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International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736
PRESS RELEASE
DATE:  February 23, 2009
CONTACT: Rebecca Parson, [email protected]
OR:   Megan Swan, [email protected], TEL: 416-250-9807
Scholars to Assess Genocide Prevention Task Force Report in Washington, DC
Washington, DC - A symposium to assess the official report of the Genocide
Prevention Task Force will be held on March 13, 2009 at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars. This is the initiative of the editors of
Genocide Studies and Prevention, published in partnership by The
International Association of Genocide Scholars (`IAGS'), The International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (`IIGHRS') and The
University of Toronto Press.
.
`This much anticipated report was released in December 2008,' said Prof.
Herb Hirsch, one of the journal's editors. `We wanted to organize as quickly
as possible a symposium of experts from North America and Europe in
political science, international law, sociology, history and philosophy to
provide an independent, in-depth, scholarly review and assessment of its
findings.'
The Genocide Prevention Task Force was officially launched in November 2007
by a consortium of non-governmental agencies - The US Holocaust Memorial
Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and The US Institute of
Peace - under the joint chairmanship of Madeline Albright and William Cohen.
Albright served as US Ambassador to the United Nations and then Secretary of
State during the Clinton administration. Cohen was Secretary of Defense
during Clinton's second term. Participants in the Task Force and its
research comprised over fifty people with international, diplomatic,
political, government, military, academic, humanitarian, and other relevant
experience.
The Task Force's mandate is explained in the title of its official report,
Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers. The Co-Chairs
explain in their Foreword, `This report provides a blueprint that can enable
the United States to take preventive action, along with international
partners, to forestall the specter of future cases of genocide and mass
atrocities. The world agrees that genocide is unacceptable and yet genocide
and mass killings continue. Our challenge is to match words to deeds and
stop allowing the unacceptable.'
Prof. Gregory Stanton, President of the IAGS, noted, `Scholars understand
that to commit genocide is a political act. But when it comes to such things
as preventing genocide, the kind of politics found in Washington and other
capitals of power can sometimes get in the way of real understanding, and
therefore of effective intervention.'
Prof. Roger W. Smith, Chairman of the IIGHRS, commented, `One can not study
genocide without feeling the urgent need to do everything one can to prevent
it. We need to persuade governments that preventing genocide is in their
national interest, for both moral and pragmatic reasons. That is why this
symposium should critically analyze this vital report and its potential
effectiveness.'
Entry to the symposium is free, but pre-registration is required. Please
contact the IIGHRS office at 416-250-9807 or [email protected], if
you wish to attend. The papers presented and discussed at the symposium will
be published in the Spring 2009 issue of Genocide Studies and Prevention.
Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal was co-founded by
the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan
Institute). The journal's mission is to understand the phenomenon of
genocide, create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge, and promote the
necessity of preventing it, for both pragmatic and moral reasons. It is the
official journal of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and
is published three times a year by the University of Toronto Press.
255 Duncan Mill Rd., Suite 310
Toronto, ON, Canada M3B 3H9
Tel: 416-250-9807 Fax: 416-512-1736
PRESS RELEASE
DATE:  February 23, 2009
CONTACT: Rebecca Parson, [email protected]
OR:   Megan Swan, [email protected], TEL: 416-250-9807
Scholars to Assess Genocide Prevention Task Force Report in Washington, DC
Washington, DC - A symposium to assess the official report of the Genocide
Prevention Task Force will be held on March 13, 2009 at the Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars. This is the initiative of the editors of
Genocide Studies and Prevention, published in partnership by The
International Association of Genocide Scholars (`IAGS'), The International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (`IIGHRS') and The
University of Toronto Press.
.
`This much anticipated report was released in December 2008,' said Prof.
Herb Hirsch, one of the journal's editors. `We wanted to organize as quickly
as possible a symposium of experts from North America and Europe in
political science, international law, sociology, history and philosophy to
provide an independent, in-depth, scholarly review and assessment of its
findings.'
The Genocide Prevention Task Force was officially launched in November 2007
by a consortium of non-governmental agencies - The US Holocaust Memorial
Museum, The American Academy of Diplomacy, and The US Institute of
Peace - under the joint chairmanship of Madeline Albright and William Cohen.
Albright served as US Ambassador to the United Nations and then Secretary of
State during the Clinton administration. Cohen was Secretary of Defense
during Clinton's second term. Participants in the Task Force and its
research comprised over fifty people with international, diplomatic,
political, government, military, academic, humanitarian, and other relevant
experience.
The Task Force's mandate is explained in the title of its official report,
Preventing Genocide: A Blueprint for U.S. Policymakers. The Co-Chairs
explain in their Foreword, `This report provides a blueprint that can enable
the United States to take preventive action, along with international
partners, to forestall the specter of future cases of genocide and mass
atrocities. The world agrees that genocide is unacceptable and yet genocide
and mass killings continue. Our challenge is to match words to deeds and
stop allowing the unacceptable.'
Prof. Gregory Stanton, President of the IAGS, noted, `Scholars understand
that to commit genocide is a political act. But when it comes to such things
as preventing genocide, the kind of politics found in Washington and other
capitals of power can sometimes get in the way of real understanding, and
therefore of effective intervention.'
Prof. Roger W. Smith, Chairman of the IIGHRS, commented, `One can not study
genocide without feeling the urgent need to do everything one can to prevent
it. We need to persuade governments that preventing genocide is in their
national interest, for both moral and pragmatic reasons. That is why this
symposium should critically analyze this vital report and its potential
effectiveness.'
Entry to the symposium is free, but pre-registration is required. Please
contact the IIGHRS office at 416-250-9807 or [email protected], if
you wish to attend. The papers presented and discussed at the symposium will
be published in the Spring 2009 issue of Genocide Studies and Prevention.
Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal was co-founded by
the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the International
Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (A Division of the Zoryan
Institute). The journal's mission is to understand the phenomenon of
genocide, create an awareness of it as an ongoing scourge, and promote the
necessity of preventing it, for both pragmatic and moral reasons. It is the
official journal of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and
is published three times a year by the University of Toronto Press.