| Master of Ceremony
Mr. Sylvain Lefoyer, Deputy Director, Aviation Security and Facilitation, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Sylvain Lefoyer is Deputy Director, Aviation Security and Facilitation in the Air Transport Bureau of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 2017. He leads teams in charge of developing policies, Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs), conducting audits and delivering assistance and capacity building in the areas of Aviation Security, Cyber security, Border Security and Facilitation.
Sylvain led the efforts towards the adoption of the ICAO cybersecurity strategy for civil aviation, its action plan, and the new ICAO cybersecurity governance framework. Sylvain is secretary of the Aviation Security Committee, the International Explosives Technical Commission and the Cyber Security Coordination Committee. Before ICAO, Sylvain's career spans 25 years in the French ministry of transports, covering transport safety and security in maritime navigation, ground transportation and air navigation. He holds a Master's degree in electronics from Paris University and a Master's degree in public management from École des Ponts ParisTech.
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| Mr. Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)
Mr. Vladimir Voronkov was appointed Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism on 21 June 2017, established by General Assembly resolution 71/291.
Mr. Voronkov brings to the position more than 30 years of experience within the Foreign Service of the Russian Federation, working primarily on United Nations affairs, with responsibilities ranging from public diplomacy and social and economic development issues to intergovernmental affairs. Prior to his appointment, he was Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the International Organizations in Vienna. Under his leadership, the Permanent Mission launched several flagship projects with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and developed successful collaborations with the UNODC Antiterrorist Branch. Mr. Voronkov also served on the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), during which time he led several delegations of the Russian Federation to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. Prior to serving in Vienna, Mr. Voronkov was Director of the Department of European Cooperation (2008-2011), during which time he served as the Head of the Russian Delegation during the Russia-European Union negotiations on the visa-free regime (2010-2011). He started his career with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989 and has served in various capacities, among them as Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna (2005-2008), Deputy Director of the Personnel Department (2002-2005) and Minister Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Russian Embassy to Poland (2000-2002). Mr. Voronkov holds a PhD from Moscow State University. He has authored various scientific publications on international issues.
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| Ms. Natalia Gherman is Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)
Prior to her appointment as Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate, Ms. Gherman served as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia since 2017. She brings 30 years of experience in senior leadership and consensus building, consolidating trust and mutual understanding between States, including through the convening of dialogue platforms between Governments, Parliaments, civil society, the private sector and international partners in a multicultural environment. She is an expert in regional and global security affairs, promoting peace through justice, sustainable development and rule of law, while implementing programmatic activities to prevent and counter the threats of international terrorism and extremism, organized crime and environmental degradation. Ms. Gherman held various high-level governmental positions, including as Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova from 2013 to 2016 while concurrently serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Prime Minister in 2015. She was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from 2009 to 2013 while also serving as Chief Negotiator on behalf of the Republic of Moldova for the Association Agreement with the European Union. Ms. Gherman served as Ambassador to Austria and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Agencies in Vienna and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe from 2002 to 2006 and established the diplomatic presence of her country in the Nordic region, having served as first resident Moldovan Ambassador to Sweden, Norway and Finland from 2006 to 2009. She was Deputy Head of the Mission of the Republic of Moldova in Brussels from 2001 to 2002. Ms. Gherman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University of the Republic of Moldova and Master of Arts in War Studies from King’s College, University of London, and speaks Romanian, English, Russian, French and German.
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| Robert Rae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York
Before his appointment by the Government of Canada, Mr. Rae served as Canada’s special envoy on humanitarian and refugee issues, continuing the important work that he began in 2017 as Canada’s special envoy to Myanmar while also addressing other pressing humanitarian and refugee issues around the world. The former premier of Ontario and former interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Mr. Rae was elected 11 times to federal and provincial parliaments between 1978 and 2013. He stepped down as a member of Parliament in 2013 to return to legal practice and, in particular, to work with Indigenous communities and continue his work in education, governance and human rights. His passion for social justice dates back to his early days in student politics and community service. Before his appointment as permanent representative, Mr. Rae was senior counsel at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP. In addition to his legal practice, he taught at the University of Toronto in the School of Public Policy and Governance, in the Faculty of Law and at Massey College and Victoria University, and he was a fellow of the Forum of Federations, Massey College and the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He has also worked as a mediator and arbitrator with ADR Chambers. A former partner at Goodmans LLP, Mr. Rae led the restructuring of the Canadian Red Cross and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and chaired the board of the Royal Conservatory of Music. He is the author of 5 books and a number of government reports. Mr. Rae is a privy councillor, a companion of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of Ontario and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world. He received his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Modern History from the University of Toronto and a Master of Philosophy degree as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and graduated from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
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| Mr. Andrew Clarke, Technical Officer, Maritime Security Section, United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO)
Mr. Andrew Clarke is a Technical Officer, Maritime Security Section, at the United Nations International Maritime Organization (IMO). He joined IMO in November 2019 on loan from the UK Government, and became regular staff in August 2022. He is the lead for the "IMO model on the Whole of Government Approach to Maritime Security," which includes the development and delivery of training and mentoring on National Maritime Security Committee structure development, National Maritime Security Risk Assessment and National Maritime Security Strategies. He is also the lead for the co-ordination of counter-terrorism related activity with other UN Organizations and Agencies including ICAO, and an expert on the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (the regulatory framework for the protection of international shipping and ports). He has a very extensive background in security with more than 25 years' experience in security across all the transport modes at the UK Department for Transport, including threat and risk, aviation, rail and maritime security, contingency planning, and incident response work.
Andrew has a Master's degree in Strategic Studies including terrorism and guerrilla warfare, a degree in International Politics, and has passed more security courses than he would ever care to admit. He is keenly interested and passionate about all maritime security matters.
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| Ms. Rachel Manis, Head of Unit, Programme on Threat Assessment Models for Aviation Security, UN Countering Terrorist Travel Section, UNOCT
Ms. Rachel Manis leads the Programme on Threat Assessment Models for Aviation Security (TAM), which is part of the Countering Terrorist Travel Section in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. In this capacity, she works with Member States around the world to enhance national coordination capacity to prevent and counter threats to aviation. She has over a decade of experience on the international security portfolio. Prior to joining the United Nations, Ms. Manis worked for both the United States Government Transportation Security Administration and Federal Aviation Administration. Past responsibilities have included bilateral and multilateral cooperation for transportation security, and international aircraft certification, respectively. Ms. Manis holds an M.A. in European Studies and International Security from the Euromasters Consortium Programme (jointly awarded by the University of Bath, Charles University - Prague, Humboldt University – Berlin, and Freie University -Berlin) and a B.A. from New York University in History.
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| Mr. Khalil Otmane, Programme Manager, Autonomous and Remotely Operated Systems, United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT)
Mr. Otmane is the Programme Manager of UNOCT's Autonomous and Remotely Operated Systems Programme, which focuses on supporting the capacity of Member States to leverage UAS and other systems to support non-lethal counter-terrorism efforts, and to enhance their understanding and capacity to prevent and counter the use of UAS and other systems for terrorism purposes. Khalil has been working on counter-terrorism capacity-building and policy for the past 7 years, with previous assignments in Europe and West Africa covering North Africa, West Africa and the Middle East. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Asian Studies from the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), and a Master of International Relations from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).
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| Ms. Anne-Maria Seesmaa, Legal Officer, UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED)
Ms. Anne-Maria Seesmaa of Finland was appointed Associate Legal Officer in the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) of the Security Council in July 2016, becoming a Legal Officer in April 2018. Her role is to provide expert support on law enforcement and border-security issues within the framework of CTED’s efforts to monitor, promote and facilitate Member States’ implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions on counterterrorism. Ms. Seesmaa served from 2011 to 2015 as Senior Adviser on counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism issues in the Police Department of the Ministry of the Interior of Finland, representing Finland on the European Union Terrorism Working Group and coordinating Finland’s position on counter-terrorism, including its implementation of the relevant UN resolutions. Ms. Seesmaa also worked on issues relating to reducing the supply of illegal drugs, representing Finland (police) on the EU Horizontal Working Party on Drugs and at numerous international forums, including the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. She has also worked in the areas of foreign relations from the police perspective and EU and UN policing, including police participation in civil crisis-management operations. Ms. Seesmaa has also actively engaged in work to advance transnational law enforcement cooperation and the sharing of related best practices, including by preparing and participating in meetings of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council, the Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security (COSI) and the Law Enforcement Working Party. In 2016, Ms. Seesmaa acted as Project Expert for the Police University College of Finland within the framework of an EU-China peer-to-peer study on police-to-police cooperation. From 2010 to 2011, Ms. Seesmaa served as Senior Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, responsible for issues relating to international counter-terrorism cooperation, representing Finland on the EU External Working Group on Terrorism and on the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Terrorism. Ms. Seesmaa also drafted instructions in matters relating to EU sanctions and participated in the implementation of sanctions and the provision of related information. In 2009, Ms. Seesmaa served in the Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations, in New York, working on legal issues, including in the context of the work of the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly.
Ms. Seesmaa earned a Master’s Degree in Law from the University of Helsinki in 2008 and studied European Law and International Relations at the University of René Descartes, Paris. A native Finnish speaker, she is also fluent in English and French.
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