Senior Fellows: Pursuing Justice

January-June
The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) is launching its Senior Fellows: Pursuing Justice newsletter with the aim of keeping you updated on our Senior Fellows' consistent contributions to the betterment of the human condition.

Our Senior Fellows are a group of leading thinkers and advocates from Canada and around the world helping to mobilize a constituency of conscience in the pursuit of justice.
Professor Payam Akhavan

Delivered 2017 Massey Lectures  and authored bestselling book,  In Search of a Better World . Testified as expert witness in Ottawa before Parliamentary Subcommittee on International human rights re Iran. Leading commentator on Rohingya crisis. Made final oral arguments at the International Court of Justice as the representative of Bolivia in the Chile-Bolivia territorial dispute.  
Hon. Rona Ambrose

Leading proponent of legislation, Bill JUST Act (Bill C-337) , which unanimously passed in the House of Commons and passed its second reading in the Senate moving to the Committee stage. Leading role in creating non-profit, She Leads , with aim of giving women equal opportunity to run for office. Spoke at The Art of Leadership for Women in Toronto, with Malala Yousafzai and others. Continuing work in capacity as Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars' Canada Institute re Canada-U.S. trade.
Maziar Bahari

Producer of film about Baha’i oppression,  Changing the World, One Wall at a Time , which premiered and was featured at the RWCHR Parliamentary Human Rights Film screening in Ottawa. Premiere of film, 82 Names: Syria Please Don’t Forget Us , at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum with associated exhibit. Participant at Parliamentary Human Rights Subcommittee Hearings & RWCHR’s 6 th Annual Iran Accountability Week,  10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy , and the Oslo Freedom Forum. 
Professor Susan Benesch

Continued transformative work countering harmful speech online, in her capacity as Faculty Associate at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society and as Director of the Dangerous Speech Project. Co-designed an experiment to reduce online abuse on social media platforms, which Twitter began in April. Presented new papers at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, to the European Council on Tolerance and Reconciliation, and at the 2018 Words that Kill Conference at the American University of Paris (keynote speaker).
Professor Cindy Blackstock, OC

Appointed as Officer to the Order of Canada and received five honorary Doctor of Laws from Memorial University, Dalhousie University, the University of Manitoba, the University of Toronto, and the University of Ottawa respectively. Author of book, Spirit Bear and Children Make History , released in French and endorsed by  Indspire as a Successful Practice in K-12 Indigenous education. Featured speaker at the 2018 R.W.B. Jackson Lecture at the University of Toronto.
Professor Alan Dershowitz

Expert legal commentator on Fox News and CNN re civil liberties in the U.S. Prolific Op-Ed writer on satire, human rights and the rule of law. Published book re the hypocrisy and double standard of certain human rights initiatives.
Professor Adam Dodek

Author of new book,  The Charter Debates , and scholarly article,  “ What Lies Ahead for Public Sector Ethics? ” . Recently awarded the 2017 David Walter Mundell medal for excellence in legal writing and the 2018 CALT Prize for Academic Excellence. 
Professor Javier El-Hage

Co-authored  scholarly article on the case of imprisoned Saudi human rights lawyer Waleed Abulkhair; co-wrote  public letter to Kosovo’s Prime Minister about non-refoulement of Turkish teachers. Called on UNICEF Chief to strip Ambassadorship from UNICEF’s Ambassador to Venezuela over his support of Maduro Regime and its rights abuses. Spoke at 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy . 
Professor Pearl Eliadis

Wrote  case comments  for the Kirsch Institute re the new direction in reparations liability from the International Criminal Court. Published a  post  on  Rights Blog: Human Rights Law and Public Policy  about the OAS Expert Panel’s findings re crimes against humanity in Venezuela. Writing report with the RWCHR on the Cameroonian crisis. 
Professor Karen Eltis

Co-authored scholarly article, entitled  “Revisiting the Limits on Judicial Expression in the Digital Age: Striving towards Proportionality in the in the Cyberintimidation Context” ; co-wrote the Canadian Report for the 20th International Comparative Law Conference. Delivered several talks at legal forums on AI, freedom of expression, privacy and cybersecurity in the digital age. Spoke at the 2018  International Privacy + Security Forum on Canadian privacy law for global companies.
Jared Genser, Esq.

Achieved the release and pardoning of his client and leader of Malaysian opposition, Anwar Ibrahim. Recently won case before UN Human Rights Committee which found that the Maldives must re-qualify his client, Mohamed Nasheed – the first democratically elected President of the Maldives and former poltical prisoner (who is also an advisor to the RWCHR) – to run for President. 
Carl Gershman

Leader in organizing the World Movement for Democracy Conference, in which the RWCHR participated. Spoke at the launch of Dialogue China, a pro-democracy think tank, on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square massacre. Testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on democracy. NED’s April 2018 issue of Journal of Democracy highlights “China in Xi’s New Era”. NED’s 2018 Democracy Award honours civil society movements for human rights and democracy in North Korea; 2018 Democracy Service Medal awarded to Soviet dissident Mustafa Dzhemilev.
Professor Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias

Authored scholarly article, " Most States and Nations are not Eager to Admit Their Own Faults and Reckon With the Painful Past " , recently translated to English; wrote on how memory laws can undermine constitutional order, with reference to  Polish memory law  which inhibits critiques of Holocaust. Spoke at various forums including the 25 th Council for European Studies Conference, the 10 th Central and Eastern European Forum of Young Legal, Political and Social Theorists, and the international conference on "An End to Antisemitism!" at the University of Vienna. 
Hon. Michael Ignatieff, PC, CM

President and Rector at the Central European University, recently under attack by Orban's Hungary. Awarded the 2018 Zócalo Book Prize for his book, The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World . Spoke at numerous lectures and conferences including the Eighth Annual Zócalo Book Prize Lecture, the Schuman Lecture, the Burton R. Clarke Lecture on Higher Education , the Samuel L. and Elizabeth Jodidi Lecture , and the Annual EUROPA Conference.


Dr. Yang Jianli

Testified at UN Human Rights Council whe re his compelling remarks were continuously interrupted By Chinese Regime representatives, who sought to intimidate and censor him for his human rights work. Spoke at the 10th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy . Initiated a petition to get President Xi to reveal the truth of what happened to the two “tank men” who protested in Tiananmen Square.
Vladimir Kara-Murza

Testified at the Danish Parliament and French National Assembly and Senate alongside Bill Browder on the need for Magnitsky legislation; retaliatory ‘Kara-Murza Law’, which criminalizes promotion of Magnitsky legislation, passed by Russia. Inspired establishment of Nemtsov commemorations in Washington and Lithuania and is a sponsor for similar commemorations in Canada, as demonstrated in co-authored Op-Ed in the Ottawa Citizen . Published Op-Ed in the Washington Post about Russian political prisoner Oleg Sentsov.
Hon. David Kilgour, PC

Spoke and wrote about leading human rights concerns in China; the genocide of the Rohingyas and Canada’s failure to invoke R2P re this genocide; human rights violations in Turkey ; and appeared as expert witness before Parliamentary Committees in Japan, UK and Canada re organ pillaging. Awarded the Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights Award alongside Senior Fellow David Matas.
Professor Fannie Lafontaine

Authored chapter, entitled “ Criminels de guerre au Canada? La valse-hésitation historique entre poursuites et expulsions ”, in recently published book, Reflections on Canada’s Past Present and Future in International Law . Amicus Curiae observation to International Criminal Court re jurisdiction over forced deportation of Rohingya into Bangladesh, in capacity as co-director of Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ). CPIJ held General Assembly meeting with Bob Rae and Irwin Cotler to discuss Rohingya and Venezuelan crises respectively. Testified before ‘la Commissions Viens’. 
Professor Ron Levi

Co-edited recently published book, International Practices of Criminal Justice: Social and Legal Perspectives ; co-authored introduction and chapter, entitled "An Internationalized Criminal Justice: Paths of Law and Paths of Police" and "Prosecutorial Strategies and Opening Statements: Justifying International Prosecutions and from the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg through to the International Criminal Court", in aforementioned book.
Miss Anastasia Lin

Starred in Reunion , a short-film about organ pillaging, which was awarded ‘Best International Film’ at the Oregon Short Film Festival. Testified before the Parliament of Australia and the Parliament of New South Wales re organ pillaging in China and Chinese soft power, the latter being highlighted in her documentary, In the Name of Confucius . Spoke at the Oslo Freedom Forum, and on a panel re forced organ pillaging and Chinese Regime human rights abuses at a Parliamentary event and film screening hosted by the RWCHR and Wallenberg All-Party Parliamentary Caucus for Human Rights.
Professor Kathleen Mahoney

Recently interviewed on freedom of speech / hate speech . Wrote chapter, entitled “ Reforming Reparations for Mass Human Rights Abuses: A Canadian Model ”, in recently published book, Ecological Integrity, Law and Governance . Shares her expertise on Indigenous justice in teaching new course about how Indigenous legal traditions can be integrated into our judicial system.
Professor David Matas, CM

Leading global advocate to combat organ pillaging in China. Appeared before House and Senate Parliamentary Committees re criminal and refugee law reform. Received honorary Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta and awarded the Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights Award alongside Senior Fellow David Kilgour. Gave the 2018 Annual Shindleman Lecture .
Professor Errol Mendes

Co-wrote public letter highlighting Canada’s failure to invoke R2P in Myanmar. Interviewed by CTV News on Warmbier’s parents suing North Korea. Hosted high-level discussions including one with NATO Secretary General and another on the recently announced Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise.
Kim Motley, Esq.

Created human rights graphic novel, The Disruptors , showcased at the Interactive Expo at this year’s Oslo Freedom Forum. Helped secure release and pardoning of her client and leader of Malaysian opposition, Anwar Ibrahim. Filled clemency appeal for permanent Canadian resident Saeed Malekpour, currently in 9th year of imprisonment, and whose case and cause has been taken up by the RWCHR
Marina Nemat

Author of book , Prisoner of Tehran , brought to life through dance and narrative. Featured speaker at the 2018 El-Tassi Lecture and the 2018 Howcroft Lecture; spoke at Medicine Hat College about her experiences in Iran; Q&A with Jay Nordlinger from the National Review about protests in Iran.
Professor Michael Petrou

Awarded the 2018 Martin Wise Goodman Canadian Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Speaker at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights’ President Lecture Series. Will spend 2018-2019 academic year as fellow-in-residence at Carleton University’s Bachelor of Global and International Studies program and as adjunct research professor at Carleton University’s Department of History.
Hon. Bob Rae, PC, CC, O.Ont, QC

Issued report, Tell Them We’re Human , as special envoy to Myanmar outlining seventeen recommendations the Canadian federal government and international community should take re the Rohingya crisis. Testified before the Senate Human Rights Committee and met with the Prime Minister of Bangladesh to discuss the aforementioned report and the crisis in general.
Professor Kent Roach, CM

Leading commentator on jury selection reform. Spoke at Osgoode Hall Law School re his scholarly article, “ Comparative Reflections on Miscarriages of Justice in Australia and Canada ”. Co-authored scholarly article entitled “ Yesterday’s Law: Terrorist Group Listing in Canada ”.
Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, OBE

Recently awarded the Beacon of Light Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award. New initiatives include launching Ten Paths to God , a ten-unit curriculum on Judaism and Jewish identity, and a six-part series of whiteboard animation videos focused on the key challenges of 21st-century. Published important article about the power of empathy as part of his series, Covenant & Conversation .
Ahmed Shaheed

Issued report on state-religion relationships and their impact on freedom of religion/belief . Issued  preliminary findings after important April mission to Tunisia. Called on Yemen to annul death sentence handed out to Baha’i follower , and on Iran to treat Christian minorities fairly . Recent address at  DW Global Media Forum on Global Inequalities . 
Hon. Murray Sinclair, MSC

Leading proponent for jury selection reform including important  poem  re the Colton Boushie case. Op-Ed in  Maclean’s on systemic disadvantages of Indigenous children. Participated in the Harvard Project’s Dialogue on the Future of Indigenous Nation Building. Recently awarded Amnesty International’s 2017 Ambassador of Conscience Award and the Canadian Bar Association’s 2018 President’s Award. 
Professor Charles Taylor, CC, GOQ, FBA, FRSC

Awarded the 2018 International Grand Prix of the Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival for his literary achievements. Recently delivered speech, Democratic Degeneration: Three Easy Paths to Regression , at Athens Concert Hall. Delivered the 2017 Beatty Memorial Lecture at McGill University .
Sherman Teichman

Researching the nexus of corruption and human rights as Senior Carr Fellow at Harvard University, where he conducted the second semester of his study group, " Confronting Corruption in Defence of Human Rights". Concentrating on nexus of science, technology, ethics and international security as nonresident Research Associate at Oxford University. Strategic Advisor for the Human Rights Foundation, concentrating on the expansion of the Oslo Scholars.
Professor Gil Troy

CNN interviewee re the American Presidency. Recently published book, The Zionist Ideas : Visions for the Jewish Homeland―Then, Now, Tomorrow . Speaker at the 2018 JCC Association of North America’s Biennial meeting in Memphis, Tennessee. Authored numerous Op-Eds in the Daily Beast, including “ Even the Wild West Embraced Gun Control ” and “ The Tragedy of Armenia’s First Prime Minister: Too Blunt and Now Forgotten ”.
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For our January/February Pursuing Justice newsletter:   click here