TORONTO (March 15, 2024) – On March 15, the Canada-Ukraine Foundation announced the coming Canada speaking tour of 2022 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Oleksandra Matviichuk. The Kyiv-based human rights lawyer heads up the Centre for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) Foundation, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for work in cataloguing Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The Canadian speaking tour is sponsored by the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF). Through multiple events in four Canadian cities, Ms. Matviichuk will be raising awareness to the plight of the thousands of Ukrainian children stolen by Russia, the impact of the war on women and children, and her ongoing work in cataloguing human rights abuses and war crimes. Funds raised through the tour will support the two foundations.
Date breakdown
A detailed itinerary will be forthcoming in the coming weeks.
Ottawa
June 3-5
Montreal
June 6
Toronto
June 6-8
Winnipeg
June 8-9
Quotes
We are honoured to partner with Oleksandra Matviichuk and the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties. Their work in cataloguing war crimes is essential and will constitute a critical part of the Nuremburg Trials against Kremlin officials once this war is over.
The war isn’t over. With each day it continues, more children are being abducted by Russia and sent to filtration camps or re-education centres. This horrendous crime must be better understood.
Biographical notes
Oleksandra Matviichuk attended Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, graduating in 2007 when she was conferred a LL.M. specializing in human rights law. She started working for the non-profit Centre for Civil Liberties upon its founding in 2007, when it was established. In 2012, she became a member of the Advisory Council under the Commissioner for Human Rights of Ukraine’s parliament. In 2017, she became the first woman to participate in the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program of Stanford University. Since October 2022, she has been Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, which she received in 2022 on behalf of the Centre for Civil Liberties, her honours include, inter alia:
- 2022 – Right Livelihood Award
- 2017 – “Ukrainian Women of Courage” Award from the U.S. Embassy.
- 2016 – Democracy Defender Award, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
- 2015 – “Sjur Lindebrække Prize for Democracy and Human Rights”, Awarded by the Norwegian centre-right political party Høyre
- 2007 – The Vasyl Stus Prize, Ukrainian Center of PEN International