Romeo Dallaire
Former Canadian Senator and retired Lieutenant-General
Opening Remarks
Dec. 2, 8:30–9:30
Romeo Dallaire, 71, was Force Commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda prior to and during the 1994 genocide. He has since authored three books detailing the human cost of that genocide and other cases of mass atrocity. Powerless to intervene and stop the bloodshed that ultimately took more than 800,000 lives in less than 100 days, Dallaire has been emotionally tormented by the genocide. Diagnosed with PTSD, he was medically released from the Canadian Army in 2000. Dallaire has since devoted much of his energy to ending the recruitment and use of child soldiers. A member of the Canadian Senate from 2005–2014, Dallaire has been a visiting lecturer at several universities and has pursued research on the use of child soldiers in hostile enviornments. He resigned his position as a Canadian Senator to devote his energy to The Romeo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Dallaire remains an outspoken advocate for human rights and the prevention of mass atrocities. He comes to the roundtables as part of his ongoing mission to bring national and international attention to situations too-often ignored.
Dallaire will deliver the conference’s opening remarks, addressing panellists and attendees on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 a.m.
