OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT

MIDDLE EAST, EUROPE and LATIN AMERICA

Mehmet Balci, Programme Director and Permanent Representative of Geneva Call to the European Union, is a journalist and a human rights activist. After having studied foreign languages for many years, he collaborated with different Kurdish political and non-governmental organizations as representative next to the EU, UN, Council of Europe and OSCE. He has authored several articles in the Kurdish and Turkish press. He is founder of the Turkish Campaign to Ban Landmines and member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Non-State Actors Working Group. He has so far authored Landmine Monitor report on Turkey for 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and the booklet Turkey Without Mines. He joined Geneva Call in 2000.

E-mail:

Narine Berikashvili, received a Masters of English Linguistics from Tbilisi State University and is currently studying International Economics (BA) at the Georgian Polytechnic University. Finished Cranfield University "Mine Action Middle Managers" Training Course. Joined International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Landmine Monitor in 2001 as Researcher for Georgia (2001-2005), Chechnya (2006, 2007), Uzbekistan (2007), and Landmine Monitor Research Specialist for CIS/FSU countries since 2005. She joined Geneva Call in September 2006 as the program consultant based in the South Caucasus.

E-mail:

Markus Haake, Programme Officer for the Caucasus, studied philosophy and literature in Berlin. After graduating with a degree in philosophy he volunteered for and worked with different NGOs in the area of human rights, ecology, disarmament and humanitarian mine action. In 2003/2004 he worked with Medico International in Afghanistan. Before joining Geneva Call in February 2007 he coordinated the German Action Group Landmine, and the German Campaign to Ban Landmines. He has authored in whole or in part the Landmine Monitor country reports on Germany between 1999 and 2004.

E-mail:

Armin Köhli, Programme Officer for the Middle East, is a journalist. He currently chairs the board of the Swiss edition of “Le Monde Diplomatique”. From 2000 to 2007 he worked as the foreign editor at the Swiss weekly “Die Wochenzeitung”. Prior to that, he studied foreign languages and worked as a freelance journalist and tour guide, mainly in the Middle East. He has volunteered in different humanitarian, political and cultural NGOs and contributed to the landmine ban movement and mine action-NGOs through his numerous impressive achievements in endurance cycling. He joined Geneva Call in May 2007.

E-mail:

Armelle Seby, Programme Officer for Colombia, holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations (International History and Politics) from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva and a Master in Political Science from the Political Studies Institute of Paris. She worked as a project officer for the Swiss NGOs Espace Femmes International and Genève Tiers Monde where she monitored projects dealing with social development issues in Africa and Central America. Ms. Seby also worked with the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) where she focused on good practices of educational interventions in the fight against child labour. She joined Geneva Call in July 2005.

E-mail:

Return to the Staff Section