OTTAWA, April 6, 2006 – The Organization for the History of Canada’s biennial conference, entitled “50+ Years: Canada and Peacekeeping – History, Evolutions, Perceptions,” will be held at the University of Ottawa from May 11 to 14, 2006.

Fifty years after the establishment of UNEF, the United Nations’ first peacekeeping operation for which Lester B. Pearson earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957, the OHC conference brings together an internationally renowned group of experts on the military, political, and social aspects of peacekeeping operations.

In the context of a drastically altered security environment, marked by the rapid pace of globalization and the international Campaign against Terrorism, the OHC conference promises to enhance public debate and advance our understanding of Canada’s contributions to complex peacekeeping operations.

The Honourable Allan Rock, Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, will give the first keynote address at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 11 at the Canadian War Museum. Ambassador Rock’s address, which will explore the future of Canadian peacekeeping, is open to the general public.

On May 12 and 13, keynote speakers for the plenary sessions include: prominent historian and former CEO of the War Museum, Dr. Jack Granatstein; UN Ambassador Jacques-Paul Klein; LGen The Honourable Roméo Dallaire, (Ret’d) Senator; eminent Canadian Political Scientist, Dr. Robert Jackson; and founder and first president of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, Alex Morrison. These plenary sessions will be convened at the University of Ottawa.

Sir Marrack Goulding, former UN Under-Secretary in charge of Peacekeeping from 1986-93, will deliver the final keynote address at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ottawa, which will be followed by a closing reception and banquet dinner. Tickets are available for a fee of $50.

The conference will close on the morning of 14 May with a Journalists’ Breakfast, sponsored by the Canadian Military History Group. Confirmed panelists include: Jocelyn Coulon, journalist and former director of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre’s Montréal office; Scott Taylor, editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps and former soldier; and L. Ian MacDonald, political columnist, broadcaster and editor of Policy Options.