EVENT: UC Irvine's Center for Unconventional Security Affairs presents "Human Rights in a Complex World" with Canada's Lieutenant-General RomÊo A. Dallaire, who served as commander of the United Nations' peacekeeping mission to Rwanda in 1993. Dallaire is credited with helping save thousands of lives in Rwanda and now speaks out around the world against human rights abuses, genocide and ethnic cleansing. The center's 2006 Human Security Award will be presented to him at the event.
DATE: Wednesday, October 11, 2006
TIME: 7 p.m.
LOCATION:
Irvine Barclay Theatre
BACKGROUND:
Lieutenant-General RomÊo Dallaire earned international attention when he led the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Rwanda in 1993. He chronicled his experiences, giving a firsthand account of the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide in the award-winning book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. The critically acclaimed movie "Hotel Rwanda," which told the story of the Rwandan genocide, included a character played by Nick Nolte that was loosely based on Dallaire. He has been awarded the United States Legion of Merit, the United Nations Association in Canada's Pearson Peace Medal, and he was the first recipient of the Aegis Award on Genocide Prevention. In April 2006, Dallaire was appointed to the U.N. advisory committee on genocide prevention.
This event is sponsored by the Coalition Advocating Human Security, a program of UCI's Center for Unconventional Security Affairs. The coalition addresses threats to human security and identifies strategies to protect and empower the most vulnerable individuals and communities.
CUSA was founded by Associate Professor Richard Matthew to address the security challenges of the 21st century through innovative research and education programs that integrate experts from the public and private sectors.