Date & time
Thursday, June 6, 2024
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Conferences & lectures
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John Lemieux Human Rights Lecture
Cost
This event is free
Organization
Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
Contact
Where
Old Montreal
Join us for the inaugural John Lemieux Human Rights Lecture featuring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk.
She will speak about the human rights situation in Ukraine, followed by a discussion with the Honourable Chris Alexander and the Honourable Irwin Cotler about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and how to support Ukrainians. La Presse journalist Laura-Julie Perreault will moderate the conversation.
Lecture: 11 a.m.
Reception: 12:30 p.m.
For security purposes, the venue will be disclosed to registered attendees the day before the event.
This event is organized by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University.
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to engage fully. If you require disability-related accommodations, please contact alumnievents@concordia.ca by May 23 to allow us time to coordinate your request.
Matviichuk is a human rights defender who heads the Center for Civil Liberties and coordinates the initiative group Euromaidan SOS. The Center for Civil Liberties aims to protect human rights and establish democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region.
In 2016, she received the Democracy Defender Award for "Exclusive Contribution to Promoting Democracy and Human Rights" from missions to the OSCE. In 2022, Matviichuk was awarded the Right Livelihood Award and recognized as one of the 25 most influential women in the world by the Financial Times. The same year, the Center for Civil Liberties received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Alexander was a Canadian diplomat for eighteen years, serving in the embassy in Moscow under Yeltsin and Putin. He also served as the first resident Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan.
From 2011 to 2015, Chris was a Member of Parliament for Ajax-Pickering and Parliamentary Secretary for National Defense, as well as Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. During his tenure, he introduced Express Entry, committed to resettling 10,000 Syrian refugees, and updated the Citizenship Act for the first time in a generation.
Chris ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada in 2016-17. He now provides international macro-political insights to corporate clients and serves on several company boards.
Cotler is an international human rights lawyer, the International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, and an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University. As a former Member of Parliament, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, he has authored numerous publications and legal articles on landmark Charter of Rights cases.
During his tenure, he made significant contributions towards Supreme Court reforms, gender representation, aboriginal and minority rights, human trafficking, marriage equality, and justice initiatives against racism and hate. He has also chaired several inter-parliamentary groups and the Canadian section of the Parliamentarians for Global Action.
Perreault worked at Le Soleil, CNN's Moscow bureau, and Gemini News Service in London before joining La Presse in 2002. Since September 2021, she has been an international affairs columnist, and before that, she worked as an editorial writer covering international politics for 12 years, reporting on major stories in over 40 countries.
Her work abroad has earned her several accolades, including one from the National Newspaper Awards. From 2013 to 2014, she was a Nieman Foundation fellow at Harvard University. She co-founded the Fonds québécois en journalism international and co-hosts the podcast show Sans escale. Additionally, she taught international journalism at the University of Montreal for seven years.