Warren Allmand at the conference “Arar+10: National Security and Human Rights, 10 Years Later”, organized by ICLMG in collaboration with Amnesty International, the Human Rights Research and Education Centre, and the Centre for International Policy Studies of the University of Ottawa, in October 2014. Photo credit: Sébastien Packer.

Ottawa – It is with great sadness that the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group has received the news of the death of Warren Allmand on Wednesday December 7, 2016. A staunch defender of human rights and justice has passed away. Warren supported ICLMG from the very beginning, when he served as president of Rights & Democracy.

Warren was tireless in his work, both as a political representative and as an outspoken advocate for social justice. At the ICLMG, we will remember him for all that he put into defending civil liberties in the face of growing national security laws and the “war on terror.” Warren served as a spokesperson for the coalition, and put his years of experience as an MP, cabinet minister and Solicitor-General towards representing us before parliamentary committees and in guiding through both the Canadian legislative process and our international work at the UN.

Warren also played a significant role during the O’Connor Inquiry into the torture of Maher Arar, and the subsequent Iacobucci Inquiry into the torture of Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almalki and Muayyed Nureddin, serving as the ICLMG’s co-counsel throughout the five years of the two inquiries.

“With our limited resources and a broad mandate, Warren helped us shape the ICLMG to what it is today,” said Dominique Peschard, ICLMG co-chair. “We will remember his friendship, his passion and his tireless support, and will continue our work for social justice as he would have wanted us to. Our thoughts and hearts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.”