NEWS RELEASES

August 30, 2005 (11:30 a.m. EDT)
No. 157

APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew today announced the appointment of Janice Stein as Chairperson, International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights and Democracy), and the appointments of Baha Abu-Laban and Peter Li to the Centre’s Board of Directors.

Rights and Democracy is a non-partisan organization that was created by the Parliament of Canada in 1988. Its international mandate is to promote human and democratic rights as defined in the United Nations International Bill of Human Rights. In partnership with civil society and governments in Canada and abroad, Rights and Democracy supports programs that are aimed at reinforcing democratic laws and institutions, mainly in developing countries. More information can be found at: http://www.ichrdd.ca.

- 30 -

Biographical notes on the appointees are attached.

For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Janice Stein has substantial knowledge and expertise in political conflicts in unstable areas of the world, and in Middle East issues. She is currently Director of the Munk Centre for International Studies and Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management and Negotiation in the political science department of the University of Toronto. She has authored many books and articles on the management and resolution of crises and conflicts, on the cold war, and on questions of international safety and the Middle East. She is a member of a number of editorial and advisory boards on international issues, including Foreign Affairs Canada’s Working Group on the Middle East. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Honorary Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Science.

Baha Abu-Laban has taught at the University of Washington, Stanford University, the American University of Beirut, and the University of Alberta, where he is Professor Emeritus of Sociology. He has made important contributions at the University of Alberta in his roles as Chair of the Department of Sociology, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, and Associate Vice-President (Research). His publications include 16 books and research monographs, as well as some 90 articles appearing in major Canadian and international journals. Dr. Abu-Laban is the co-founder and past editor of the Journal of International Migration and Integration (JIMI), and is also Co-Director of the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration in Edmonton.

Peter Li has been a professor for 30 years. He is currently a faculty member of the Department of Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan, as well as editor of the JIMI and Chair of the Prairie Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Integration‘s economic domain. He has served as a consultant and advisor to several Government of Canada departments, working on immigration, multiculturalism, race relations and social statistics. Dr. Li has published 11 books and over 60 academic papers on a variety of subjects, including immigration and race relations in Canada. He has lectured in many countries, including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, as well as in Europe.