Jody Williams (1950 – ) is an American teacher and aid worker who received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which she founded in 1992.

She began her aid work a grocery worker with the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project in 1984.  In 1986 then became deputy director for “Medical Aid for El Salvador”, a position which she held until 1992 when she became the coordinator for ICBL. She has written and spoken extensively on the problem of landmines and the movement to ban them. In recognition of her expertise on the issue, she was invited to serve as a technical adviser to the UN’s Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children.

Working together with the UN bodies and the ICRC, the ICBL ultimately achieved its goal in 1997 when the international “Ottawa Treaty” was signed, banning antipersonnel mines. However, though some nations, notably the United States, China and Russia, refrained from signing the treaty.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jody_Williams

Jody Williams: The Nobel Peace Prize 1997

Video: OXFAM: Nobel Prize winner Jody Williams on cluster munitions