IPB Council Members

Sharon Dolev was elected as IPB Council Member in October, 2022. She is a peace and human rights activist with a focus on eradicating nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction from the Middle East through innovative policy, education, advocacy and activism. She is the founder and director of the Israeli Disarmament Movement (IDM), the Middle East Treaty Organization (METO) and Israeli representative of the 2017 Noble Peace Prize laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Sharon has been a social and political activist for over 35 years. These include serving as the Director of Greenpeace in Israel, leading the organization’s peace and disarmament campaigns. She was also active in the Meretz Party, a left-wing, social-democratic, and green political party, also called the Movement for Civil Rights; Geneva Initiative; and Women in Black, a worldwide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence. In recent years, she presented a radio show called ‘According to Foreign Sources’, an outlet discussing the state of democracy in Israel.

Amela Skiljan has been re-elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

She is currently pursuing her phD on EU Arms Export Controls at the University of Bremen, Germany. She holds an L.L.M. in European and International Law and is working as Financial Coordinator at the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER). Amela further serves as Vice Chair and Board Member of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA).

Marc Batac was re-elected as IPB council member in October 2022. He is an activist, peacebuilder and organizer based in the Philippines. He focuses on the practice and study of contentious politics, asymmetric conflict, violence and peace processes, authoritarianism and militarism, and non-violent direct action and social movements in Southeast Asia.

Marc is currently the Programme Manager  of the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID), a regional peace building and advocacy institution promoting human security, democratization and self-determination in Southeast Asia. Before that, from 2017 to 2022, he was the Regional Programs Coordinator. IID was a key and active mover in the solidarity movement for Timor Leste from 1994 until its independence, and in the solidarity movement for Myanmar/Burma’s democratization from 1995 to this day. In the past years, IID has accompanied its partners in the minoritized and indigenous peoples communities in engaging with the Bangsamoro peace process in Southern Philippines, and the peace process between the Philippine government and the communist armed movement.

From 2014 until 2022 he was the Regional Liaison officer of Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) – Southeast Asia, anchoring its members’ joint advocacy and campaigns on inclusive peace processes and conflict transformation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and in focus areas like Myanmar/Burma, Southern Thailand and West Papua.

A believer in the transformative power of people-to-people solidarity and locally-led peacebuilding, he has involved himself in founding, steering or advising several networks and organisations between South-South and South-North peoples. He is part of the Generation Peace Youth Network, Network of Young Democratic Asians (NOYDA), the Security Policy Alternatives Network (SPAN), and Peace Direct’s Global Advisory Council, among others.

Amani Aruri has been elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

Amani has developed skills and capacities in the fields of social transformation, community activism, human rights, peace and security, advocacy, national dialogue and peace mediation to advance gender equality, economic wellbeing, social justice and human rights agendas at the national, regional and global levels.

She holds a master’s degree in Economics and is currently working as Human Security/National Programs Officer|Gender Focal Point Representative at the Office of Switzerland in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Palestine. Furthermore, she is a member of the Global Task Force on the Generation Equality Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action.

Eskil Grav has been re-elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

He is a member of the IPB family,  and active in the fields of peacebuilding and disarmament. He has past experience working in community and peacebuilding activities in both Tanzania and Lebanon, and a has a background in Human Security Theory. Eskil is currently the Parliamentary Ombud for Scrutiny of the Public Administration in Oslo, Norway.

Baroness Dayon Ako-Adounvo has been elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

She has a background in biology and sales & business organization, airport operations and marketing. She is the founder and leader of the International Education Connect Agency which supports capacity building for the socio-economic development in Ghana and Sub-Saharan regions and promotes vocational skills exchange to foster peace and unity among the youth. Furthermore, she is founder and leader of the Feeding Hands Ministry & Zoes Trust, a non-government organization that supports villages in Ghana with food, water, and clothes.

Cyrille Rolande Bechon has been elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

She holds a master degree in Human Rights and the Rule of Law and is a PhD student in the field of law. She has been working at NDH-Cameroon since 2003, and thus has a total of about 15 years of experience in the field of human rights. Furthermore, Cyrille is a specialist in transitional justice and conflict transformation, a consultant, trainer and activist in human rights issues.

Tord Björk was elected as IPB council member in October 2022. He is currently Coordinator of the FoE Sweden EU committee and member of the peace committee and the farmer and indigenous committee.
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Surender Singh Rajpurohit has been re-elected as IPB council member in October 2022.

Surender Singh has a background in commerce and focuses onemployment opportunities, empowering women, and  social responsibility towards non-violence to bring peace among nations.

He is the Director Founder of Gundecha Corporate Services Pvt. Limited since 2008 and Catax Solutions Pvt. Limited since 2010. Furthermore, he is the Director Founder of Gundecha Foundation since 2010, which promotes the development of leadership qualities among the youth, women empowerment, environment protection and peace education.

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