Montreal, February 25, 2014 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is pleased to announce that it is hosting a three-city lecture tour by Diana Buttu March 19th to March 21st. Ms. Buttu is a Canadian human rights lawyer, now based in Ramallah, occupied Palestinian territories (oPt). From 2000 to 2005, Ms. Buttu worked as an advisor to the Palestinian peace negotiations team. In that capacity she was part of the legal team that successfully represented Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), resulting in the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on the Israeli Wall: Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (2004).
Her CJPME-sponsored lectures in March will examine previous negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians as well as the current state of Palestinian affairs and options for the future. “We are delighted to offer Canadians the opportunity to hear fresh perspectives from a person with both a comprehensive understanding of international law and direct experience in the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations,” says CJPME President Thomas Woodley.
Buttu, born in Canada, is the daughter of Palestinian Israeli citizens. She is a specialist in international law, negotiations and international human rights law. She received her undergraduate degree and an LLM (Masters in Laws) from the University of Toronto, a JD from Queen’s University, a JSM from Stanford University, and an executive MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She will be teaching at Harvard this March, July and October. At Harvard, she was a joint fellow with both the Middle East Initiative at the BelferCenter and the Human Rights Program at HarvardLawSchool. She was awarded Italiy’s Stella della solidarietà italiana in 2007 in recognition of her human rights work.
Ms. Buttu will be speaking at the following times and places:
Wednesday March 19, 7:00 pm Montreal. Stewart Biology Room S ¼,
McGillUniversity. 1205 Doctor Penfield Ave. H3A 1B
Ms. Buttu's Montreal lecture is co-sponsored by the McGill
Middle East Studies Students’ Association (MESSA)
Thursday March 20, 6:30 pm Ottawa. Sheraton Hotel
150 Albert Street, K1P 5G2
(n.b. The Ottawa lecture will take place at a fundraising
dinner for CJPME at which former Liberal cabinet minister
Warren Allmand will also speak.)
Friday March 21, 7:00 pm Toronto. SandfordFlemingBuilding, Room 1101,
University of Toronto. 10 King's College Road, M5S 3G4
Ms. Buttu's Toronto lecture is co-sponsored by the
University of Toronto Middle East History and Theory
Workshop.
Professional journalists requesting interviews or to media access to the lectures can contact CJPME at 438 380 5410, or [email protected].
About CJPME – Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is a non-profit and secular organization bringing together men and women of all backgrounds who labour to see justice and peace take root again in the Middle East. Its mission is to empower decision-makers to view all sides with fairness and to promote the equitable and sustainable development of the region.
For more information, please contact Patricia Jean, 438 380 5410
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East www.cjpme.org
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