UN Economic and Social Development
Division for Sustainable Development

Message from the Chair

H.E Minister Al-Attiyah is among the internationally well known personalities for his vital role in building the economic prosperity of the State of Qatar. He is known for his outstanding communication skills and diplomacy. Ever since his appointment as Minister of Energy and Industry in 1992, Minister Al-Attiyah has been pioneering an ambitious industrialization program in Qatar. He succeeded in gaining the confidence of international oil and gas companies and financial institutions in Qatar's economy.

In 1998, Minister Al-Attiyah was also assigned the responsibility of national planning to keep Qatar's pace of development among the most impressive in recent history. In 2007 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the Government of the State of Qatar, in addition to the portfolio of the Minister of Energy and Industry.

He is personally committed to environmental protection at the local, regional and international levels and has inspired the industry in Qatar to develop voluntary environment policies.

Ms. Frances Lisson is currently the Australian Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York - a position she has held since July 2005. Prior to this appointment, she was Assistant Secretary for Trade Policy Issues and Industrials in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade where she was responsible for environment, trade and development and industrial policy issues in a range of multilateral organizations, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

Ms. Lisson served as Australia's Deputy High Commissioner in Ottawa (1997-2001) and has held diplomatic posts in Tokyo (1995-1996) and Suva (1992-1994). Ms. Lisson has headed Australian delegations to the OECD and WTO and was a delegate to APEC Leaders' Summits in Osaka and Vancouver, the UN Financing for Development Meeting in Mexico and the 14th Session of the Commission for Sustainable Development in New York.

Ms. Lisson holds an economics degree and has completed post graduate studies in political science from the Australian National University in Canberra.

Mr. Alain Edouard Traore was appointed Permanent Secretary of the National Council for Environment and Sustainable Development of Burkina Faso in May 2004. Among other functions he has represented Burkina Faso in international conferences on environment and sustainable development, including the Conferences of Parties of the UNFCCC, UNCCD and CBD, as well as CSD-13 and CSD-14. From 2002 to 2004, he was Technical Adviser to the Minister in the Ministry of Human Rights Promotion. Between 2000 and 2002, Mr. Traore headed the department in charge of legal advices and diplomatic disputes files at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation and led the Burkina Faso delegation to the 59th and 60th sessions of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva as well as sessions of the African Commission for Human and People Rights.

Mr. Traore holds doctoral degrees in Legal Sciences and Political Philosophy and has been a professor at the National School for Administration and Magistracy of Ouagadougou since 1997, teaching contemporary political systems and analysis of international politics.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of Act for Democracy and Sustainable Development in Africa (ADDA-Burkina) as well as the publication director of the diplomatic newsletter "Bulletin Diplomatique."

Mr. Jiří Hlaváček is currently Director of the Department of Environmental Policy and Multilateral Relations at the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Government Council for Sustainable Development on International Environmental Affairs. In his previous positions Mr. Hlaváček served as Director of the Department of Strategies (2003, 2004-2005); Director of the Department of the European Union (2003-2004); and Senior Advisor to the Minister for international affairs (2001). Prior to joining the Ministry of the Environment in 1996, Mr. Hlaváček held various positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including that of Head of the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to UNEP and UN-HABITAT.

Mr. Hlaváček led the delegation of the Czech Republic to various bilateral and multilateral environmental negotiations and conferences. He served as a Vice-President and member of the Bureau of the 4th and the 7th Conferences of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, Vice-President of the 6th Conference of the Parties to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, President of the First Extraordinary Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol of Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee for the 16th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol in Prague in November 2004.

Mr. Hlaváček is author of more than 80 articles and studies on national, regional and global environmental and sustainable development issues, African history and politics. He also lectures at the Prague University of Economics on International Environmental Law. Mr. Hlaváček speaks English, French, Russian and Swahili languages.

Mr. Figueiredo Machado is the Director-General of the Department of Environment and Special Affairs at the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil. Prior to his current appointment, he served as the Head of the Division on Environmental Policy and Sustainable Development and Head of the Division on Sea, Antarctic and Outer Space Affairs at the Ministry of External Relations.

Mr. Machado has represented his country in various diplomatic posts including Paris (UNESCO, 2003-2005); Ottawa (1999-2002); Washington D.C. (1996-1999); Santiago (1989-1992); and New York (UN, 1986-1989). He has participated as delegate or head of delegation in several multilateral meetings since 1981, especially in the areas of environment and sustainable development, disarmament and international security, and the law of the sea.

Mr. Machado holds a law degree from the University of the State of Rio de Janeiro.