We are honoured to welcome two ambassadors to our Advisory Council: H.E. Eamonn Mac Aodha, Charges d’affairs ad interim of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in Geneva; and H.E. Lars Tummers, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva. Both ambassadors have taken over the Advisory Council seat for their government and were officially welcomed to the Advisory Council during a meeting held on November 8, 2022.

Interpeace is grateful to Ambassador Michael Gaffey and Ambassador Nathalie Olijslager for their valuable contributions during their tenure in Interpeace’s Advisory Council. Their experience and expertise provided the organization with key strategic advice and guidance on peacebuilding policy and practice.

Prior to becoming Ireland’s representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Eamonn Mac Aodha served as Director for Relations with the European Parliament and inter-institutional affairs at the Irish Representation to the EU since 2017. He brings over three decades of experience in diplomacy and international affairs, having joined the Irish Foreign Service in 1990. In addition to his diplomatic work, he was Member of the Irish Press Council and Adjunct Professor at the National University of Ireland.

Ambassador Lars Tummers was appointed Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to the UN in Geneva in 2022. Previously, he served as Ambassador to Libya from 2018 until 2021 and as Special Envoy on Counterterrorism within the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition, he has been Head of Political Affairs in Sudan, Senior Policy Adviser in the OSCE Mission to Kosovo, Political Adviser in the Kosovo Protection Force, Permanent Secretary for the UN in Kosovo and worked in the legal team of the UN Protection Force in Sarajevo.

The Advisory Council is a high-level, statutory body within Interpeace whose mandate is to provide the organization with strategic advice and guidance on peacebuilding policy and practice. It is composed of selected governmental and intergovernmental representatives, nominated because of the unique role these individuals are able to play in connecting peace and security policy and practice.

We are looking forward to working with Ambassador Mac Aodha and Ambassador Tummers as we seek to strengthen our positioning on key international policy agendas. Currently, Interpeace’s Advisory Council is composed by representatives of Afghanistan, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, and Sweden.