April 2014
April 26
"How to Build the Will to Intervene"
An interview with Frank Chalk and Kyle Matthews, The Globe and Mail.
April 24
CBC Montreal TV News Interview with Frank Chalk on Prime Minister Erdogan's condolences for the deaths of Armenians in 1915 (7:56)
April 23
"Quelles leçons avons-nous réellement appris du génocide rwandais ?" Marie Lamensch, Huffington Post Quebec
April 14
"Canada AM: Why is violence escalating?" Interview with Frank Chalk
April 10
"Conflict Minerals in the DRC: Why Western legislation isn't the only Answer", Marie Lamensch, opencanada.org
Marie Lamensch gave an interview to Radio-Canada in a special segment on the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide
April 8
"Peacekeeping does not have to wait", Senior Distinguished Fellow Roméo Dallaire, opencanada.org
7 April
MIGS' Statement on 20th Anniversary of Rwanda Genocide
In 1948, the world came together and said “never again” to the horrors of the Holocaust. Yet 20 years ago today, the international community turned away as 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutu were killed within 100 days. Today the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University stands with the people of Rwanda to remember those who lost their lives and support the survivors of this tragedy.
As we mark this sad anniversary, it is also our duty to reflect on lessons learned. The Rwandan genocide did not come out of nowhere – it was well planned and there were countless opportunities to prevent and stop it. Nobody can say we did not know. We did not act. As the on-going massacres in Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic prove, we still fail to act on the lessons of the Rwandan genocide and the other genocides of the past one hundred years. Generating the political will to prevent mass atrocities remains one of the central challenges today. But preventing genocide and mass atrocities is a collective responsibility.
And so, as we pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the genocide, we must renew our commitment. In 2005, the 192 governments of the United Nations renewed their commitment to the “responsibility to protect.” Canadian diplomats led the international community in mobilizing support for this emerging doctrine that seeks to break the cycle of choosing to look the other way when mass atrocities occur. Today, instead of standing on the sidelines, we urge the Prime Minister of Canada to enlarge this tradition by making mass atrocity prevention—the prevention of genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing, in particular—a national security priority and a vital part of Canada’s foreign policy.
As retired Lieutenant-General and Senator Roméo Dallaire declares: “Where there is a will, there is a way. Let’s go!”
For further information please contact Frank Chalk at 514 983 95 9533), Kyle Matthews at 515 975 8160, or Marie Lamensch at 514 795 1284. Read the pdf document.
3 April
Kyle Matthews speaks about the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, CBC Homerun.