Raison d'être

Following the Shoah, the international community solemnly declared that NEVER AGAIN would a similar crime against humanity be repeated. To support this declaration, the UN adopted, in December of 1948, the Convention for the Prevention and the Repression of the Crime of Genocide.  Nevertheless, since then, this ‘Never Again’ vow has been betrayed over and over again and the very foundations of the Convention flouted. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda and the present situation in Darfur are but a few examples.

Although the prevention of genocides and crimes against humanity is first and foremost a matter of the political will of the international community and governments, it is important to pose the question of our individual and collective responsibility for finding ways to make  ‘Never Again’ a reality. What is our role as members of the human community and citizens of the world? 

Nowadays, reflecting on our individual and collective responsibility is unavoidable. Contemporary upheavals such as globalization and civil wars highlight the increasing threats of intolerance, xenophobia and racism - phenomena that, unless denounced and opposed, bear the seeds of potential genocides. 

The diversity of our society – Canadian and Quebecois- offers us a ‘laboratory’ in which to explore the way forward in achieving the ‘Never Again’. This diversity is a constant opportunity to experience otherness, an invitation to question our cultural biases. Living together in such a diverse society allows us to reflect on our sense of belonging to a common humanity and therefore on our individual and collective responsibility to prevent crimes that threaten the very notion of humanity.