The future of the Canadian Forces is a matter of vital concern to all of us interested in Canada’s national security. Key decisions must be made in the year 2010 that will affect the mission, doctrine, policies, and refitting of the Forces for many years to come. As Canada anticipates winding down its military participation in the Afghan war, we need to step back and ask some important questions:

1. What have we learned?
2. Should the Canadian Forces plan to stay at home or train to deploy on another overseas mission?
3. Does reinforcing Canada’s sovereignty over the North and maintaining security at home mean that we have nothing left for a preventive mission in Africa or another continent afflicted with the threat or the reality of preventable mass atrocities?

Dr. Frank Chalk
Director, the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies and Professor of History at
Concordia University

A year ago, ACAC had the wonderful opportunity to meet Dr. Jo & Lyn Luci, the couple behind HEAL Africa. Desirée Zwanck is the Gender Advisor for HEAL Africa, an organization based in Goma, North Kivu, DR Congo which provides holistic care and support for survivors of sexual violence.

From the website of the organization:

HEAL Africa’s hospital and community development work address the root causes of illness and poverty for the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The hospital and the 28 women’s houses in Maniema and North Kivu have provided a safe place for many victims of the war, and have been a motor for combating poverty and promoting community cohesion over the past 14 years.

We encourage you all to take the time to learn more about the organization here.

Take a look at our recent discussion with Zwanck about her article on The Mark News.

Another expert contributor to the policy consultation hosted by ACAC, co-sponsored by The Mark News, is Dr. Jim Freedman!

Dr. Freedman is head of Jim Freedman Consulting & Writing, Inc. a consulting firm which focuses on helping extractive companies be socially responsible in areas of armed conflict. He was also a member of the UN Panel of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read his response to ACAC’s policy brief here on The Mark News and check out the discussion we had with him on his policy recommendations and the future of Canada & Africa.

Paul Dewar is the NDP Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre and the NDP critic for Foreign Affairs. He is participating in the dialog as chair of the All-Party Group on the Prevention of Genocide. As stated by the Hon. Paul Dewar on the website for the group:

“Genocide prevention is the fundamental test for the international community. It requires leadership and effort from Parliamentarians, professors, students and non-governmental organizations. Today, this work is as critical as ever, especially in the face of mass killing and systematic rape in Darfur, Sudan, and in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

There are lessons learned from our past failures in Cambodia, Rwanda and Srebrenica. Our challenge is to support a growing international regime to thwart further atrocities and provide justice to survivors. We must ensure that the lessons are remembered, disseminated and applied.”

Dr. Chalk is a Professor in the Department of History at Concordia University, and Senior Fellow and Director of the Montréal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS). Alongside Gen. (Ret’d) Roméo Dallaire, he spearheaded the Will to Intervene (W2I) project.

Professor Chalk has also served as President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (June 1999-June 2001), and is a past president of the Canadian Association of African Studies. He is an internationally recognized authority on genocide and has presented papers and lectured at conferences, universities, for the Prosecution Staff of the International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda at The Hague.

**Eastern Standard Time**
9:15 – 10:00 AM: Paul Dewar
10:00 – 11:00 AM: Dr. Jim Freedman
11:00 – 12:00 AM: Desiree Zwanck
12:00 – 1:00 AM: Ian Smillie
1:00 – 2:00 AM: Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
2:00 – 3:00 PM:Matt Eisenbrandt
3:00 – 4:00 PM: Dr. Frank Chalk
4:00 – 5:00 PM: Dr. Gerald Caplan

Another expert contributor: Mr. Ian Smillie, provided a written response to ACAC’s policy brief and participated in the online discussion taking place on November 2nd at www.themarknews.com.

Ian Smillie served on a UN Security Council Expert Panel examining the relationship between diamonds and weapons in West Africa, and he helped develop the Kimberley Process – a global certification system that seeks to stop the traffic of conflict diamonds. He is also chair of Diamond Development Initiative International.

Another amazing contributor who was a part of The Mark Feature series and the nation-wide online dialogue: Matt Eisenbrandt the Legal Coordinator for the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ), focusing primarily on CCIJ’s casework and outreach. He previously served as the Legal Director for the Center for Justice & Accountability (CJA), a U.S.-based non-profit organization that also works to prevent torture and other severe human rights abuses by helping survivors hold perpetrators accountable through legal cases. In his free time, Matt is writing a book about the assassination of revered Salvadoran archbishop Oscar Romero and CJA’s investigation of the case. He received a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2001 and B.A. degrees in Latin American Studies and History from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997.

Dr. Gerald Caplan is a distinguished academic, who served as an associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Educaton (OISE)/University of Toronto. He has written extensively on Canadian politics, and is a recognized expert on the Rwandan genocide. Two of his most well known publications include: a comprehensive report titled ‘Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide’ and his most recent book, ‘The Betrayal of Africa’, on Africa’s development challenges.

Dr. Caplan frequently travels to Africa as a senior consultant for the United Nation’s Special Coordinator for Africa, the UN Economic Commission for Africa, UNICEF, UN development Program, the World Health Organization, and the Africa Union.

He is one of Canada’s leading public commentators on African development issues, as well as, genocide prevention.