Disability Rights, Armed Conflicts, and Humanitarian Emergencies

Hosted by the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism

Join us in a conversation focusing on how the rights of people with disabilities have been an international concern even before the creation of international and regional conventions. With the increasing number of conflicts in almost every part of the world, it has become a pressing issue to analyze the rights of people with disabilities in the context of armed conflict. Considering other humanitarian emergencies, it is essential to analyze States’ responses and international organizations’ actions regarding people with disabilities in these contexts.

Bios 

Alexander Breitegger, International Committee of the Red-Cross

Alexander Breitegger has been Legal Adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) since February 2011. His work is focussed on the legal protection of persons with disabilities in armed conflict, in particular on disability-inclusive interpretations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and the relationship between IHL and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). From this perspective, he supports the implementation of the ICRC’s Vision 2030 on Disability. His other thematic files include the protection of health-care delivery; the use of force in law enforcement and the relationship between IHL and IHRL, as part of his thematic files but also in being assigned to attending relevant UN forums, including the UN Human Rights Council.

Marie-Christine Gareau, Humanité & Inclusion

For more than 9 years, Marie-Christine has been a project manager within not-for-profit organizations with a local or international mission. She has worked in the sectors of humanitarian action, international development, and inclusive services delivery for people with disabilities.

She holds a Master’s degree (M.Sc) from Université Laval in International Development and Humanitarian Action Management. She worked as a Project Manager for more than 3 years in a Montreal-based organization offering essential services to families living with a child with multiple disabilities. After carrying out a mandate in Botswana with the Centre d’Étude et de Coopération Internationale, she joined Humanity & Inclusion Canada’s team in 2018 and became Head of Institutional Partnerships and team manager in 2022. Thanks to these experiences, she has acquired solid skills in project management and in strategic financial and partnership development.

Frédéric Mégret, McGill Faculty of Law

Frédéric Mégret is a Professor of Law and the holder of the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law. Previously he was a William Dawson Scholar from 2015 to 2023, and the holder of the Canada Research Chair on the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism from 2006 to 2015.

In November 2022, Professor Mégret received an honorary doctorate from the University of Copenhagen in recognition of his work in international law. He was named to the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law for a seven-year term, starting 1 September 2023.

Professor Mégret's interests lie in international criminal justice, international human rights law, international humanitarian law, the law of international organizations, transitional justice, criminal law, and general international law. His work on international human rights is more explicitly critical in nature, seeking to uncover what lies behind the project of simultaneously internationalizing and legalizing human rights.

Please contact chrlp.law [at] mcgill.ca for any accessibility accommodations or for the Zoom link. Lunch will be provided.