Ottawa to proclaim Will to Intervene Day

The City of Ottawa is designating Monday, September 24 Will to Intervene Day. It is the fourth major Canadian city to recognize the important work of the Will to Intervene Project (W2I), a research initiative spearheaded by the Concordia-based Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies (MIGS) that focuses on the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities.

“The proclamation of Will to Intervene Day by the City of Ottawa is just a great affirmative moment for MIGS and the W2I project,” says Concordia Professor Frank Chalk, director of the Institute.

Kyle Matthews, deputy director of W2I at the Institute, agrees that the designation by Ottawa — home to numerous human rights organizations, not to mention the federal government — is a coup.

“It’s really going to have a positive impact in carrying our message,” he says. “Our work gets mentioned in official city documentation. It reminds all of the different city councilors, who often go on to become federal politicians, that these are important public policy issues.

The city’s proclamation also plays a vital role in educating the public about the work of the W2I Project. “Canada is connected to the outside world more than at any other time in its history,” Matthews says. “Whatever happens in a faraway place, if people’s human rights are being abused, it can come back and affect us here.  We saw this during the recent elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, when there were protests in Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto.”

Ottawa City Councillor Mark Taylor will present the city’s proclamation at the event, to be held at the University of Ottawa. His address will be followed by a special panel discussion on Canada’s role in preventing crimes against humanity, chaired by CBC television host Evan Solomon. The dignitaries taking part include former Canadian Ambasssador to the United Nations Paul Heinbecker, Sen. Romeo Dallaire, and former Member of Parliament David Kilgour.

“Our fine panelists remind us of the key Canadian national interest component at the heart of preventing preventable mass atrocities,” says Chalk, who will also introduce the event.

Back in 2009, W2I issued an in-depth study that detailed measures the United States and Canada could take to help prevent mass atrocity crimes, or to swiftly intervene in the event of a genocidal situation. Following the release of the report, the project was looking for ways to publicize its findings outside of academia.

Geoff Meggs, a city councillor in Vancouver, offered to get the city’s mayor to issue a proclamation supporting W2I and calling on the citizens of Vancouver to join the fight against genocide.

On November 12, 2010, Vancouver became the first Canadian City to declare a Will to Intervene Day.  Calgary’s Mayor Naheed Nenshi passed a similar proclamation in support of the W2I Project on May 27, 2011, and Toronto followed suit on May 10, 2012.

The Will to Intervene event in Ottawa is also supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity (chaired by Dallaire), and the University of Ottawa’s Centre for International Policy Studies.

What: Ottawa Will to Intervene Day
When: Monday 24 September, 10am-12:30pm
Where: University of Ottawa, Desmarais Building 12102 (55 Laurier Avenue East, Ottawa)

Related links:
•    Montreal Institute for Genocide Studies
•    Will to Intervene Project