Kathleen Lawand
Independent expert
Executive-in-Residence Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (website)
email: k [dot] lawand [at] gcsp [dot] ch
LinkedIn
Independent expert
Executive-in-Residence Fellow, Geneva Centre for Security Policy (website)
email: k [dot] lawand [at] gcsp [dot] ch
Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) | killer robots | EWIPA | harm to civilians | landmines and cluster munitions
Kathleen Lawand is Executive-in-Residence Fellow in the Global Fellowship Initiative at the GSCP, and senior consultant on international law, global issues and multilateral processes. Her clients have included the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Word Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which she has advised on the UN plastic pollution treaty negotiations.
Lawand has 30 years of international experience in leadership, legal and policy roles, including 24 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As Head of the ICRC’s Arms Unit from 2012 to 2020, she oversaw the development and promotion of the ICRC’s legal and policy positions on weapons of humanitarian concern. She led the ICRC's representation in the negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty and of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the meetings of the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, and the consultations on Protecting Civilians in Urban Warfare working towards a political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas, among other diplomatic processes.
Prior to joining the ICRC, she held legal positions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
She holds a master’s degree (LL.M.) in public international law, with distinction, from the London School of Economics. She is a member of the Québec Bar.
Kathleen Lawand is Executive-in-Residence Fellow in the Global Fellowship Initiative at the GSCP, and senior consultant on international law, global issues and multilateral processes. Her clients have included the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the Word Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), which she has advised on the UN plastic pollution treaty negotiations.
Lawand has 30 years of international experience in leadership, legal and policy roles, including 24 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). As Head of the ICRC’s Arms Unit from 2012 to 2020, she oversaw the development and promotion of the ICRC’s legal and policy positions on weapons of humanitarian concern. She led the ICRC's representation in the negotiations of the Arms Trade Treaty and of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the meetings of the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, and the consultations on Protecting Civilians in Urban Warfare working towards a political declaration on explosive weapons in populated areas, among other diplomatic processes.
Prior to joining the ICRC, she held legal positions at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
She holds a master’s degree (LL.M.) in public international law, with distinction, from the London School of Economics. She is a member of the Québec Bar.