For Immediate Release
Toronto, ON – 28 June 2022
On 27 June 2022, IPD Senior Fellow Ann Fitz-Gerald was added to the list of Canadian individuals sanctioned by the Russian Federation since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Institute for Peace & Diplomacy strongly condemns this action.
In addition to serving as Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Prof. Fitz-Gerald is co-chair of a recently launched research project at IPD, which aims to articulate the nature of Canadian interests in a multipolar world.
The Institute’s founding values include a commitment to strengthening dialogue and fostering mutual understanding between countries. We believe that these form key pillars of international stability and security in an increasingly complex and uncertain world. Robust cross-border links among scholars and policy experts are essential to the success of this endeavour and are especially needed in instances where countries’ interests and security perceptions diverge. Sanctions on policy researchers and academics are never warranted and render this timely task more difficult.
In this vein, the Institute would like to take this opportunity to express its solidarity with those researchers, fellows and staff members affiliated with other Canadian think tanks who have been targeted by Russian sanctions. IPD values the presence of a diversity of perspectives on international affairs among Canadian policy research institutes, which is crucial for decision-makers to obtain a clearer and more comprehensive picture of the policy options and trade-offs that Canada faces in today’s shifting international order.
Contact:
Bijan Ahmadi
Executive Director
Institute for Peace & Diplomacy
bijan@peacediplomacy.org
