TORONTO, Dec. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Intact Financial
Corporation (TSX: IFC) today announced it is committing
$1 million to the Roméo Dallaire
Child Soldiers Initiative to support the establishment of a
regional centre of training and learning in Rwanda. The regional hub of practice, research
and advocacy will serve as a meeting place for countries to
exchange and learn how to prevent the recruitment and use of child
soldiers.
The $1 million donation builds on
Intact's initial investment of $300,000 in the Dallaire Initiative, which began
in 2015. These new funds will help the Dallaire Initiative
establish a permanent presence in Africa.
According to the UN Secretary-General's 2018 Annual Report on
Children and Armed Conflict – seven national armies and 56 armed
groups operating in 14 countries recruit and use children as
soldiers.
"The Dallaire Initiative is a pioneer in the work of preventing
the recruitment and use of child soldiers and a permanent presence
in Rwanda will strengthen their
effectiveness," said Charles
Brindamour, Chief Executive Officer of Intact Financial
Corporation. "I spent time in Rwanda this spring with the Dallaire
Initiative and saw first hand, the importance of their work. While
the problem of using children in wars is far from resolved, the
General's team is moving the needle and making progress."
"This level of support makes Intact the Dallaire Initiative's
first $1 million corporate donor,"
said Dr. Shelly Whitman, the
Dallaire Initiative's Executive Director. "These funds will be
critical in enhancing our training in East and Central Africa, where some of the gravest
violations against children are taking place." The donation will
also go towards funding a fellowship for the Executive Director to
continue advocating for children's rights on the international
peace and security agenda.
An event marking the first anniversary of the Vancouver
Principles, is being hosted tonight by the Permanent Missions of
Canada and Rwanda to the United Nations in collaboration
with the Dallaire Initiative.
Hosted by Canadian Ambassador Marc-André Blanchard, special
guests include LGen (ret'd) Roméo Dallaire, Executive Director of
the Dallaire Initiative Dr. Shelly
Whitman, global advocates for children and Dallaire
Initiative Advisors Michel Chikwanine and Ishmael Beah as well as Intact Financial
Corporation CEO Charles
Brindamour.
At the event, the Dallaire Initiative will announce the
establishment of a regional centre of training and learning in
Rwanda, the first African country
to endorse the Vancouver Principles. To date, 69 UN member
countries have endorsed the Principles, a watershed initiative that
was jointly launched by the Government of Canada and the Dallaire Initiative.
About Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider
of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty
insurance in North America, with
close to $10 billion in total annual
premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than five million personal, business,
public sector and institutional clients through offices in
Canada and the U.S. In
Canada, Intact distributes
insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network
of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and
directly to consumers through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon
Insurance Group, a wholly owned subsidiary, provides specialty
insurance products through independent agencies, brokers,
wholesalers and managing general agencies.
About the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative
The Dallaire Initiative, based at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Canada, is recognized as the only organization in
the world taking a prevention-oriented, security sector focused
approach to the crime against humanity that is child soldiery.
Founded by retired lieutenant-general and celebrated humanitarian
Roméo Dallaire, the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative is a
leader committed to ending the use and recruitment of child
soldiers worldwide, through ground-breaking research, advocacy, and
security-sector training.
SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation