Welcome to the 2022 Year Ahead!

Moderator

Dr. Leah West is an Assistant Professor of International Affairs at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University.

Leah practices, studies and publishes in the field of national security law. She completed her SJD at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 2020; her research explored the application of criminal, constitutional and international law to state conduct in cyberspace. Leah regularly lectures and engages with the media on her areas of research interest. She is also the National Administrator of the Canadian National Rounds of the Phillip C Jessup International Law Moot, and serves as Counsel with Friedman Mansour LLP. Leah previously served as Counsel with the Department of Justice in the National Security Litigation and Advisory Group where she appeared before the Federal Court in designated proceedings and the Security Intelligence Review Committee. Before being called to the Ontario Bar in 2016, Leah clerked for the Honourable Justice Mosley of the Federal Court of Canada. Prior to attending law school, Leah served in the Canadian Armed Forces for ten years as an Armoured Officer; she deployed to Afghanistan in 2010.

Dr. François Delerue is a Senior Researcher in Cybersecurity Governance at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University and Team Leader on International Law for the project EU Cyber Direct. He is also an Associate Fellow of The Hague Program for Cyber Norms. Previously, he worked as a Research Fellow in cyberdefense and international law at the Institute for Strategic Research (Insitut de Recherche Stratégique de l’École Militaire – IRSEM, Paris, France) of the French Ministry of Defense. His book titled ‘Cyber Operations and International Law ‘ was published by Cambridge University Press in February 2020.

Dr. Asaf Lubin is an Associate Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law and a Fellow at IU’s Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research (CACR). He is additionally an affiliated fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and a visiting Scholar at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Federmann Cyber Security Research Center. Dr. Lubin’s research centers around the intersection of law and technology, particularly as it relates to the regulation of cybersecurity harms, liabilities, and insurance as well as policy design around governmental and corporate surveillance, data protection, and internet governance. His work draws on his experiences as a former intelligence analyst, Sergeant Major (Res.), with the IDF Intelligence Branch as well as his vast practical training and expertise in national security law and foreign policy. Dr. Lubin’s work additionally reflects his time spent serving as a Robert L. Bernstein International Human Rights Fellow with Privacy International, a London-based non-for-profit devoted to advancing the right to privacy in the digital age and curtailing unfettered forms of governmental and corporate surveillance.

Dr .Watt's research focuses on cyber law and human rights. She is the author of a book titled, State Sponsored Cyber Surveillance. The Right to Privacy of Communications and International Law (Edward Elgar, 2021). She has recently written a chapter, ‘The Right to Privacy and Prolonged Drone Surveillance’ for a volume edited by Russell Buchan and Asaf Lubin, The Right to Privacy and Data Protection in Armed Conflict, a pioneering study under the auspices of NATO CCECOE (forthcoming, 2022).

Her work has been published in a number of peer reviewed journals and other publications, including Journal of Conflict and Security Law, the International Journal of Human Right and NATO CCDCOE Publications. She has contributed to the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs 2017 study, titled ‘Non-Binding Norms for Responsible State Behaviour in the Use of Information and Communications Technology: A Commentary’ and the 2020 European Parliament Research Service project on data protection and privacy of UK workers, ‘Data subjects, digital surveillance, AI and the future of work’.

She is a guest speaker at College of Information and Cyberspace, National Defense University, Washington D.C. and has presented her research at, among others; NATO Cybersecurity Conference (CyCon) 2017; University College London, University of Westminster, University of Hull and Middlesex University. Her recent blog contribution to Strasbourg Observers is titled ‘Much Ado About Mass Surveillance-the ECtHR Grand Chamber ‘Opens the Gates of an electronic “Big Brother” in Europe’ in Big Brother Watch v UK’. She also acts as a peer reviewer for International Journal of Human Rights and Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. Dr Watt obtained the LL.B, LL.M, L.LM and PhD degrees from King's College London and University of Westminster. She is also a non-practicing barrister called to the Bar of England And Wales at the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, with legal consultancy experience in commercial, environmental, licencing and employment related matters.

Moderator

Rachel Babins currently works in Incident Response at a major Canadian bank, where she previously held positions in threat intelligence. She is also the president of Emerging Leaders in Canadian Security (ELCS). ELCS promotes inclusivity and engagement within the Canadian security and defence space through the support of emerging leaders entering the sector; ultimately working to build a more diverse, skilled, and secure Canada.

Rachel received her MA in Russian Studies (in 2019), focusing on Russian ICS-tailored malware targeting critical infrastructure in Ukraine, the US and Canada. She also did a second thesis looking at Russian disinformation targeting NATO's Enhanced Forward Presence mission in the Baltics. In the past, she worked at NATO's Operational headquarters in the Netherlands and at the Canadian government's Nuclear Energy Division, where she got to dig more deeply into security related issues. On the side, she is currently working as a deputy team lead for a cybersecurity-related project with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence which will launch in January 2022.

Dr Bastian Giegerich is the Director of Defence and Military Analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), where he leads the research team that produces the IISS annual flagship publication The Military Balance, oversees the development of the Military Balance+ online database, and contributes to research and consultancy work. From 2010–15 Bastian worked for the German Federal Ministry of Defence in research and policy roles, while also serving as the IISS Consulting Senior Fellow for European Security. He holds a masters degree in Political Science from the University of Potsdam and a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics. He is the author of several book on European security and defence matters, most recently, with Maximilian Terhalle, “The Responsibility to Defend: Rethinking Germany’s Strategic Culture” (Routledge, 2021).

Dr Marina Miron holds a post-doctoral researcher position at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London. Currently, she is working on several projects including the use of emerging technologies (most notably drones) in military and civilian contexts, and the use of the cyber domain as part of information warfare with a special focus on Russia. Dr Miron is also a member of the King’s College London Centre for Military Ethics where she works on Military Ethics and Military Medical Ethics related projects, most notably on the delivery of ME education to the Colombian Armed Forces. She is also an honorary researcher in military science at the Colombian War College, “General Rafael Reyes Prieto”. Dr Miron has participated in a number of international conferences and has given lectures at the British Ministry of Defence and the NATO Centre of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism on topics related to contemporary warfare, counterterrorism and information warfare.

Michael J. Mazarr is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. Previously he worked at the U.S. National War College, where he was professor and associate dean of academics, as president of the Henry L. Stimson Center; senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; senior defense aide on Capitol Hill; and as a special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His primary interests are U.S. defense policy and force structure, disinformation and information manipulation, East Asian security, nuclear weapons and deterrence, and judgment and decision making under uncertainty. Mazarr holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Maryland.

Moderator

Esra Bengizi is a Libyan Canadian and a Doctoral Student at the University of Toronto. She is also the co-director and founder of WCAPS Canada. Esra specializes in post-colonial and feminist studies. Her doctoral thesis is on violence, terrorism, and women’s resistance to oppression in North Africa. Esra was born in Benghazi, Libya and fled to Canada in 1996 to escape the Gaddafi regime. Her work and research is rooted in people power, systemic oppression, post-colonialism and a feminist, de-colonial approach to human rights. Esra is a researcher, lecturer and social justice activist. She works alongside several community members, institutions, governments and organizations to work on solutions related to peace and security, gender inequality, gender-based violence, systemic racism and terrorism.

WCAPS Canada aims to create a coalition of women leaders of color and bring together voices from Indigenous communities to refugees and their allies to advocate for peace and security in Canada and abroad. We seek to empower our members and provide support and mentor women leaders, and build bridges between these two actors. The Chapter will celebrate Canada's diversity while addressing injustices in Canada and internationally

GOALS

Celebrate and uplift the voices of Canadian women of color

Have conversations addressing and identifying social issues in Canada and worldwide

Provide mentorship for women of color by women of color, minorities and allies

Support women of color in all sectors working on issues of social justice, peace, and security

Promote and recognize women’s leadership in, and contributions to, their communities and ensure sufficient representation of women in community consultations, discussions, panels, etc.

Host panel discussions on various social issues affecting women and marginalized communities

Establish a network to promote partnerships that uplift, connect, and amplify the perspective of women of color in peacekeeping and national security on the domestic and international level

Dr. Siham Rayale (PhD) has over a decade of experience working on and developing policy and programming that promotes women’s political and economic empowerment. Siham’s research and advocacy has focused on issues relating to women, peace and security with an emphasis on security-sector and legal reform in conflict and post-conflict contexts. Siham has extensive experience working in complex humanitarian environments and leading research that promotes feminist social transformation and foreign policy.

Siham is the Director of Foreign Affairs at the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and prior to joining NCCM, she has worked in the non-profit sector and academia where she taught courses focusing on development theory and praxis. She has a Masters in Development from York University, an LLM from Osgoode at York University, and a PhD from SOAS. She currently serves as the Director of the WCAPS-Canada Chapter.

Senator Mobina Jaffer, who represents the province of British Columbia in the Senate of Canada, is a strong advocate for peace and inclusion, and a champion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda. Throughout her career she has been focused on bridging the gaps between policy and reality, ensuring that the realities, particularly of those who are most vulnerable, are reflected in law and policy making. Senator Jaffer is a strong believer that communities are at the heart of any successful policy initiative, and that women have the true knowledge of their communities.

Senator Jaffer’s global work on peace took her to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, where she worked with women peacebuilders as well as governments to advance the peace agenda. As Canada’s Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan, she succeeded in bringing Darfurian women to the peace table in 2002.

A champion for human rights, diversity, and women, Senator Jaffer chaired the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights for nearly a decade, as well as the Canadian Committee on Women, Peace, and Security for three years.

Senator Jaffer is currently the Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, and Chair of the Senate Diversity Subcommittee.

Lawyer, Community Advocate and Public Affairs Professional

Kofi Achampong is a Toronto-based lawyer, community advocate and public affairs/government relations professional. As a lawyer, Kofi's practice has focused on human rights, employment, criminal law and civil litigation with a number of client files that have highlighted the intersection of national security with the aforementioned areas of law. As a community advocate, Kofi has regularly lent his voice and consultative services to issues at the intersection of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia -- including stakeholder engagement on the Ontario Human Rights Commission's report on anti-black racism in policing as well as the federal government's National Strategy on Countering Radicalization to Violence.

Faisal Bhabha is an Associate Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, Canada. He has researched and published in the areas of constitutional law, multiculturalism, law and religion, disability rights, national security and access to justice. He teaches constitutional law, human rights, legal ethics, and appellate advocacy. Previously, he sat as Vice-chair of the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (2008-2011). He maintains a varied public and private law practice, appearing before administrative boards and tribunals and at all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He advises and represents a variety of individuals and public interest organizations in matters pertaining to constitutional law and human rights. He has appeared as an expert witness before Canadian parliamentary committees and served as a member of the Equity Advisory Group of the Law Society of Ontario. He has lived and worked in the Middle East and South Africa, and has lectured and taught in many countries.

Azeezah Kanji is a legal academic and writer. She received her Juris Doctor from University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, and Masters of Law specializing in Islamic Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Azeezah’s work focuses on issues relating to racism, law, and social justice. Her writing has appeared in the Al Jazeera English, Haaretz, Toronto Star, TruthOut, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, OpenDemocracy, Roar Magazine, iPolitics, Policy Options, Rabble, and various academic anthologies and journals. Azeezah also serves as Director of Programming at Noor Cultural Centre

Moderator

Dr. Stéfanie von Hlatky is the Canada Research Chair on Gender, Security and the Armed Forces, an associate professor of political studies at Queen’s University and Director of the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP). She is the co-host of the Canadian security and defence podcast Battle Rhythm and co-director of the Network for Strategic Analysis. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Université de Montréal in 2010, where she was also Executive Director for the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. She’s held positions at Georgetown University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Dartmouth College, ETH Zurich and was a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Southern California’s Centre for Public Diplomacy. She has published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Contemporary Security Policy, International Politics, the Journal of Global Security Studies, International Journal, European Security, Asian Security, as well as the Journal of Transatlantic Studies. She has published a book with Oxford University Press entitled American Allies in Times of War: The Great Asymmetry (2013), and four edited volumes, including The Future of US Extended Deterrence (co-edited with Andreas Wenger) with Georgetown University Press (2015) and Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorism: Assessing Domestic and International Strategies (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020).

Megan MacKenzie is a feminist scholar interested in war, security studies, post-conflict recovery and reconstruction, and military culture. Her work is broadly focused on the ways that gender matters in understanding war and insecurity and the ways that experiences of war and insecurity are shaped by gendered norms and sexism. Megan has been studying military culture and gender integration in the military for over a decade, which includes projects on military sexual violence, the integration of women into combat roles, and military suicide. She also has worked on issues related to post-conflict transitions and feminist solutions to ending war. This work includes projects on disarmament programs, amnesty provisions in peace agreements, truth and reconciliation commissions, and a series and edited book on feminist solutions to ending war. She is the author of Beyond the Band of Brothers: the US military and the myth that women can’t fight (Cambridge University Press 2015) and co-editor, with Nicole Wegner of Feminist Solutions for Ending War (Pluto Press 2021).

Maren Tomforde received her Ph.D. in Social and Cultural Anthropology from the University of Hamburg in 2005. For her thesis, she carried out research in Thailand (1999-2002) on “cultural spatiality” among the Karen and Hmong. In 2003-2007 she worked as a Senior Research Associate at the Social Research Institute of the German Armed Forces and conducted anthropological research on German peacekeeping missions and military cultures on the Balkan and in Afghanistan. Since March 2007, she is a Senior Lecturer at the Command and Staff College of the German Armed Forces in Hamburg. Since February 2021, she has been the Department Head of the Department “Global International Relations” at the College. Apart from lecturing at the College, she carries out research on military cultures, civil-military entanglements and diversity in the Armed Forces. In addition, since 2015, Maren Tomforde has been a Research Fellow at the Department of Anthropology at the Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia

Karen Davis is a defence scientist with the Director General Military Personnel Research and Analysis, and the Research Lead for the Chief, Professional Conduct and Culture, National Defence Canada. She holds a master of arts from McGill University and a PhD from the Royal Military College of Canada. Formerly as a military officer and as a civilian scientist, Karen has developed and led numerous research projects and teams investigating gender, culture, and leadership in the military. Her current responsibilities include the development of a strategic research program to support culture change, and scientific oversight of a multi-method assessment of barriers and opportunities for the deployment of Canadian military women. Karen recently led a NATO Research Task Group on the Integration of Women into Ground Combat Units.

Dr. Nirupama Agrawal is a Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management at York University, Canada, with over 30 years of professional experience. She has a PhD in Water Resources Engineering from Kyoto University, Japan, and a master's in Hydrology from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India. Her research and teaching include topics such as the physical dynamics of natural hazards, disaster risk and resilience, climate change, flood risk, community engagement for resilience building, and multi-criteria decision support systems. She has published over 60 refereed articles; and nearly 20 book chapters. Her textbook, "Natural Disasters and Risk Management in Canada: An Introduction," published by Springer http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789402412819, is a resource in the Bachelor of Disaster & Emergency Management (BDEM) program at York University. An edited book on the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and a Tsunami Travel Time Atlas for the Atlantic Ocean are among other significant publications of Dr. Agrawal. She serves on various working groups and journal editorial and advisory boards, including Natural Hazards, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, Canadian Journal of Emergency Management, and Canadian Dam Association Emergency Management working group. Dr. Agrawal serves as an adjunct professor at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Canada.

Dr. C. Emdad Haque is Professor of Natural Resource and Environmental Management at the Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Canada. He graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Masters of Arts degree in 1982 and a PhD in Environment and Geography and Environment in 1988. Dr. Haque served as the Chair of the Department of Geography of Brandon University, Manitoba, during 1996-2000 and as Director of the Natural Resources Institute of the University of Manitoba from 2001 to 2011. He authored/co-authored more than 230 refereed articles and has written seven books, including Hazards in a Fickle Environment: Bangladesh (Kluwer Publishers, 1997), edited books, entitled Mitigation of Natural Hazards and Disasters (Springer, 2005) and Disaster Risk and Vulnerability: Mitigation through Mobilizing Communities and Partnerships (McGill and Queen’s University Press, 2012). Dr. Haque is the recipient of the 1998 Brandon University Senate Award for Excellence in Research. He was also awarded the Visiting Research Fellowship by the Queen Elizabeth House of the University of Oxford, Oxford, England in 1996-97, and Visiting Fulbright Research Chair at the Arizona State University, USA by the Fulbright Foundation. Dr. Haque was Founding-President of the Canadian Risk and Hazards Network (CRHNet) during 2004-2008, and served as Vice-President of the International Association for Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation during 2000-2004.

Dr. Kawser Ahmed received his PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from University of Manitoba in 2017. He was an exchange officer with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), an observer-Peacekeeper to the United Nations Missions in Western Sahara (MINURSO), and an alumnus at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies (NESA) in Washington DC. He is associated with the Center for Defence and Security Studies

(CDSS) as a research fellow, a junior research affiliate with the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security, and Safety (TSAS), and an associate with the Canadian Practitioners Network for Prevention of Radicalization and Extremist Violence (CPN-PREV). He leads a Winnipeg based not-for-profit organization named Conflict and Resilience Research Institute, Canada (CRRIC). His research interests are social conflict and peace-building, resilience, radicalism, violent extremism, and UN peacekeeping operations. He teaches at the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba and he completed his Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) post-doctoral fellowship at the same institution. He lives and works in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.