Human Rights Talks

Spotlight on Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children

Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces have reportedly abducted thousands of Ukrainian children and attempted to deprive them of their Ukrainian identity.

A report published in February 2023 by the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale School of Public Health concluded that Russia’s federal government has systematically reallocated at least 6,000 children from Ukraine to a network of re-education and adoption facilities in Crimea and Russia. In March, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Russian president Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights, for supervising the kidnapping of Ukrainian children for adoption and re-education in Russia.

To discuss Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children, MIGS hosted a Twitter Spaces discussion with Nathaniel Raymond, the Executive Director of Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab, and Aliona Hlvico, Political analyst and Former Ukrainian MP. This is a recording of this discussion.

Moderated by Marie Lamensch, MIGS’ Coordinator of Program and Outreach 

A discussion with Ambassador Bob Rae about Russia’s disinformation at the UN Security Council

On April 1st, the Russian Federation assumed the rotating presidency the United Nations Security Council. This came on the heels of the International Criminal Courts’ decision to issue an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine. Described as “an April Fool’s joke” by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the situation was condemned by a large number of diplomats, including by Canada’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Bob Rae.

MIGS hosted  a Twitter Spaces discussion on Moscow’s use of the presidency to spread disinformation about the war in Ukraine.

Speaker:

- Honourable Bob Rae, Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations.

The Power of Propaganda: A Family Torn Apart by Russian Disinformation

In this episode, a Russian Montrealer explains why he decided to help Ukrainians in the war against his home country. In the meantime, his family in Moscow thinks he is brainwashed by Western media and refuses to believe that they may have been duped by Russia’s disinformation campaign.

 

Episode 3 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism. 

Speaker:

Dmitri Tcherkasski, a pro-Ukrainian supporter in Montreal originally from Moscow, Russia

Sources: Aeon, Eurasianet, PublicO (MediaScope), Russian Field, Statista (Levada Center),StopFake.org, The New Yorker.

Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism

Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow

Escaping Mariupol

In this episode, a Ukrainian college student shares her story of fleeing the city of Mariupol as Russian forces closed in.

We reflect on the destruction of Mariupol and examine how disinformation has warped reality in the ensuing information war being waged by Russia.

Episode 2 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism. 

 

Speakers:

Alexandra Postoieva, journalism student at Mariupol State University

Craig Silverman, disinformation expert and national reporter for ProPublica

Sources: AP, BBC, Debunk.org, News of Donbas, ProPublica, Reuters, Statista (Levada Center), The Moscow Times

 

Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism

Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow

From Kharkiv to Montreal: Escaping War and Finding a New Home

In this episode, we follow the tumultuous journey of a Ukrainian family who fled from the frontline city of Kharkiv to start a new life in Canada.

After enduring bombings and terror amid the Russian invasion, we hear how one family was greeted with overwhelming support in Canada that made their 7,500-kilometre journey worthwhile.  

Episode 1 of a 3-part series produced in collaboration with Concordia’s Department of Journalism.

Speaker: 

Olena Martynova, Ukrainian newcomer under the CUAET program

 

To find out more about the help provided to Ukrainians in Montreal, visit Concordia’s online magazine The City: http://thecitymag.concordia.ca/home-away-from-home-ukrainian-refugees-montreal/

Reporter: Bogdan Lytvynenko, Department of Journalism

Producer: Aphrodite Salas, MIGS John Lemieux Faculty Fellow

 

Cyberviolences basées sur le genre et magnosphère: discussion avec Marianne Couture-Cossette

Dans cette discussion, Marianne Couture-Cossette et Marie Lamensch parlons de cyberviolences à caractère sexuel et basées sur le genre et de la manosphère, ainsi que de la mission de Les 3 Sex*. Marianne est vice-présidence et direction du volet sensibilisation chez Les 3 Sex*.  

 

Cet épisode fait partie de notre projet sur la Paix Numérique soutenu par Patrimoin Canada. L'initiative a pour but de contribuer aux efforts nationaux visant à comprendre et à contrer la haine en ligne.

Humanitarian Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh

The Lachin corridor, the lifeline road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, has been blocked by Azerbaijiani protesters since December 12. With supplies of food and medicine in the blockaded region running low, 120,000 Armenian residents find themselves in a precarious situation, leading UNICEF to issue a statement warning about the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
 

The blockade also risks scuppering the fragile peace process between the Republic of Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have fought two wars in the past three decades. 

 

Speakers:

- Elisa von Joeden-Forgey, Endowed Chair, Department of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Keene State College, and  Co-founder of the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention.
- Robert Avetissian, Representative of the Republic of Artsakh in the United States.
- Gregory Stanton, Founding president and chairman of Genocide Watch.

 

This live discussion took place on Twitter Space and was moderated by Marie Lamensch, MIGS’s Project Coordinator

 

”Queering the Web”: a conversion with Dr. Stefanie Duguay

"Queering the Web": Examining Online Harms and Hate Speech Directed at 2SLGBTQIA+ Communities with Dr. Stefanie Duguay

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Stefanie Duguay, assistant professor in Communication Studies and the Concordia University Research Chair in Digital intimacy, gender, andsexuality. How do queer people express identity in digital spaces? What are the challenges that they face when navigating online harms? Explore how queer people are navigating digital spaces, and learn more about Stefanie's research (https://digslab.net).

 

This podcast is part of the Digital Peace Project, an initiative supported by Heritage Canada that aims to analyze different forms of online hate.

 

 

One year on: How Ukrainian civil society continues to resist

On the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, join the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University for a Twitter Spaces conversation on the resilience of Ukraine's civil society.

Speakers: 

- Oleksandra Povoroznyk, Kyiv-based translator and journalist 

- Alina Bondarenko, communications professional in Washington DC and arising expert in Ukrainian cultural diplomacy

- Anton Liagusha, dean of the Faculty of Social sciences and Humanities, Kyev School of Economics. Now Associate Professor, George Mason University. Specialist in Public History, media analysis, propaganda expert

- Katerina Sviderska, MA student at the Université de Montréal

- Moderator: Marie Lamensch, Project coordinator, MIGS

 

Fleeing Afghanistan : a discussion with filmmaker Jawad Mir

During a Twitter Space, MIGS spoke with filmmaker Jawad Mir about his movie “Citizen of Moria”, which documents the plight of filmmaker Ahmad Brahimi.

When his life comes under threat by the Taliban in Afghanistan, he leaves his family behind for survival and ends up in Europe’s worst Refugee Detention Camp, Moria. Ahmad documents the difficult living conditions endured by the refugees and his attempt to build a life on the island of Lesbos, off the coast of Greece.