Jennifer Welsh, an expert in humanitarian intervention and international relations, will focus on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) at the next Signature Lecture at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).
“The Evolution of the Responsibility to Protect: Securing Individuals in a World of States,” will take place from 7–9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 25.
In July 2013, Ms. Welsh was appointed Special Adviser for the Responsibility to Protect to the United Nations Secretary-General, at the Assistant Secretary-General level. Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, she is also professor in international relations at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Somerville College.
At CIGI, Ms. Welsh will discuss the rapid but controversial rise of R2P in contemporary world politics. She will be joined in discussion by CIGI Senior Fellow and Chair of Global Security David Welch.
Since its inception as a set of international principles, R2P has polarized parts of the global community on the legality and legitimacy of challenges to state sovereignty. The scope of intervention in Libya and the recent US-led push for a military campaign in Syria are cases in point, where international concern has risen over the acceptability and implementation of the international norm that seeks to protect citizens when their governments do not.
CIGI invites media to cover this free public Signature Lecture. Members of the media can register in advance by emailing Kevin Dias, CIGI communications specialist, at [email protected]. Members of the public who want to attend in person can find more information, including how to register, by visiting: www.cigionline.org/events/r2p. Those who are not in Waterloo or who want to watch the lecture from home can view the live-webcast at no cost by visiting the same link for registration.
Event: CIGI Signature Lecture — “The Evolution of the Responsibility to Protect: Securing Individuals in a World of States,” with Jennifer Welsh, UN Special Adviser
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Time: 7–9 p.m.
Location:
The CIGI Campus Auditorium
67 Erb St. West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Jennifer M. Welsh is Professor in International Relations at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Somerville College. She is a former Jean Monnet Fellow of the European University Institute in Florence, and was a Cadieux Research Fellow in the Policy Planning Staff of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Welsh has taught international relations at the University of Toronto, McGill University and the Central European University (Prague). She has served as a consultant to the Government of Canada on international policy, and acts as a frequent commentator in Canadian media on foreign policy and international relations. She is the author, co-author or editor of several books and articles on international relations. Ms. Welsh has a B.A. from the University of Saskatchewan, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oxford (where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar). In July 2013, she was appointed Special Adviser for the Responsibility to Protect to the UN Secretary-General, at the Assistant Secretary-General level.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kevin Dias, Communications Specialist, CIGI
Tel: 519.885.2444, ext. 7238, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.
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