For Immediate Release

January 12, 2005

MEDIA ADVISORY

U of T’s International Human Rights Clinic Marks Rwanda’s 10th Anniversary of Genocide

IHRC Intervened in Léon Mugesera Case at Supreme Court

(Toronto, ON) — Media are invited to attend a discussion on “Rwanda Then and Now: 10 Years After the Genocide” on Thursday, January 13 at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law, hosted by the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC). Guest speakers are Dr. Gerry Caplan, a Canadian-based public policy analyst and International Coordinator of the "Remembering Rwanda" Project, and IHRC Director, Noah Novogrodsky.

On December 8, 2004, the Faculty of Law’s IHRC representatives (including Novogrodsky and three law student volunteers) appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada as an intervener in the appeal, Mugesera v. Citizenship and Immigration Canada.Léon Mugesera is accused of inciting genocide in Rwanda and for nine years, Canadian officials have been attempting to deport him.

IHRC law students Rahat Godil, Ivana Djordjevic and Lucas Lung worked with Novogrodsky and law firm partner, Goodmans LLP (counsel for Canadian Jewish Congress), in preparing the joint factum. The factum was signed by the IHRC, CJC and Human Rights Watch. The clinic was responsible for the majority of the initial drafting while Goodmans provided advice, direction and drafting, as well as their in-house support services.

“It's unusual for a new organization such as ours to get intervenor status at the Supreme Court, so it’s a high honour,” says Novogrodsky. “If the Supreme Court finds Mugesera deportable for inciting genocide, we can attribute some of that success to the U of T law students who helped bring the definition of genocide to the country's top court's attention. That decision would be history-making for the country and the IHRC.”

Dr. Caplan will provide background on the Rwanda genocide, while Novogrodsky will discuss the state of Rwanda today and work that he and student volunteers are doing at the clinic. Dr. Caplan authored “Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide,” the report of the “International Panel of Eminent Personalities to Investigate the 1994 Rwandan Genocide,” appointed by the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

Who: Dr. Gerry Caplan, public policy analyst and International Coordinator, "Remembering Rwanda" Project

Noah Novogrodsky, Director, International Human Rights Clinic, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law

What: International Human Rights Program Roundtable Discussion

“RWANDA THEN AND NOW: 10 YEARS AFTER THE GENOCIDE”

When: Thursday, January 13, 2005
12:15 - 1:45 p.m. (a light lunch will be served)

Where: 84 Queen’s Park, in the Solarium (FA2), Falconer Hall, University of Toronto, Faculty of Law

Background on Léon Mugesera Case

This case has attracted a significant amount of international attention. In 1992, Léon Mugesera gave an incendiary speech in Rwanda referring to members of the Tutsi ethnic group as “cockroaches” and calling for their extermination. He subsequently immigrated to Canada, and after the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration commenced proceedings to deport Mugesera based on his incitement to genocide.

The matter proceeded through two administrative bodies, and then through the Federal Court and the Federal Court of Appeal. The Federal Court of Appeal held that the Minister had failed to meet the requisite burden of proof to establish that Mugesera had committed incitement to genocide or a crime against humanity.

In its factum filed October 20, 2004, the IHRC argued that the Federal Court of Appeal failed to consider the international legal standards applicable to crimes against humanity. The clinic argued that based on principles articulated at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, as well as international treaty law, Mugesera's 1992 speech constituted a crime against humanity.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Kathleen O’Brien, Communications Officer, U of T, Faculty of Law

Tel. 416.946.8188 or