UN Summit of The Future Action Day Side Event: Peace not War

H.E. Ambassador Fergal Mythen, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations

Since taking up his duties in New York, he has represented Ireland on the Security Council during the final phase of its two-year term as an elected member, which ended on 31 December 2022. Additionally, he co-facilitated the drafting of the High-Level Political Declaration on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, alongside Qatar. This declaration was adopted by consensus at the SDG Summit in September 2023 by Heads of State and Government.

Prior to his current appointment, Fergal spent considerable periods of his career working for the Government of Ireland in support of the Northern Ireland peace process and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement – working for the International Fund for Ireland (1990-92), on Justice & Security issues (1999-2003 and 2005-07), and on Northern Ireland political affairs (2007-09).

Most recently, as Director-General of the Ireland, UK and Americas Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2022, he led the Departmental team working on Northern Ireland peace process issues, Irish-British relations (including the impact of Brexit), and Irish-US relations.

Ambassador David Donoghue, Distinguished Fellow of ODI, former Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York, co-facilitator of the intergovernmental negotiations on the 2030 Agenda

Ambassador David Donoghue had a long and varied career in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. He was involved for many years in the Northern Ireland peace process. He was one of the Irish Government’s negotiators for the ground-breaking Good Friday Agreement (1998), which has provided a political framework for lasting peace and stability in Northern Ireland.

From 2013-17 Ambassador Donoghue was the Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations in New York. At the request of the President of the General Assembly, he served as co-facilitator (with Kenya) for the UN negotiations which led to the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015. He also served as co-facilitator (with Jordan) for the negotiations that produced the New York Declaration on large movements of refugees and migrants, adopted at a special summit in September 2016.

José Otty Patiño Hormaza, High Commissioner for Peace, Office of the High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia

José Otty Patiño Hormaza is a professional in Political Studies and Conflict Resolution, Analysis, and Management of Public Policies from the Universidad del Valle, as well as a researcher, university professor, and expert in peace processes, reincorporation and coexistence. He has dedicated more than 35 years to peacebuilding in Colombia.

His work as a peace promoter highlights his experience as national spokesperson for the M19 for the fulfillment of the peace agreements signed with the National Government. He was elected member of the National Constituent Assembly in 1991, representing the political movement AD-M19. In his role as assembly member of the First Commission, he contributed to the development and approval of the principles, duties, rights and guarantees of the current Political Constitution of Colombia.

Maher Nasser, Director of Outreach Division, Department of Global Communications, United Nations

Mr. Maher Nasser has over 30 years of work experience in the United Nations System during which he has worked in various capacities in Gaza, Jerusalem, Amman, Cairo, Vienna and New York. In the last six years, Mr. Nasser was appointed three times as Acting Under-Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Global Communications. Mr. Nasser took up his current position as Director of DGC’s Outreach Division in February 2011. He first joined DGC in January 2006 as Director of the UN Information Centre in Cairo. Before joining DGC, Mr. Nasser worked in various positions with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Gaza, Jerusalem, Vienna, Amman and New York.

From 1992 to 1994, he worked with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. Prior to joining the United Nations, Mr. Nasser worked with two Jerusalem-based NGOs focusing on development and human rights. Mr. Nasser also attended the Middle East Peace Conference in Madrid in October 1991 and the subsequent bilateral negotiations in Washington DC as the personal assistant to Dr. Haidar Abdul Shafi, the Head of the Palestinian Negotiating Team.  Maher Nasser holds a B.Sc. in Civil Engineering from Bir Zeit University in Palestine and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Warwick in the UK.

Patrick Paul Walsh, Vice President of Education and Director, SDG Academy, UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)

Patrick Paul Walsh received a Ph.D. in Economics from the London School of Economics in 1994. Dr. Walsh is a Government of Ireland, Marie Curie (Brussels), IZA (Bonn), RSA (London), EIIR (Brussels) and REPOA (Tanzania) fellow. He is currently on secondment to UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) as Vice President of Education and Director the SDG Academy.

Dr. Walsh still remains a Full Professor of International Development Studies and is Director of the UCD M.Sc. in Sustainable Development in partnership with the SDG Academy. He was elected president of President of the Statistical and Social Inquiry Society of Ireland (SSISI) in 2022. SSISI is all-island learned society established in 1847. The Society is a forum for evidence based discussions on public policy between government departments, social partners and academia. Proceedings are published in a open science diamond Journal archived in TCD TARA and listed on the Web of Science

Asmita Satyarthi, Chief Executive Officer, Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion

Ms. Asmita, a passionate advocate for human rights, has dedicated her life to fighting child slavery. With a background in social research, she contributed to CORD’s impactful work for disadvantaged communities. From addressing Congress at 10 to initiating a student movement against child labor in India, she champions grassroots activism. An Atlas Corps Fellow, she gained experience with the U.S. Senate and the ILO in Geneva. Holding a B.S. in economics from the University of Iowa, Asmita continues her relentless pursuit of social justice.

Gisselle Wolozny, Focal Point in Honduras, United Network of Young PeaceBuilders

Ms. Wolozny is a Honduran Lawyer with more than 5 years of experience in Project Management and International Cooperation. This work has included collaborating with international organizations, civil society, and government agencies in matters of public policy, democracy, youth empowerment, and civic participation

Thanos Giannakopoulos, Chief, Information Management Section, Department of Global Communications, United Nations

Thanos Giannakopoulos is the Principal Librarian of the United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library, at the UN Headquarters in New York. He envisions the UN Library as a global open knowledge community. Under his leadership several knowledge products have been developed, including the United Nations Digital Library.

H. E. Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations

Ambassador Zalabata Torres is the first indigenous woman appointed as her country’s ambassador to the United Nations.  She served in various capacities as an advocate for the rights of indigenous peoples in Colombia and environmental justice.  Moreover, the Ambassador has also worked to improve the political representation of indigenous women and peoples.

She is a member of the Human Rights Committee for the Tayrona Indigenous Confederation in the National Indigenous Human Rights Committee (Colombia).  A founding member and Coordinator of the Health Program for La Sierra Nevada de Sta. Marta, she is also co-author of the National Guidelines for Bilingual and Intercultural Education Program for the Arhuaco people.