinidad Bautista AFP (Ret) served as the 44th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was appointed by President Benigno S Aquino III in 17 January 2013 and he retired from the service in 18 July 2014. His leadership of the AFP was anchored on the fulfillment of its constitutional mandate through the Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan” and its pursuit of Security Sector Reform initiatives through the Armed Forces of the Philippines Transformation Roadmap.

Atty. Anna Tarhata Basman is the head of the Legal Team assisting the Government Panel for the talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. As such, she sat in the negotiations as a member of the technical working group for the Annex on Power Sharing, in addition to joining other special teams for the discussion of contentious issues during negotiations. Prior to this engagement, she was a court attorney for the Court of Appeals. She graduated from the University of the Philippines and is a young lawyer whose roots hail from Marawi City, Lanao del Sur.

Timothy is the Conflict Prevention Adviser at the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. His current priorities include mainstreaming human security into national development planning and national security policies; women, peace and security; the links between climate change, forced migration and conflict; and land use and conflict. Timothy is also completing his PhD at the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney.

Luigi De Martino is the coordinator of the Secretariat of the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, a diplomatic initiative signed by 112 states aiming at reducing in a measurable way armed violence by 2015 (and beyond). He has worked for more than ten years as  researcher, trainer and consultant on conflict, violence and development issues. Before that, he worked for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. He holds a Master in Anthropology and a B.A. in Political Sciences.

Dr Rene Guioguio is a Consultant (Political Adviser) of the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE of the RED CROSS (ICRC), Delegation to the Philippines, Legaspi Village, Makati City and also Professor of Journalism, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in journalism, mass communication and communication research.  In 2009, he was part of an exclusive ICRC research carried out in eight countries (Afghanistan, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Haiti, Lebanon, Liberia and the Philippines). The study, which involved a quantitative survey and personal interviews and focus groups, showed  how people affected by conflict live, what their main problems and needs are, and what causes them the most pain and suffering. It also examined their views on the relevance of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) as a legal framework designed to protect them.

He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of the Philippines where he also completed his M.A. in Communication Research.  His Ph.d is in International Communication from the University of Washington (UW), Seattle, USA and he has also a Post Graduate Diploma in Communication Policy and Planning from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS), the Hague, Netherlands.   His background also include  an Executive Course on National Security (ECNS) at the  NATIONAL DEFENSE COLLEGE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Defense Management Institute (DMI), Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City  and a course in Communication Policy from the The Annenberg Washington Program’s Northwestern Faculty Workshop, Communication Policy Studies, Northwestern University, Washington, D.C.

Kapil Kafle is a journalist who is also a Human Rights activist as well as a trainer. He is currently the Executive Director of the Institute of Human Rights Communication in Nepal (IHRICON). He has previously worked with the field of media for more than two decades and he has completed a Master's Degree in Management. He had worked as an editor for three newspapers: Samacharpatra Daily Newspaper, Rajdhani Daily Newspaper, Mahan agar. Kapil is also a senior media, peace and gender trainer, providing training to journalists all over Nepal on conflict resolution, the principles of UNSCR 1325, gender issues and human rights reporting. He prepared the "Peace Journalism" Training Manual, "Peace Module" for school teachers, "Women Peace and Security" Training Manual, "Democracy and DDR Process" Training Manual. He has also written "Susam Chandika", novel on gender equality and the people's movement for the democracy, "Patrakarita.khoj" (Journalism & Investigation), "Chitragupta", Collection of short satire essays that promote the rule of law and good governance and "Ek Samsadko Antya" a collection of short stories about the demise of Parliamentarian.

Ms.Sumshot Khular is a Lamkang Naga indigenous from Thamlakhuren village in Chandel district of Manipur state in India. She is an active Human rights and Peace activist, at present serving as the Executive Director of Community Action and Research for Development- a grassroot organization working for education, human rights, gender, development, peace based in Chandel district in Manipur. She translates Human Rights Documents in Lamkang language and she also write stories for children in Lamkang and is currently involved in writing Lamkang dictionary and other books for use for teaching in mother tongue (Lamkang).

She had worked with Centre for Social Development an NGO based in Imphal in Manipur from 1996 till 2001 September on development, HIV/AIDS and on local capacity building for peace. From October 2001 till 2004 October she worked with Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) based in New Delhi working on combating communalism, defending democracy and resisting globalization. She also worked with Foundation for Social Transformation (FST) for a short period in 2011, 2012 in Guwahati, Assam.

She is a member of the Lamkang Snu Lop, Naga Women’ Union Manipur (NWUM), Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), and Peace Core Team Manipur. She is actively involved in the peace building and reconciliation amongst inter-ethnic groups after the Kuki- Naga conflict and had been engaged in mediation at the local level. She had her MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights from Essex University, UK. She is the Vice President of the Naga Women Union, Manipur.

Trilochan Malla is a former Major of the Nepalese Army, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst-UK and a recipient of the NORAD's NOMA fellowship for Masters in Peace and Conflict studies. In the professional career of around 20 years, Trilochan has had firsthand experience and understanding of the conflict and post conflict contexts of several countries such as Lebanon, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, South Sudan and Nepal. Trilochan is also a part time faculty since 2010 at the Department of Conflict, Peace and Development Studies; Tribhuvan University, Nepal.

Having first participated in the disarmament and demobilization of the rival militants in the Sierra Leonean conflict in 2001-2, Mr Malla closely observed and contributed to the development of 'National framework for reintegration of ex-combatants in Sri Lanka' in 2009. Whilst working with UNDP Nepal 2010-12, Trilochan was member of the technical team advising UN Country Team in supporting Nepal Governments efforts to manage the Maoist Army Combatants as well as UN's Integrated Rehabilitation Program for minors and late recruits (UNIRP).

Mr Malla managed Armed Violence Reduction program in South Sudan with Danish Refugee Council in 2013 up until the recent outbreak of hostilities. Since 2014 he first coordinated establishment of and lately has been managing the Armed Violence Reduction and Strengthening Community Security (AVRSCS) Project in Nepal; a collaborative undertaking between the UNDP and Government of Nepal's Ministry of Home Affairs.

Gonaranao B. Musor, a career diplomat, is the Director for Socio-Cultural Security at the Department of Foreign Affairs – Office of the United Nations and International Organizations. With previous postings in Cairo and Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Musor has handled various facets of the foreign service, including Middle East and Africa, economic, cultural and public diplomacy, and strategic planning. As a writer, his works have been published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, www.gmanews.tv, Fookien Times Philippines Yearbook, Philippine Collegian, as well as having served as editor-in-chief of www.bangsamoro.com. He has BA Psychology (Cum Laude) and MA Communication degrees from the University of the Philippines.

Jasmin Nario-Galace is Executive Director of the Center for Peace Education and Professor at the College of International, Humanitarian and Development Studies in Miriam College.

She is Co-convener of the Women Engaged in Action on 1325, a national network of women in peace, human rights and women’s organizations which helps implement the National Action Plan on UN Security Council Resolutions 1325 and 1820. She is in the Steering Committee of the Philippine Action Network to Control Arms (PhilANCA)

Jasmin is the Coordinator of the Peace Education Network, a national network of peace educators in the Philippines. She is the Chair of the Justice and Peace Education Committee of the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP). She is also a Member of the Board of the Philippine Council for Global and Peace Education.

She is in the Steering Committee of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. She is a member of the Women Peacemakers Program-Asia. She is also in the International Advisory Council of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) and in the Steering Committee of the IANSA Women’s Network. Jasmin is also in the Coordination Committee of the Asia-Pacific Women’s Alliance on Peace and Security.

Jennifer Santiago Oreta holds a PhD in Political Science. Her research interests include security sector reform and development, peace and security, arms and gun-violence, gender and social movements. She was the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Pax Christi-Pilipinas, and a member of the Board of DemokraXXia, a think tank aimed at promoting the values and ideals of democracy, and was part of the steering committee of the Philippine Action Network to Control Arms (PhilANCA), a group that advocates for stricter gun-control and lobbies for the passage of an international Arms Trade Treaty. She was a columnist of the Business World, a Philippine major daily paper. Her column “Blueboard” is published every Tuesday of the month. She is part of the international Board of International Peace Research Association Foundation (IPRAF), and is the co-convener of the Youth and Peace Commissions of the International Peace Research Assn.

Dr Oreta is Asst. Professor on Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University, currently on-leave. She is Assistant Secretary to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), and is in-charge of the DDR (disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration) program, as well as the Knowledge Management and Resource Center of the institution.  She is also the focal person in mainstreaming the cross-cutting issues of  gender, children, indigenous communities, human rights, and security sector reform, and ensuring there is consistency in policy as regards these issues.

Professor Pangalangan is a Professor of Law at the University of the Philippines and is the Publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the country’s largest newspaper, where for eight years he wrote the opinion column Passion for Reason. He also teaches Constitutional Law and International Law at U.P. where he served two terms as Law Dean. He has held taught International Law at the Harvard Law School and The Hague Academy of International Law. He has also held visiting appointments at Hong Kong University, Melbourne and University of Puerto Rico. He has published essays with the Cambridge, Oxford, University of California and Princeton university presses, and has a forthcoming volume with the U.P. Press. At Harvard, he won the Laylin Prize for best paper in international law for his master’s thesis and the Charles Sumner Prize for best dissertation on international peace for his doctoral thesis. He was recently awarded as Asian Public Intellectual Fellow and will soon serve as a Salzburg Fellow in Health as a Human Right.

From 2010-2014, Shanty Sigrah-Asher served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Division of Pacific Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs within the Federated States of Micronesia National Government. Ms. Sigrah-Asher was recently relocated to serve under the FSM Department of Justice as a legal specialist overseeing anti-corruption and security related issues. During her years of employment with the FSM National Government, Shanty has had the opportunity to staff, assist and advise various leaders and officials on a wide-array of public policy and security issues. Within the four years at Foreign Affairs, Shanty acts as the primary point of contact for all Pacific Countries and Regional Organizations in the FSM, including facilitation of overseas aid from Australia and New Zealand, coordination of technical assistance from CROP Agencies such as the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFs), Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), Forum Fisheries Agency and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP). Shanty attended Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii, where she received her Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration and Bachelor of Science in Pre-Law. Prior to her services in the FSM, Ms. Sigrah-Asher was a legal assistant at a prestigious law firm in Honolulu, Hawaii. In April-June of 2013, Shanty completed the Advanced Security Cooperation Course at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu, Hawaii at Fort Derussy. Ms. Sigrah-Asher is currently undertaking a 1 year Executive Leadership Development Program managed by the Graduate School USA with funding support from the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs of the U.S.

Ivo Sieber is the Ambassador-designate to the Republic of the Philippines, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia of Switzerland. Born on a 30 August 1957 in Altstätten (Switzerland), he is married, with two teenage children. Education: Master of Law, University of Zurich, Switzerland (1982) and LL.M., University of Sydney, Australia (1988). Prior thereto Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission, Swiss Embassy Stockholm (2006-2010), Head of Information and spokesperson to the Foreign Minister, Bern (2004-2006), Counselor and Head of the Economic Department, Swiss Embassy London (2001-2004), Head of Section, International Environmental Affairs, Bern (2000-2001), Secondment to Swiss industrial corporation Sulzer AG (1998- 1999), Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission, Swiss Embassy Bangkok (1994-1998), First Secretary, Permanent Observer Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, New York (1990-1994), Attaché and Deputy Head of Mission, Swiss Embassy Harare (1988-1989).

Pauline Tweedie is The Asia Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative for Thailand and also a senior member of The Asia Foundation’s Regional Conflict and Development Team.  She joined the Asia Foundation in 2003 after working in community development and the IT sector.  Her areas of expertise include institutional capacity-building for government agencies and civil society organizations, gender, political participation, conflict and governance.  In her current position Ms. Tweedie supports the strategic planning and implementation of programs in a number of conflict areas including Southern Thailand.  She also provides technical assistance on conflict related research.  Her most recent publication is The Contested Corners of Asia – Southern Thailand Case Study, The Asia Foundation, 2013.

Nicola Williams is the Coordinator of the Global Alliance on Armed Violence (GAAV), a coalition of 150 actors in 58 countries working to prevent and reduce armed violence. Nicola has worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (Crisis Prevention and Recovery) and INGOs including Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future and the Australian Red Cross. Her work has spanned global, regional, national and local levels in numerous contexts highly affected by violence and conflict. Her areas of expertise include: gender, peace and security; democracy transitions and peace-building; arms control and armed violence reduction; and sustainable development. Nicola’s work has continually focused on empowering civil society stakeholders, be that through policy advocacy, research or training. She has contributed articles to the United Nations News Centre in New York and has produced publications on justice in post-conflict contexts, gender, peace and security. Nicola's qualifications include undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in journalism, and a Masters of International Development from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). She is a member of the Small Arms Survey (SAS) International Programme Council.