Mark Muller Stuart KC is the Founder of Beyond Borders Scotland. In addition, he is a Professor in Practice at the London School of Economics, and currently acts as a Senior Mediation Advisor to the UN Department of Political Affairs and the UN Special Envoy to Syria in the Syrian peace talks. Prior to taking the UN post he advised numerous international bodies on conflict resolution, mediation, confidence-building, ceasefires, power-sharing, humanitarian law, constitution-making and dialogue processes and acted as a Senior Advisor to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (Geneva), Beyond Conflict (Boston) and Inter-Mediate (London). He has first-hand experience of Track 1 and 2 negotiations between governments and armed groups and has worked in a number of conflict zones including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Syria, Gerogia, Ukraine and southern Africa. He is also co-founder of the Delfina Foundation.
As a senior advocate he has brought numerous human rights and rule of law test cases before the UK courts as well as the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice. Between 2006-12 he acted as Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee and then Chair of the Rule of Law Group (2012-15) for the Bar Council of England and Wales. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, a fellow of Harvard Law School and member of the Scottish Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh and Doughty Street Chambers in London. His most recent book Storm in the Desert: Britain’s Intervention in Libya and the Arab Spring, published by Birlinn, is available on Amazon. Information is also at: www.birlinn.co.uk/Storm-in-the-Desert.html .
mmuller@beyondborderscotland.com
Jessica Forsythe is Deputy Director of Beyond Borders Scotland, a role she has held for 10 years. Jessica is responsible for implementing all Beyond Borders’ international projects, namely the Rule of Law and International Dialogue workstreams. Over the years this has included work across the Middle East and North Africa, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Prior to setting up Beyond Borders Scotland Edinburgh team, Jessica was Operations Manager of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at The Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in London, where she worked for almost 5 years. She holds an MA in International Relations from the University of St Andrews and an MSc in Middle East Politics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.
jforsythe@beyondbordersscotland.com
Robyn Harris is a Projects Officer at Beyond Borders, working across all projects but primarily on the Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship. Robyn has a background in research on ecofeminism and international relations from a feminist perspective, with a focus on feminist foreign policy and antinuclear activism. Previous roles include working for the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, and Equate Scotland. Robyn has an MSc in Applied Gender Studies from the University of Strathclyde, and a Joint Honours MA in Spanish and Music from the University of Glasgow.
rharris@beyondbordersscotland.com
Leyre Cuesta Jiménez is a Fellowship Programme Intern at Beyond Borders, providing support in the organisation and implementation of the August Women in Conflict 1325 Fellowship. She has previously worked with the Spanish Red Cross across various areas including Youth, Environmental Conservation, Health and Administration. She has an MA Hons in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh. Her research focused on Gender and Queer Studies, Feminist Criticism, Environmental Justice, Post-Colonial and Creative writing.
LCJimenez@beyondbordersscotland.com
Catherine Muller Stuart is the Director of Heritage at Beyond Borders Scotland. She is currently the 21st Lady of Traquair. She lives at Traquair House where she was born and brought up. Over the past 20 years she has been actively involved in tourism, the arts, heritage and business both locally and nationally. She has been a board member of the Scottish Enterprise Borders, the Broadcasting Council for Scotland and non-Exec director of Border TV. She also sat on the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Records and Archives and currently is Chair of the Scottish Borders Area Tourism Partnership.
Paul has been working in the Middle East for over 25 years as the Director of the British Council in Sudan, Syria, South Caucasus and Oman. During his time with the British Council he focussed on rule of law projects working with the Judiciary, Public Prosecution and the legal profession to develop understanding of the international normative frameworks as well as creating links between the legal profession in the UK and the Middle East. He joined Beyond Borders Scotland as a Project Consultant in 2016 while at the same time working on a Master’s degree in Comparative Criminal Justice at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. There he has specialised in human trafficking and modern slavery. He also has a strong interest in the influence of European and international legislation on national criminal justice systems and the changing nature and impact of cross-border crime. A further area of specialization has been in diversion and disposal of criminal cases by the public prosecution and police.
Julianna Kubik is an Events Management Intern at Beyond Borders, working primarily with the organisation of the International Festival. Her background is in global conflict resolution and security studies and she holds a BA in International Studies from American University. She is currently studying to earn her MSc in Global Crime, Justice and Security from the University of Edinburgh.
jkubik@beyondbordersscotland.com
Katie Aitken is an intern in Event Management at Beyond Borders. She graduated in Liberal Arts in June 2022 from Leeds University and has a particular interest in religion and politics, art history and cultural heritage. She has spent the last year working in Cadiz and the Spanish Pyrenees.
kaitken@beyondbordersscotland.com
Charlotte Muller Stuart is the Outreach and Communications intern at Beyond Borders Scotland. Previously, she organised the Beyond Borders Youth Climate Summit in 2021 which showcased the ways the Beyond Borders International Festival can enable youth action and support youth-led projects. She also helped to establish the festival’s annual poetry walk as well as organise a re-wilding exhibition in 2022. This year, she will be focusing on enhancing the festival’s engagement with youth people from the local area through establishing a partnership with Peebles High School and curating a dedicated youth programme. Currently, Charlotte is studying International Relations and Sustainable Development at the University of St. Andrews.
cmullerstuart@beyondbordersscotland.com
Des Browne was a Labour MP from 1997 to 2010 and a member of the Cabinet under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, serving as both Defence and Scottish Secretary until 2008. He also served as a minister in Northern Ireland and has extensive experience in conflict resolution, Scottish constitutional and legal affairs.
Lord Menzies Campbell of Pittenweem MP CBE QC is the MP for North East Fife and was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from March 2006 until October 2007. He is also a prominent advocate, Chancellor of the University of St. Andrews, and was a successful Olympic athlete. He has extensive experience of foreign affairs.
Helena Kennedy QC is one of Britain’s most distinguished lawyers. She has spent her professional life championing civil liberties and promoting human rights. She is also a former Chair of the British Council and a trustee of the British Museum with enormous experience of international cultural affairs.
Sir Kieran Prendergast is a seasoned British diplomat, who was born in Scotland, and served as Ambassador in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Turkey until 1997-2005 when he became Under- Secretary-General for Political Affairs at the UN. In 2005 Kofi Annan thanked him for his “outstanding service” and “invaluable advice.” He is currently Senior Advisor to the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva.
Baroness Smith is the Chair of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and President of Scottish Opera. Her other positions include being an Advisory Council Member of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and a Trustee of the Mariinsky Theatre Trust. She has unparalleled experience of Scottish cultural affairs
Lord Steel is a Liberal Democrat peer. He was leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until 1988 and the first Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament between 1999 and 2003. Both he and his wife Judy are strong supporters of the arts in the Borders. And he retains a deep interest in African affairs.
Beyond Borders Productions Ltd. A Ltd company SC 371789
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