The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) was established in 2000 to provide a conduit for the exchange of information between groups and individuals working to achieve a global asbestos ban and to alleviate the damage caused by widespread asbestos use. It channels the views of a network of victims' groups, medical and legal professionals and concerned individuals. It was co-ordinated by Laurie Kazan-Allen.
Laurie Kazan-Allen studied history at Brandeis University (BA 1969). She is the founding editor, in 1990, of the 'British asbestos newsletter' (BAN), a quarterly publication distributed to victim support groups, environmentalists, solicitors, academics, medical personnel and research bodies in over thirty countries. Since 1999, Kazan-Allen has been as the coordinator of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat. She is the sister of American asbestos litigator Steven Kazan.