Skip to main content
News release

Ottawa proclaims September 24 "Will to Intervene" Day


Concordia-based human rights initiative gains momentum

Montreal, September 24, 2012 - Ottawa takes up the challenge of Concordia University’s Will to Intervene project (W2I) as Mayor Jim Watson proclaims today “Will to Intervene” Day in the city. 
 
“Mobilizing the will to intervene is an essential prelude to mounting international cooperation necessary for preventing mass atrocities", explains Mayor Watson. 
 
The Will to Intervene project is a crucial Canadian initiative conceived and developed at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University.
 
As the project’s co-founder and senior follow at MIGS, Senator Roméo Dallaire says, “The Will to Intervene Project seeks to mobilize both the government and civil society to prevent and eliminate mass atrocities. The Canadian government has been slow to pick up on this important cause, but the message has not been lost. Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto have already shown their support. Today, the residents of our country's capital are voicing theirs, and I hope that their message will be heard on the Hill!  We must prepare our assets for the elimination of mass atrocities and be ready to use them decisively. It is time to mobilize the will to intervene in Canada.”
 
The proclamation was made public at 10:00 a.m. today at the University of Ottawa in the presence of Senator Dallaire, Members of Parliament Paul Dewar (NDP), Marc-André Morin (NDP) and Joyce Murray (Liberal), former Member of Parliament David Kilgour, and former Canadian Ambassador to the UN Paul Heinbecker. This event was coordinated by MIGS, the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) at the University of Ottawa, and the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.
 
For media interviews, please contact Kyle Matthews, Senior Deputy Director (MIGS) at 514-975-8160, kyle.mattews@ concordia.ca, Twitter: @kylecmatthews.

Source

Fiona Downey
Fiona Downey
Public Affairs
514-848-2424, ext. 2518
Fiona.Downey@concordia.ca
@fiodow



Back to top

© Concordia University