Round Table on the 20 Years of the Protection of Civilians Agenda
Join leading researchers and practitioners as they discuss and reflect on the United Nations' Protection of Civilians Agenda.
About this Event
In the autumn of 1999, the United Nations Security Council authorized its first UN peacekeeping mission (in Sierra Leone), with an explicit mandate to protect civilians. This new focus on the protection of civilians, which had been initiated earlier that year under Canada's Presidency of the Council, was accompanied by the call for the UN and other actors to adopt a more 'comprehensive and coordinated approach' in addressing the perilous situation faced by civilian populations in contemporary situations of armed conflict. This public event reflects on two decades of attempts to realize the aims of the Protection of Civilians agenda, by discussing both achievements and on-going challenges.
Invited speakers include:
• Elissa Goldberg Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy of Global Affairs of Canada
Elissa Golberg was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister – Strategic Policy at Global Affairs Canada in September 2017. She is also currently the Department’s champion for innovation. Ms. Golberg has successfully pioneered complex policy and multi-million dollar program initiatives, and led multi-disciplinary teams working on significant international peace and security, human rights, emergency management, and sustainable development challenges.
• Federico Borello Executive Director, Center for Civilians in Conflict
Federico Borello has served as the Executive Director at Center for Civilians in Conflict (CIVIC) since July 2014, bringing more than fifteen years of experience working on human rights and international justice issues to our mission. Federico previously served as Director of Investments at Humanity United where he managed the International Justice and the Democratic Republic of Congo portfolios. He has also worked with the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).
• Tiffany Easthom Executive Director, Nonviolent Peaceforce
Prior to being the Executive Director, Tiffany Easthom was Program Director for Nonviolent Peaceforce 's Middle East program, Country Director in South Sudan and prior to that for Sri Lanka. Tiffany holds a BA in Justice Studies and a MA Degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. She also studied peacebuilding in the field in Uganda and served as Country Director for Peace Brigades International in Indonesia.
• Emily Paddon Rhoads Swarthmore College
Emily Paddon Rhoads is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Swarthmore College. Her research analyses the impact of the increased prominence of human rights in the theory and practice of armed conflict as well as civilian agency in contemporary conflict. She is the author of “Taking Sides in Peacekeeping: Impartiality and the Future of the United Nations” (Oxford University Press, 2016) and several articles on civilian self-protection, humanitarianism and peacekeeping.
• Jennifer Welsh 150 Research Chair in Global Governance & Security, McGill University (Chair)
Jennifer M. Welsh is the incoming Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security at McGill University (Montreal, Canada). She was previously Professor and Chair in International Relations at the European University Institute (Florence, Italy) and Professor in International Relations at the University of Oxford, where she co-founded the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict. From 2013-2016, she served as the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, on the Responsibility to Protect.
