The Board is the steering organ of the Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons, hereinafter the Forum, having the overall responsibility of the strategic, organisational and financial development of the organisation. Being the entity with final responsibility of the organisation, the Board monitors the development of the results and activities, the overall effective financial and operational function and holds employer responsibility for the personnel contracted at the Secretariat. The Board members are elected respecting an adequate representation regarding political and geographical profiles; and demonstrated commitment towards the overall vision of the Forum; and with special regards to secure gender balance. The Board presented below was elected at the General Assembly of the Forum realised on 15th December 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Board of the Forum
President Hon. Dr. Raphael Chegeni, MP Tanzania
Hon. Dr. Raphael Chegeni is an MP in the National Assembly of Tanzania, serving in the Public Investment Committee. Among other assignments, he has served as Secretary General and later chairperson of the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace (AMANI Forum), an East Africa chapter representative on the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank, Co-President on the Council of Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament as part of the Middle Power Initiative, member of the Standing Committee of Foreign Affairs and Security, member of Parliamentarians for Global Action and a member of National Executive Council of Chama Cha Mapinduzi, a political ruling party in Tanzania. He is a Board member of the Forum since 2016, was elected as Vice-President of the Board in 2018, and elected President of the Board in 2023.
Twitter: ChegeniRaphael
Vice-President of the Board Hon. Julia Lorena Fries Monléon, MP Chile
Hon. Julia Lorena Fries Monléon is an MP in the Chamber of Deputies in Chile. She is a member of the ruling party Partido Convergencia Social, and serves on the Committee on Security and is the President of the Human Rights Commission. She has previously served as Undersecretary of Human Rights, as well as Director of the National Institute of Human Rights. Hon. Fries Monléon was elected as the Vice-President of the Board of the Forum in 2023.
Twitter: @lorefries
Board Member, Civil Society Representative, Director of APP Ms. María Pía Devoto, Argentina
Ms. María Pía Devoto is the director of the Argentinean organisation Asociación Para Política Públicas and is a specialist in international security and non-proliferation issues, disarmament, arms control and gender. Ms. Devoto is a founding member of the Argentine Disarmament Network, of the Latin American Coalition for the Prevention of Armed Violence and of the Latin American and Caribbean Human Security Network of which she is coordinator. She is also a member of the Steering Committee of Control Arms and of the Governance Board of International Campaign to Ban Landmines/Cluster Munition Coalition and International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. She was elected to the Board of the Forum as civil society representative in 2016 and re-elected in 2018 and 2023.
Twitter: @piadevoto
Board Member Hon.Vincent de Paul Emah Etoundi, MP Cameroon
Hon. Vincent de Paul Emah Etoundi is an MP in Cameroon, serving as a member of the Constitutional Laws Committee. During his second term in Parliament, he became the secretary of the Parliamentary Group of the National Assembly, member of the Committee of Constitutional Law, Human Rights and Freedoms, Justice, Legislation, Regulation and Administration, President of the Parliamentarians Network against Malnutrition and Secretary General of the Parliamentary Network for the Promotion of Actions and Policies for Youth and Children. He was elected as member to the Board of the Forum in 2016 and re-elected 2018 and 2023.
Twitter: @VEtoundi
Board Member Hon. Lenora Qereqeretabua, MP Fiji
Hon. Lenora Qereqeretabua is an MP in Fiji, and a member of the ruling National Federation Party. She is serving as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs as well as Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence, and has previously served as Assistant Minister for Housing and Local Government. Furthermore, she is the elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. She was elected as a member of the Board of the Forum in 2023.
Twitter: @Lenora Qereqeretabua
Board Member Hon. Elias Hankach, MP Lebanon
Hon. Elias Hankach is an MP from Lebanon, member of the political party Kataeb. He sits on the Committee on Youth, Sports, Information and Technology. He is also a founder of the organisation Make Your Mark, which aims at involving youth in policy-shaping and development. Hon. Hankach was elected as a member of the Board of the Forum in 2023.
Twitter: @Elias Hankach
Board Member Hon. Bardhyl Kollçaku, MP Albania
Hon. Bardhyl Kollçaku is an MP from Albania. He is a member of the ruling Socialist Party, currently a member of the Committee on Defence and Security, and has served as Chief of Staff in the Albanian Armed Forces as well as the Director of Coordination and Integration Division and Director of Strategic Policies Division of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He was elected as a member of the Board of the Forum in 2023.
Adjunct Board Member Mr. Christer Winbäck, Sweden
Mr. Christer Winbäck is a former MP from Sweden and one of the co-founders of the Forum. Currently, he is active within his party, the Liberal Party, at municipal level. He has actively worked to reduce and prevent armed violence throughout the years. In his role as parliamentarian, he served as member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and was engaged in issues concerning Latin America. He was the chairperson of the Parliamentary Associations for Latin America as well as on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). He became a member of the Forum in 2004, and was elected Board member in 2007. Moreover, he was elected adjunct Board member in 2018 and 2023.
Twitter: @ChristerW
