June 24, 2008
No. 145
The Honourable David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and Minister for the Pacific Gateway and the Vancouver-Whistler Olympics, today announced the appointment of Rémy M. Beauregard as president of the Montreal-based International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy). Rights & Democracy contributes to Canada's objectives of promoting democracy and human rights abroad.
"Rémy Beauregard has extensive experience in human rights, governance and public administration, both nationally and internationally," said Minister Emerson. "He has worked toward improving human rights, including the rights of children, in many developing countries. With his vast experience, Mr. Beauregard will bring a wealth of expertise to Rights & Democracy, and will make a significant contribution to the work of this important Canadian organization. We look forward to Mr. Beauregard continuing to promote Canada's values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law."
Mr. Beauregard was selected as full-term president of Rights & Democracy after an open competition was launched last December to identify a successful candidate. He will replace the interim president, Jean-Paul Hubert, who has given the organization strong leadership over the past seven months.
Rights & Democracy is a non-partisan organization with an international mandate. It was created by Parliament in 1988 to encourage and support the universal values of human rights and to promote democratic institutions and practices around the world.
For more information on Rights & Democracy, consult its website at www.ichrdd.ca.
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A biographical note follows.
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Biographical Note
Rémy M. Beauregard (BA [History], University of Ottawa,1969; MA [Public Administration], École nationale d'administration publique, 1984) held senior positions in the Ontario public service from 1986 to 2001. In 1994, he was appointed Executive Director of the Ontario Human Rights Commission, a position he held until his retirement from the Ontario public service. He also established the permanent secretariat of the Canadian Association of Statutory Human Rights Agencies and became its first executive secretary.
At the international level, Mr. Beauregard has worked as an adviser on governance and public service. He advised the Legal and Constitutional Commission of Rwanda on planning for the 2003 referendum on Rwanda's new constitution. He also provided advice on the development of legislation for a national human rights institution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. From 2003 to 2006, he was International Institutional Development Advisor to the Uganda Human Rights Commission. In 2005, Mr. Beauregard developed the Policies and Procedures Manual of Trinidad and Tobago's Integrity Commission. He worked with War Child Canada in 2006 to implement and manage the Northern Uganda Legal Defence Project for children affected by conflict. In 2007, he provided public ethics training to officials of the provinces of Beijing and Hebei.
Rémy M. Beauregard has been Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Sudbury's Laurentian University since 2001.
