Resource List

2010-2011 competition is CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS

The Graduate Research Awards for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation are offered by The Simons Foundation and the International Security Research and Outreach Programme (ISROP) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada (DFAIT). The primary objective of the awards is to enhance Canadian graduate-level scholarship on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation issues.

Eight (8) awards of CAD$5,000 are available to master's and/or doctoral students to support the research and writing of short position papers that will be presented in a debate format at the Graduate Research Awards (GRA) Consultations hosted by DFAIT. Awards include travel support to Ottawa (domestic transportation, accommodation and meals), where successful candidates will be required to present their completed position papers in the form of a one-to-one debate during a special consultation at DFAIT in January 2011.

Deadline for applications: October 18, 2010
Shortlist of 16 candidates: November 22, 2010
Deadline for position papers: December 10, 2010
Selection of award recipients: January 7, 2011

HOW TO APPLY

Applications must include:

• A letter of interest that supports your candidacy for the GRA programme
• A writing sample (1,000 words) that addresses Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament (NACD) issues
• A resumé, including citizenship status (Canadians and Canadian Landed Immigrants are eligible)
• Complete official transcripts of grades (in order to meet the deadline for applications, copies of official transcripts may be sent by fax or email, with the originals to follow by mail)
• A letter of reference* from your supervisor
• A second letter of reference*

*Please note that letters of reference must be on letterhead and include the writer’s signature.

Complete applications must be received by close of business on October 18, 2010 and may be sent by email to the attention of Elaine Hynes at The Simons Foundation:  elaine_hynes@sfu.ca

SELECTION PROCESS

Following the initial review of applications, 16 candidates will be shortlisted for further consideration. Applicants will be contacted by November 22, 2010 to be advised if they have been selected as one of the 16 shortlisted candidates.

Each of the 16 shortlisted candidates will be assigned one of four debate topics (see below) and will be required to research and write, individually and independently, a 1,000-word position paper arguing for or against, as instructed. Reading lists for each topic will be provided, along with a position paper template. The position paper must be submitted by December 10, 2010.

The students whose position paper is deemed to make the strongest argument for and against each of the four debate topics will receive an award of CAD$5,000. Selection of the eight (8) award recipients will be made by January 7, 2011.

GRA CONSULTATIONS AND DEBATE

Award winners will be required to debate their positions at the GRA Consultations hosted by DFAIT in Ottawa in early 2011. The debates will be subject to the Chatham House Rule. At the debates, additional monetary awards of $2,000 and $1,500 will be presented to the two (2) students who make the most effective arguments in support of their position; $1,500 will be awarded to the runner-up. Winning position papers will be published by The Simons Foundation.

Please note that attendance at the GRA Consultations is a mandatory requirement of the award. Travel, accommodation and meal expenses will be provided for by ISROP, in accordance with Government of Canada Treasury Board Guidelines.

Successful award recipients will be notified by January 7, 2011.

DEBATE QUESTIONS FOR THE 2010 GRA CONSULTATIONS IN OTTAWA, HOSTED BY ISROP/DFAIT

• Should nuclear capabilities remain an essential element of NATO’s defence strategy?
• Should the Biological Weapons Convention Review Conference in 2011 revive the verification debate or focus instead on compliance?
• In accordance with Canadian NACD policies, should Canada support the multilateralization of nuclear fuel cycle as a non-proliferation measure?
• In order to be both effective and enforceable, should the scope of an Arms Trade Treaty be broad or narrow?

Related information:

• GRA results 2010-2011

By John Burroughs, J.D., Ph.D.

State Bar of Michigan Michigan International Layer

Volume XXII, No. 11, Summer 2010

 Speech - 2007

The Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
The University of Queensland, Australia
September, 2007

June 2010

The Space Security Index is the first and only annual, comprehensive, and integrated assessment of space security.

Space Security 2010 is the seventh annual report on trends and developments related to security and outer space, covering the period January to December 2009.1 It is part of the broader Space Security Index (SSI) project, which aims to improve transparency with respect to space activities and provide a common, comprehensive knowledge base to support the development of national and international policies that contribute to space security.

The definition of space security guiding this report reflects the express intent of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty that space should be preserved as a global commons to be used by all for peaceful purposes:

“The secure and sustainable access to, and use of, space and freedom from space-based threats."

This broad definition encompasses the security of space as a particularly unique environment, the security of Earth-originating assets in space, and security from threats originating in space-based assets. The primary consideration in the SSI definition of space security is not the interests of specific national or commercial entities using space, but the security of space as an environment that can be used safely and sustainably by all.

Draft of speech by Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of The City of Hiroshima, delivered at the NGO Session during the NPT Review Conference in May 2010.

Speech by Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons
The Wisdom of the Survivor Conference
Center on Terrorism, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York
May 4th, 2010

Speech by Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons

For a Nuclear Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World Conference
Riverside Church, New York City
April 30 - May 1st 2010

Conference Report

United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland

March 29-30, 2010

Space Security 2010: From Foundations to Negotiations is the ninth annual conference held by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) on the issue of space security, the peaceful uses of outer space and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. This conference focused on exploring the technological constraints and opportunities for a space security regime, elaborating on the latest developments in efforts by multilateral, governmental, academic and industrial organizations to craft solutions to different pieces of the space security puzzle, and considering what lessons previous arms control and confidence-building negotiations might have for future negotiations about instruments for securing space.

Remarks by Dr. Jennifer Allen Simons

Global Zero World Summit
Paris, France
February 2nd – 4th, 2010

Report of the Dialogue on Mobilizing the Will to Intervene

Vancouver, BC

November 27, 2009

The Simons Foundation in partnership with the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) at Concordia University, Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue and Canada’s World convened a Dialogue with representatives of the media, business leaders, government representatives, academics and relevant civil society organizations on generating the Will to Intervene to Prevent Mass Atrocities.

Professor Frank Chalk, Director of MIGS and Co-Director of MIGS’s Will to Intervene Project (W2I) led the discussion on the most effective ways to mobilize local support and generate the Will to Intervene to prevent mass atrocities. The Dialogue was chaired by Dr. Mark Winston, Academic Director of SFU’s Centre for Dialogue, and moderated by Ms. Shauna Sylvester, Director of Canada’s World.

The Dialogue was one of three events held during the two-day Vancouver Launch of the W2I Project report, Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership and Action to Prevent Mass Atrocities.  The fundamental goal of the report is to identify strategic and practical steps to raise the capacity of government officials, legislators, civil servants, non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, journalists, and media owners and managers to build the political will to prevent mass atrocities.

A session for academics and students focusing on the findings and policy proposals of the report was held on Thursday, November 26th at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue. A Public Lecture by Professor Frank Chalk highlighting MIGS case studies of Canadian and US policies towards the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the 1999 events in Kosovo was held that evening.