It was founded in 1986 and promotes human rights awareness, in the field of genocide and mass atrocities by hosting frequent events, publishing policy briefs, engaging in counter activism on the web, and many other programs.
In recent years, Concordia faculty members and graduate students from Communications, English, Geography, and Political Science have joined in its work, as have colleagues from McGill and the University of Quebec in Montreal.
[3] Drawing on its research, MIGS aims to further understandings of the history, sociology and international legal frameworks pertaining to genocide, crimes against humanity, and reconciliation in their wake.
MIGS advances these goals by organising workshops and conferences, sponsoring lectures, issuing reports, preparing books and articles, and training students who specialise in genocide studies at undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels.
[3] Over the years, MIGS has developed a number of research initiatives and projects which aim to collect and disseminate knowledge about the historical origins of mass killings, and seeking to prevent future atrocities of this kind.
[3] The W2I team works to advance public policy on mass atrocity crimes prevention through the education and training of policymakers, elected officials, diplomats, journalists and civil society groups.
[9] Modern social media enables terrorist groups to disseminate propaganda, advertise their crimes, incite violence, radicalize and persuade disenfranchised young adults to join their hateful cause.
[11] Organized in cooperation with the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, this program is tailored to mid- to senior-level professionals interested in the prevention and interdiction of mass atrocity crimes.
[12] The project to collect unpublished diaries and memoirs written by Holocaust survivors in Canada was initiated some years ago by Professors Mervin Butovsky and Kurt Jonassohn.