Episode 172: Agnes Marcaillou Leads the UN's Bomb Squad

Published: Nov. 29, 2017, 6:13 p.m.

b'

Agn\\xe8s Marcaillou is the director of the United Nations Mine Action Service. This is the UN agency that helps clear mine fields, defuse IEDs and clean up unexploded ordinance around the world. It is the UN Bomb Squad.\\xa0

In this conversation, we discuss the problem of landmines and unexploded ordinance around the word, the work of UNMAS, and how funding shortages is preventing her agency from being maximally effective in places like Iraq, where UNMAS has received high praise for defusing a bomb-laden bridge in Fallujah to allow aid to enter the city following ISIS\' defeat.\\xa0\\xa0

Agn\\xe8s has had a long career in the UN and I think younger professionals and students who listen to this show will find some inspiration in how Agnes was able to make a very big policy impact as a relatively junior UN staffer working on the Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons in the late 1980s and early 1990s.\\xa0

Last month, I saw\\xa0Agn\\xe8s give an acceptance speech at the Global Leadership Awards, which is an event hosted by United Nations Foundation. The way in which she both described the work of UNMAS and her own long experience in the UN system compelled me to reach out to her for an interview.\\xa0

This is a great conversation with a true\\xa0bureaucratic entrepreneur.\\xa0

\\xa0
Become a premium subscriber\\xa0to unlock bonus episodes, earn other rewards, and support the show

\\xa0

'