Announcements
MIGS is delighted to announce that the Canadian Department of Defence has awarded the institute a grant to organize the Montreal International Security Summit. The Summit will bring together high-level policymakers and experts from Canada, the U.S. and Europe to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine and atrocities committed by the Russian military.
MIGS Podcast "Human Rights Talks" in now available on Spotify.
MIGS is pleased to welcome its new Fellow Professor Dr. Ekkehard Strauss. Dr. Strauss teaches about police and security management, international human rights and international conflict management at the Berlin School of Economics and Law.
MIGS welcomes Katerina Sviderska as its new Youth Fellow. A Master’s student in Political Science at Université de Montréal, Katerina will assist MIGS in organizing the Montreal International Security Summit.
On 16 December 2022, MIGS and the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) co-hosted a panel discussion at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s SAIFE Expedition: Spotlight on AI and Free Expression event at the OSCE’s office in Vienna. The session was designed to foster discussion between OSCE member states on the role of AI and automated decision-making in understanding and countering gendered hate and harassment online. Kyle Matthews co-moderated the session with Asha Allen from CDT and Lauren Salim presented findings from MIGS’ Canadian Women Leaders’ Digital Defence Initiative. Other panelists included Lucina Di Meco the Co-Founder of #ShePersisted, and Professor Lorna Woods from the University of Essex.
Upcoming Events
January 27
MIGS’s Project Coordinator Marie Lamensch will deliver a course on digital authoritarianism for Global Affairs Canada and the Clinique internationale de défense des droits humains at UQÀM.
February 1
Marie Lamensch will speak at an event titled “L’impact genré des conflits armés et l’application du droit international humanitaire” co-organized by the Canadian Red Cross, the Institut d’études internationales de Montréal and the Canadian Research Institute on Humanitarian Crises and Aid. To attend the event, sign up here.
February 2
MIGS will host the event “The Uyghur Human Rights Crisis: What Should Canadian Do?” in collaboration with the Canadian International Council (Montreal branch), the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and the World Uyghur Congress. The panel discussion will feature Dolkun Isa (President of the World Uyghur Congress) and Mehmet Toti (co-founder of the World Uyghur Congress). You can register here.
February 13-15
Kyle Matthews will travel to Washingtion D.C. to participate in the International Program on Holocaust and Genocide Education. Organized by UNESCO and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the event will bring together experts from around to globe who seek to advance education about the Holocaust and genocide globally.
February 15
MIGS will host the second roundtable event in the Digital Peace Project series, focusing on unpacking online hate against 2SLGBTQI+ individuals. The discussion will be held in French, and we are thankful to have Les3Sex* as a partner for this session. You can register for the event here.
Recent Events
December 12-14
Upon the invitation of Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kyle Matthews travelled to Yeravan to participate and speak at the 2022 Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide, organized with the support of the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary- General on the Prevention of Genocide and in close cooperation with the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes initiative. MIGS’ Executive Director spoke at the plenary session on the role of and use of new technologies in preventing genocide and advancing accountability efforts. The session was moderated by Savita Pawnday (Executive Director of the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect) and also featured Nicholas Koumjian (Head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanma), Daniel Bekele (Chief Commissioner of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission), Henry Theriault (Associate Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Worcester State University) and Rhiannon Neilsen (Cyber Security Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University).
In a speech on the prevention of genocide in the era of new technologies, Silvia Fernandez, the Chair of Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crime (GAAMAC), mentioned MIGS and GAAMAC’s work on decoding hate speech.
December 15
MIGS Fellow Eric Meerkamper spoke at the Council of Europe webinar “Additional Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime, concerning the criminalisation of acts of a racist and xenophobic nature committed through computer systems”.
January 9
MIGS Distinguished Senior Fellow Roméo Dallaire was invited to speak with Genocide Studies students from the East Three Secondary School in Inuvik.
January 10
MIGS Fellow Andrei Serbin Pont was a panelist in a webinar organized by the Fundación Carolina touching on “The governance of relations between Latin America and Europe”.
January 17-18
MIGS’ Distinguished Senior Fellow Roméo Dallaire participated in the official launch of the Principles for Peace’s Peacemaking Covenant. As a partner of the Principles for Peace, MIGS contributed to the development of the Peacemaking Covenant. The launch took place at the Centre d'Accueil de la Genève Internationale.
January 24
MIGS hosted the first meeting of the Digital Peace Project, an initiative supported by Heritage Canada’s Digital Citizens Initiative. Titled “Breaking Down Online Hate & Violence Against Women”, the session featured Lucina Di Meco (co-founder of #ShePersisted), Annabel Ashalley-Anthony (Founder of Melanin Gamers), Supriya Dwivedi (Director, Policy & Engagement at Centre for Media, Technology & Democracy), Bridget Todd (Podcast host of “Internet Hate Machine”) The event as moderated by Catherine McKenna (Principal, Climate & Nature Solutions & Former Canadian Environment and Climate Change Minister). You can watch the discussion here.
January 25
Kyle Matthews was a panelist at the online event “IT and Human Rights Education” organized by Equitas.
MIGS Fellow Naomi Kikoler moderated the event “Fleeing Atrocities: Witness Perspectives”featuring Holocaust survivor Louise Lawrence-Israëls and Rohingya leader Wai Wai Nu.
MIGS’ Digital Fellow Ewelina Ochab participated in a U.K. Parliamentary Session of the Hazara Inquiry.
In the Media
December 14
MIGS Fellow Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “The Destruction Of Religious Sites By Russian Forces In Ukraine”.
December 17
Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “Mobile Justice Team In Ukraine To Assist With Cases Of Conflict Related Sexual Violence”.
December 19
Kyle Matthews and Erick Meerkamper wrote an op-ed for the Toronto Star titled “Confronting the growing digital threat to human rights and democracy”.
December 22
MIGS Fellow Phil Gurski wrote an article for the Epoch Times titled “When Terrorist Victimizers Pretend to Be the Victims”.
December 24
MIGS Fellow Fannie Lafontaine was featured in an article by Le Soleil titled “Fannie Lafontaine, engagée pour un monde meilleur”.
December 25
Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “Without Women, Afghanistan Has No Future”.
December 29
Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “With The Lachin Corridor Blockage, Nagorno-Karabakh Close To A Humanitarian Catastrophe”.
December 30
MIGS Fellow Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “Sudan: Between Violence, Humanitarian Crisis and Protests”.
January 5
Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “How To Turn The Tide On Violations Based On Religion Or Belief?”.
MIGS Fellow Mark Kersten wrote an article for Justice In Conflict titled “The View from Ukraine: Why a New International Criminal Tribunal to Prosecute Russian Aggression is Needed”.
January 8
Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “In 2022, 149 Million Of Children Were In Need Of Humanitarian Assistance”.
January 10
MIGS Fellow Joana Cook co-authored an article titled “Supreme Men, Subjected Women: Gender Inequality and Violence in Jihadist, Far-Right, and Male Supremacist Ideologies”.
January 11
Mark Kersten wrote an article on his blog Justice In Conflict titled “Disappeared Justice: ICC Action in Mexico should not be postponed any longer”.
MIGS Fellow Andrei Serbin Pont was quoted in an article for Cadena 3 titled “How are the combat planes that the United States would sell to Argentina”.
January 13
MIGS Fellow Phil Gurski wrote an article for the Epoch Times titled “CCP’s Supposed Fight Against Terrorism a Lesson in How Not to Fight Terrorism”.
January 14
Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “Putin’s War Crimes Could Be Prosecuted in The United States”.
January 18
Phil Gurski published an article on his blog titled “Be Careful Where Your Tech Comes From”.
January 20
On his podcast “Canadian Intelligence, Eh!”, Phil Gurski weighs in on Canada’s hesitancy to repatriate ISIS women.
Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “Why There Is No Political Will To Bring Daesh To Justice?”
January 22
Ewelina Ochab wrote an article in Forbes titled “Germany Calls For A Tribunal For Putin’s Crime Of Aggression.”
January 23
Kyle Matthews spoke to CTV News Montreal about the humanitarian fallout in Afghanistan and the recent ban of women from international NGOs.
January 26
Kyle Matthews’ work was cited by journalist Terry Glavin in the article “Canada’s Terrorist Are Canada’s Problem”.