Tribute to Two Decades of Dedication - ICBL-CMC Officeholders Step Down
Two long-standing ICBL-CMC officeholders are stepping down from their roles after more than two decades of service, effective 31 March 2024.
Last November, Steve Goose of Human Rights Watch announced his intent to step down from the role of ICBL-CMC Governance Board Chair in early 2024. ICBL-CMC Vice-Chair Paul Hannon also expressed his intent to step down from the Vice-Chair role following his retirement from Mines Action Canada in July 2023.
Over the past three months, a Board sub-committee has undertaken a process to identify and transition to a new chairing arrangement for the ICBL-CMC. The new officeholders will be announced shortly and, before then, the Governance Board would like to acknowledge the significant contributions that Steve and Paul have made.
Steve Goose joined the Arms Division of Human Rights Watch in February 1993, just after an October 1992 meeting where HRW and five other non-governmental organizations co-founded the ICBL. He played an instrumental role in bringing about the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and served as ICBL chair from 1997. Human Rights Watch co-founded the Cluster Munition Coalition in 2003 and Steve was also central in negotiating the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions in his role as CMC co-chair. Since the merger in 2011, Steve has served as ICBL-CMC chair. Steve conceived of the Landmine Monitor initiative and helped bring it into existence. He has edited and guided production of the annual Landmine Monitor and Cluster Munition Monitor reports. Steve will continue to serve as Human Rights Watch’s representative in the ICBL-CMC Governance Board. He has done and expects to continue devoting significant time and effort to advocating for the United States to relinquish antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions. Steve lives in Putney, Vermont with his wife Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Co-Laureate and former ICBL Coordinator.
It's hard to find the words to express all that Steve has done in chairing the ICBL-CMC over these years. His strategic vision has served as the unwavering guidepost for the campaigns, keeping the movement sharply focused on our core mission, while his work ethic ensured our contributions were always of the highest quality. Steve is a beloved and historic figure in this fight and we are grateful for his contributions. We count on Steve’s continued advice and contributions.
Paul Hannon became the Executive Director of Mines Action Canada in 1998, months after he witnessed the historic signing of the Mine Ban Treaty in Ottawa in December 1997, while at Oxfam Canada. Paul brought to the campaign experience working in the Canadian development sector, federal government, and a major Canadian financial institution. Mines Action Canada co-founded the Cluster Munition Coalition and Paul and MAC fought for seven years to successfully convince Canada to ratify the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. As a member of the ICBL-CMC Monitoring and Research Committee, Paul has overseen the production of the annual Landmine Monitor report and the annual Cluster Munition Monitor report. In 2011, Paul led a process to merge the CMC and ICBL and subsequently served as Vice-Chair of the ICBL-CMC. Paul resides in Ottawa with his life partner Maureen Hollingworth.
Paul is a highly respected campaigner who, like Steve, has provided crucial support to ICBL-CMC staff and campaigners, guiding and mentoring many of us. He has strived to ensure good internal and external communications by the ICBL and CMC to keep stakeholders and campaigners informed, motivated, and focused on the goal of delivering a world free of landmines and cluster munitions.
The ICBL-CMC Governance Board reiterates its sincere thanks and gratitude to Steve and Paul for their dedicated service to the cause of banning antipersonnel landmines and cluster munitions. We appreciate their strategic contributions, integrity and humility, commitment to intersectionality, and staunch dedication to ensuring the ICBL-CMC survives and thrives.