Christopher John Clark MBE MC is a mine action expert. He has been awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous bravery under fire and the MBE for his role in the evacuation of foreign nationals from South Lebanon during the 2006 war. He has twice been awarded a UN Commendation for efficiency in improving UN co-ordination and effectiveness. In 2008 Clark and the Lebanese and international staff of the mine action programme in south Lebanon received the Nansen Refugee Award from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in recognition of their commitment to the refugee cause.
Background
Clark was born in Essex, England on 17 June 1964. He has 17 years' distinguished service in the British Army and was the operations manager in Kosovo (UNMIK), United Nations Programme Manager for Sudan and Programme Manager for the mine action programme in Lebanon. When he retired from mine action in 2011, Clark was employed by the United Nations Mine Action Service at their Geneva office.
Lebanon
In 2003, Clark was appointed as both the United Nations Programme Manager for the mine action programme in South Lebanon and the Programme Manager for the Mine Action Coordination Center. He was directly responsible for the management and co-ordination of both the landmine clearance operation, following the Israeli withdrawal in May 2000, and the un-exploded cluster bomb clearance operation, following the 2006 Lebanon War.
In his five years in Lebanon Clark led the UNMACC-SL in clearing over 144,580 sub-munitions and helped facilitate the safe return of almost one million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees.
After receiving the Nansen Award, Clark announced that he would donate the prize money to a community project near Tyre in Southern Lebanon.
References
- 2008 Nansen Refugee Award to Mine Action Programme in southern Lebanon, UNHCR press release
- UN workers scour Lebanon for bombs Archived 5 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The National
- The Impact of Israel’s Use of Cluster Munitions in Lebanon in July and August 2006, Human Rights Watch
- Making Southern Lebanon Safe Again for Returnees, Rebuild Lebanon, Lebanese Government
- Award-winning UN de-miner wants to donate his prize money to community project, The Daily Star
External links
- Operation Emirates Solidarity: An International Model and Mine Clearance Success Story, Chris Clark, UN Programme Manager, UNMACC South Lebanon, Journal of mine action
- Cluster Bombs: The case of Lebanon, Medical Association for Prevention of War