You are cordially invited to a side event to the CCW Sixth Review Conference, exploring the ideological framing of the use of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) over time – from its rise in revolutionary movements of the 19th century, to its use in nationalist uprisings in the 20th, and its role in conflicts framed in religious terminology in the 21st century.
Research on the use of IEDs within far-right extremist networks and the role of suicide bombing in Boko Haram’s insurgency will be presented. This event is co-organized by the Permanent Mission of France and Action on Armed Violence (AOAV).
Date and time: Monday December 13th, 13:15-14:45 (Geneva time) / 12:15-13:45 (UK time)
ONLINE (Zoom link forthcoming)
Contact: egriffith@aoav.org.uk
Speaker Biographies
Iain Overton
Iain Overton is the executive director at Action on Armed Violence.
Having worked in over two dozen conflict zones, a former BBC and ITN journalist, Overton’s human rights reporting has been awarded a Peabody Award, two Amnesty Awards, a OneWorld Media Award, a Prix Circom and a BAFTA Scotland. His work has also been shortlisted for 3 Royal Television Society Awards and a Foreign Press Association Award, among others. He has covered armed violence and conflict in Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Syria, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine.
He has been a member of an expert working group on explosive weapons for the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining and is an expert member of the Forum on the Arms Trade. He also sits on the Advisory Board for the NIHR Global Health Research Group on Post Conflict Trauma; PrOTeCT at Imperial College London. He sits on the board of the charity Every Casualty.
Julia Ebner
Julia Ebner is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, where she leads projects on far-right radicalisation and violent extremism. On the basis of her research, Julia advises international organisations, security and intelligence agencies and tech companies. She is also completing her DPhil in Anthropology at Oxford University and authored the bestselling books Going Dark: The Secret Social Lives of Extremists and The Rage: The Vicious Circle of Islamist and Far-Right Extremism.
Akali Omeni
omeni’s PhD with the UK Defence Academy and King’s College London, was on counter-insurgency operations by the Nigerian Army against Boko Haram. At the University of St Andrews, omeni is a lecturer in terrorism and counter-terrorism studies, based at the Handa CSTPV. His fourth book, on martial race theories and the colonial Nigerian Army, is co-published by Hurst and Oxford University Press. A fifth book, Rebel, is forthcoming.
Sean McCafferty
Sean McCafferty is researcher at Action on Armed Violence and a Master’s student studying Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies at the University of Glasgow, Dublin City University, and Charles University. Sean holds an undergraduate degree in history and politics from the University of Glasgow. His research interests cover a broad range of topics on security with a focus on political violence, extremism, and emerging technologies. His current research investigates how Improvised Explosive Devices and other methods of non-state actor violence evolve in the context of asymmetric conflicts.
Emily Griffith
Emily Griffith is a researcher at Action on Armed Violence, leading data collection for the Explosive Violence Monitoring Project. Previously she worked as a researcher in the film and documentary industry, and as a counter-trafficking assistant at the Helen Bamber Foundation. Emily holds a BA in International Development from King’s College London.
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