Announcements
MIGS remembered the late Ed Broadbent, who was an adviser to the institute’s groundbreaking project Mobilizing the Will to Intervene. The former NDP leader was a longstanding champion of human rights and received an honorary degree from Concordia University. You can read about his legacy here.
MIGS is delighted to announce that the Canadian Department of Defence has awarded the institute a grant to organize the second edition of the Montreal International Security Summit, with a focus on China and the Indo-Pacific.
As part of its John Lemieux Student Fellowship Program, MIGS invites applications for a Strategic Management Fellow (Winter and Spring 2024). The program offers an opportunity for graduate and undergraduate students at Concordia University to gain an experiential learning experience and develop practical skills. Learn more about this opportunity here.
MIGS’ Coordinator of Programs and Outreach, Marie Lamensch, was recognized as one of Concordia University’s top newsmakers for the year 2023.
Marie Lamensch will serve as an advisor of the 2024 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women Rapid Response Group, representing Canadian civil society organizations.
Congratulations to MIGS’ former John Lemieux Student Fellow Mowahib Hassan Doualeh on joining the 1834 Foundation as a Cohort 2 Fellow.
Publications
As part of its Digital Peace Project supported by the Department of Canadian Heritage, MIGS published a policy paper titled “Opportunities to Better Combat the Spread of Online Hate in Canada.” The paper presents research findings generated through the initiative and proposes policy recommendations.
MIGS Senior Fellow David Donat Cattin wrote a chapter titled “The ICC at 20 from the Rome Statute’s Entry into Force: Looking Backwards and Forward, or Learning from Mistakes and Building on Achievements” in the book The International Criminal Court in Its Third Decade: Reflecting on Law and Practices.
Marie Lamensch published a policy brief for the Center for International Governance Innovation titled “Digital Authoritarianism: The Role of Legislation and Regulation”.
Upcoming Events
January 31
MIGS is convening the Global Task Force to Counter Digital Authoritarianism to discuss emerging trends and identify areas of potential strategic engagement.
February 6
MIGS Fellow Dr. Ewelina Ochab will speak at an event organized by Chatham House titled “Russia’s use of abduction, torture and sexual violence in war”. You can register for the event here.
February 8
MIGS’ Senior Distinguished Fellow, Lt-General Roméo Dallaire, will give a lecture at Concordia University’s Journalism Department.
February 19
MIGS, in collaboration with the Canadian International Council (Montreal), will host “Democracy Drinks”, an informal networking event bringing together active citizens and members of NGOs, international institutions, think tanks, national governments, and academia. You can register here.
March 15
MIGS, in collaboration with the Center for International Peace and Security Studies at McGill University, will co-host the launch of Maria Popova’s book titled “Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States.” More information will be announced soon.
Recent Events
December 14
MIGS’s Senior Fellow, David Donat Cattin, spoke at the “Legal and Social Consequences of Crimes of International Law in Ukraine”conference in Warsaw. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Bar Association, the International Association of Penal Law, the Sunflowers Foundation, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, and Project Pravo-Justice.
December 18-19
MIGS’ Executive Director Kyle Matthews attended the Task Force on AI and Human Rights conference in Berlin hosted by the German Foreign Office and the Freedom Online Coalition. Learn more about it here.
December 19
Lt-General Roméo Dallaire announced a 2024 cross-Canada book tour for “The Peace: A Warrior’s Journey”.
January 9
Kyle Matthews and Marie Lamensch participated in a consultation with Public Safety Canada on measures to counter foreign interference in Canada.
January 13
Kyle Matthews participated in a briefing with Ms. Maki Kobayashi-Terada, Assistant Minister of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of a high-level delegation visit to Canada.
January 17
MIGS met with a diplomatic mission from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Canada.
January 24
Kyle Matthews traveled to Ottawa to meet with the Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Canada to discuss the 2024 Montreal International Security Summit and avenues for cooperation between Canadian and Japanese organizations. He also met with other partners including the MacDonald-Laurier Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada.
Marie Lamensch participated in the second meeting of the Transnational Repression Working Group, an advisory group set up by the New Lines Institute.
January 25
Kyle Matthews gave a presentation at Global Affairs Canada on human rights and emerging technologies and discussed areas of collaboration with MIGS’ Global Task to Counter Digital Authoritarianism.
January 26
Marie Lamensch delivered a course in French on digital authoritarianism for Global Affairs Canada and the Clinique internationale de défense des droits humains at UQÀM.
January 31
David Donat Cattin spoke on a panel titled “Safeguards: Non-refoulement; Extradition; Fair trials; Victims, Witnesses” as part of Amnesty International’s webinar “Towards a Convention on prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity”.
In the Media
December 25
MIGS Fellow Dr. Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “Universal Declaration Of Human Rights At 75 And The Need For Accountability”.
December 31
Dr. Ewelina Ochab authored an article for Forbes titled “South Africa Taking Israel To The International Court Of Justice”.
January 3
MIGS’ Fellow Naomi Kikoler was featured on the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect’s podcast “Expert Voices on Atrocity Prevention”.
January 6
Dr. Ewelina Ochab wrote two articles in Forbes titled “Nicaraguan Government Expels Arbitrarily Detained Priests” and “Nigeria And India Do Not Make It As Countries Of Particular Concern”.
January 11
Kyle Matthews spoke to CBC News about South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. You can watch the interview here. Kyle interview can also be found in a CBC article titled “Israel rejects 'grossly distorted' genocide allegations at UN's top court”.
MIGS Fellow Dr. Joana Cook is featured on King’s College’s War Studies podcast titled “Breaking Cycles of Conflict: Growing up in violent extremist families”.
January 12
MIGS Fellow Mark Kersten spoke to CTV News about the allegations South Africa brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice. You can watch the full interview here.
January 13
Dr. Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “One Million Political Prisoners Behind Bars Without Just Cause”.
January 18
MIGS Fellow Fannie Lafontaine was quoted in an article in the National Post titled “The shambolic confusion of Trudeau's stance on the South African 'genocide' case”.
January 22
Marie Lamensch was quoted in an article on Open Canada titled “1,000 Palestinian refugees – Surely Canada can do better than that”.
Mark Kersten co-wrote an article in the Toronto Star titled “International law, not history, holds the promise of protecting life in Gaza”.
January 23
Dr. Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “British Parliamentarians Examine Gender Apartheid In Afghanistan And Iran”.
January 25
MIGS’ Fellow Dr. Joana Cook was a host on the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism’s podcast “Anti-Institutional extremism: Causes and Responses”.
MIGS Fellow Phil Gurski wrote an article in the Ottawa Citizen titled “Emergencies Act ruling should be a stern lesson to government about free speech”.
January 26
Marie Lamensch is quoted in an article in Le Devoir titled “Le jugement de la Cour internationale de justice sur Gaza et Israël décortiqué en cinq questions”.
Dr. Ewelina Ochab published an article in Forbes titled “South Africa v. Israel: International Court Of Justice Orders Provisional Measures”.
Kyle Matthews was interviewed by the TV channel CP24 to discuss the International Court of Justice issuing provisional measures.