The first General Assembly of the Canadian Partnership for International Justice (CPIJ) was held in Montreal on 11 June 2018. Besides fruitfully brainstorming on the Partnership’s development, CPIJ had the pleasure to welcome two guests of honour, namely the Honourables Bob Rae and Irwin Cotler. As Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, Mr. Rae has developed extensive expertise on the Rohingya situation, which he was pleased to share with CPIJ under Chatham House Rules. CPIJ particularly enjoyed this discussion as it was only a few days away from presenting its Amici Curiae observations pertaining to this situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Later that day, the Partnership met with Irwin Cotler, who discussed his work as a member of independent international experts panel designated by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS). The panel was asked to determine whether there was reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity have been committed in Venezuela. In its final report presented on 29 May 2018, the experts answered in the affirmative and recommended notably that the OAS Secretary General invite States Parties to the Rome Statute to refer the situation of Venezuela to the ICC. In brief, CPIJ’s first General Assembly was a frank success, and was productive, stimulating and enjoyable for all.
