On 21 September, the United States Institute of Peace hosted a public event to help launch a new report from the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), based at Concordia University, Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership and Action to Prevent Mass Atrocities. Video files of the event are now available on this page.

On 21 September, the United States Institute of Peace hosted a public event to help launch a new report from the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS), based at Concordia University, Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership and Action to Prevent Mass Atrocities.

The report is the product of the Will to Intervene (W2I) Project, a research initiative created by Lieut. General (retired) Roméo Dallaire and Professor Frank Chalk, Director of MIGS, and led by Kyle Matthews, which aims to operationalize the principles of the Responsibility to Protect. More than 80 interviews were conducted with high-level policy makers, members of Congress, NGO representatives, and journalists, some for the first time on record. Drawing on the lessons learned from the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the 1999 Kosovo crisis, the report makes key recommendations to government officials, legislators, civil society and the media in the United States and Canada to generate the political will to prevent mass atrocities.

After Prof. Chalk briefly introduced the report's findings, the panel with Gen. Dallaire and former senior U.S. government officials discussed the report’s policy proposals and the challenges of mobilizing the domestic will in the U.S. to prevent mass atrocities.

Speakers

Video Archive

For further information on the W2I Project please visit http://migs.concordia.ca.

Copies of the report can be downloaded at http://migs.concordia.ca/W2I/W2I_Project.html.

Latest Publications

A Rising Philippines Faces a Crucial Year Ahead

A Rising Philippines Faces a Crucial Year Ahead

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

By virtue of its geography alone, the Philippines is arguably Southeast Asia’s most strategically important country. Yet its actual influence has tended to lag its potential due to decades of socioeconomic struggle and internal instability, especially in its restive southern island of Mindanao. In recent years, however, the Philippines has rapidly emerged as one of the most consequential countries in the Indo-Pacific, driven in large part by President Ferdinand Marcos’ transformative policies on national security, defense and foreign relations.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

China's Vision for Global Security: Implications for Southeast Asia

China's Vision for Global Security: Implications for Southeast Asia

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) marks a new phase in Beijing’s ongoing push to change the international security order. Through the GSI, China seeks to establish itself as a counterbalance to U.S. influence and to reshape security management in a number of strategically important regions. The GSI is still in the early stages of implementation, but it has already demonstrated the potential to disrupt the existing security framework in Southeast Asia. This may lead to increased polarization within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with some member states aligning with the GSI and others remaining cautious due to their stronger affiliations with the United States.

Type: Analysis

Global Policy

Amid a Changing Global Order, NATO Looks East

Amid a Changing Global Order, NATO Looks East

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

As NATO celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the Euro-Atlantic security alliance continues to deepen its engagement with Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, collectively known as the IP4. NATO has collaborated with these countries since the early 2000s, but Russia’s war against Ukraine, security challenges posed by China and renewed strategic competition have led to increased engagement. As the war in Ukraine grinds on and U.S.-China competition shows no sign of abating, the United States has much to gain from collaboration between its allies and partners in the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.

Type: Question and Answer

Global Policy

Mental Health and Violent Conflict: A Vicious Cycle

Mental Health and Violent Conflict: A Vicious Cycle

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

When we think about the damage wrought by war, we often think about the physical consequences such as injuries and destroyed infrastructure. However, the often-invisible mental scars left behind by war are no less important.

Type: Analysis

Human Rights

Mirna Galic on NATO’s Long-standing Engagement in the Indo-Pacific

Mirna Galic on NATO’s Long-standing Engagement in the Indo-Pacific

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

Contrary to China’s assertions, NATO has a long history of engagement with the Indo-Pacific. But the alliance’s deep partnerships in the region have taken on renewed importance in recent years amid Russia’s war on Ukraine and renewed strategic competition between the U.S. and China, says USIP’s Mirna Galic.

Type: Podcast

View All Publications