Announcements
MIGS has been selected by the Council of Europe to be a partner and presenter at the 10th World Forum for Democracy, which will take place on 7-9 November in Strasbourg, France. In addition, MIGS’ Global Digital Authoritarianism Index project has been selected as one of the initiatives to be considered for the forum’s annual Democracy Innovation Award. Organized under the High Patronage of French president Emmanuel Macron, this year’s forum will look for the key contributing factors to democratic decline and explore what kind of democratic future is desirable.
MIGS’ Executive Director Kyle Matthews has become a member of The Hub For The Study of Hybrid Communication in Peacebuilding at the University of Sheffield.
MIGS Fellow Mark Kersten was appointed an Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley.
MIGS Fellow Joana Cook co-published an article in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism titled “Supreme Men, Subjected Women: Gender Inequality and Violence in Jihadist, Far Right and Male Supremacist Ideologies”.
Upcoming Events
September 14
MIGS will host the second meeting of The Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes (GPAAAC), a project created by MIGS in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Canada. The theme of this meeting will be “Unpacking Atrocity Crimes in Ukraine”, which will bring together experts, civil society members and parliamentarians to discuss the situation in Ukraine and identify better approaches to protect Ukrainian civilians. This session is invite-only but if you are interested in learning more about the project please contact MIGS at migs@concordia.ca.
Recent Events
July 13
Project Officer Lauren Salim attended ‘Gender Justice: Advancing Pluralism and Free Speech For Al’ hosted by the OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media. The event focused on structural barriers and inequalities facing women’s expression as well as on online threats women journalists face. You can learn more about the Joint Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Gender Justice here.
July 19
MIGS hosted the inaugural meeting of The Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes. This first meeting had remarks by distinguished experts which included Irwin Cotler (Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights, Former Canadian Minister of Justice), Ewelina Ochab (MIGS Fellow, IBAHRI programme lawyer and co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response), Ali Ehsassi (Member of the House of Commons of Canada, Liberal Party), and Lotte Leicht (Council Chairwoman, ECCHR, and former European Union Director and Director of Human Rights Watch's Brussels Office). Organizations that were represented at the meeting include: the Canadian Senate, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes, Parliamentarians for Global Action, the Society for Threatened Peoples International, Genocide Alert, West African Transitional Justice Centre, the Berlin School of Economics and Law, and the Budapest Centre for the International Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.
July 20
MIGS Fellow Naomi Kikoler co-hosted a discussion with the U.S. Institute of Peace on the new US Leadership in Atrocity Prevention strategy with remarks made by the U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
July 21
MIGS Executive Director Kyle Matthews attended a round table discussion on the challenges with online safety with the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage.
July 28
The MIGS team held a meeting with the Ambassador of Ukraine to Canada, Yulia Kovaliv, to discuss atrocity crimes and introduce the Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes.
In the Media
July 7
MIGS Fellow Andrei Serbin Pont was featured in an article published by the Diario Los Americas “Maduro Regime Displays Iranian Artillery Drones.”
July 8
Andrei Serbin Pont was quoted in the Washington Post article “What are Japan’s gun laws? Abe killing shocks nation with few shootings.”
July 9
Dr. Ewelina Ochab wrote two articles for Forbes : “Renewed Focus On Bringing Daesh To Justice Urgently Needed” and “Turkey, Syria And Iraq Face Allegations Of Failing To Prevent And Punish The Daesh Genocide.”
MIGS Fellow Michael Petrou wrote an op-ed in the Globe and Mail titled “How are soldiers changed by war, and how do they change Canada?”
July 11
Kyle Matthews spoke to CBC's "Let's Go" about the political and economic crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka.
MIGS Fellow Michael Petrou was interviewed by the Canadian Museum of History.
July 16
Dr. Ewelina Ochab wrote two articles for Forbes: “Muslims Have Become A Persecuted Minority In India, Experts Warn” and “Crimes Against Humanity Continue Unabated In North Korea - Will Kim Jong-Un Face Justice?”
July 18
Dr. Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for the Global Parliamentary Alliance Against Atrocity Crimes titled "We Need A Driving Force To Address Inaction And Impunity for Atrocity Crimes."
MIGS’ Director of Research Frank Chalk was quoted in the CBC article titled “Jewish groups in Montreal demand better education after trial of alleged neo-Nazi.”
July 20
Marie Lamensch wrote an article for CIGI titled “In the Former Soviet Bloc, the Democratic Dreams of 1989 Continue to Fade."
July 23
Dr. Ewelina U. Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “International Court Of Justice Proceeds With The Case Against Myanmar.”
July 31
Dr. Ewelina Ochab wrote an article for Forbes titled “What Putin’s War In Ukraine Has To Do With Starvation In Africa.”