City of Vancouver Endorses the Will to Intervene Report
Barbara Buchanan, Sen. Roméo Dallaire, Mayor Gregor Robertson, Councillor Geoff Meggs, Elaine Hynes
Sen. Dallaire and Prof. Frank Chalk are Co-Directors of the W2I Project of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) at Concordia University. The W2I report, Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership to Prevent Mass Atrocities, makes recommendations on how the governments of Canada and the United States can take leadership roles to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities and the proclamation by the City of Vancouver urges the Government of Canada to implement these recommendations.
This proclamation is the result of a Civic Dialogue The Simons Foundation convened with Concordia-based MIGS, Simon Fraser University's Centre for Dialogue and Canada's World in Vancouver last November. The Dialogue on generating the will to intervene to prevent mass atrocities brought together representatives of the media, business leaders, government representatives, academics and civil society organizations. Vancouver City Councillor, Geoff Meggs, participated in the Dialogue and was instrumental in bringing the discussion back to City Hall for their endorsement.
MIGS has since held Civic Dialogues in Calgary and Edmonton and is currently planning an event in Montréal to further encourage the city to adopt a similar draft resolution.
“Mobilizing the domestic will to intervene, as proposed by General Roméo Dallaire and a group of eminent advisors, is an essential prelude to mounting the international cooperation necessary for preventing mass atrocities”
- excerpt from the City of Vancouver "Will to Intervene Day" Proclamation
A copy of the official City of Vancouver "Will to Intervene Day" Proclamation can be found below.
For more information on the Will to Intervene project, click here.
Photo courtesy of the City of Vancouver