INVENTORY OF INCIDENT BETWEEN

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

AND THE STAFF OF RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY,
BETWEEN FEBRUARY 2009 AND JANUARY 2010

Note: the incident of the performance evaluation of President Beauregard,

already well documented in the media, is not included in this table.

30 March, 2010 1
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
February 2009 Jacques Gauthier Rémy Beauregard Press release on "Operation Cast • The draft statement quoted from a position of Rights &
Razmik Panossian Lead conducted by Israeli forces Democracy already published (in June 2006, under Jean-
Michael Wodzicki in the Gaza Strip. Louis Roy) calling on both parties to respect the human
Nicholas Galletti rights of non-combatants.
Charles Vallerand
• Mr. Gauthier, then acting president of the board of directors
has asked us to issue instead a statement accusing the
Palestinian authorities to be behind this latest escalation of
violence.
• Rights & Democracy did not issue a statement.
March 2009 Jacques Gauthier Rémy Beauregard Mr. Gauthier has insistently • Mr. Beauregard has refused to disclose the amount for two
Marie-France Cloutier sought to know the amount of reasons:
Dominic Tremblay severance package paid to an 1. The board of directors of the Center approves projects,
employee, first by his questions not staff salaries. This is the President’s prerogative
during meetings of the Board of pursuant to Article 15.1 of the Act
Directors, then the finance 2. Pay scales can be revealed, but not the exact wages
committee then by asking Marie- which remain confidential under the federal Privacy Act.
France Cloutier directly.
• The Office of the Auditor General of Canada noted that the
agreement giving rise to a severance payment after
resignation was legal, but unusual. The OAG approved the
financial statements without reservation.
• Wage policy adopted since for non unionized employee
state that no premium is paid in cases of voluntary
departure.
• The Board nevertheless seeks to adopt a bylaw to that
effect.
• No consensus was reached around the wording submitted
by Mr. Beauregard at the June 2009 board meeting.
• The board has not addressed this issue since.

30 March, 2010 2
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT
MEMBER(S)
Mars 2009 Aurel Braun Razmik Panossian Mr. Braun is informed of funding
Michael Wodzicki for Al Haq, B'Tselem and Al
Mezan during the briefing session
given to him on the eve of his first
participation to the board.
March 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Mr. Braun gets adopted a
Razmik Panossian resolution requiring President
Beauregard to consult members
of the executive committee of the
board on all expenditures of the
urgent action and the important
opportunities funds until this
matter it reconsidered at the June
meeting of the board.
ISSUE
• Mr. Braun was visibly angry and very upset. He said how
that decision was wrong and what negative consequences it
could have if the matter became public.
• The funding for these three organizations came from the
Urgent Action Fund:
o The urgent action fund was established in 2000.
Expenses over $5,000 were originally subject to board
approval. Following an external evaluation conducted in
2002, the board deemed that given the amounts involved
and the need for rapid response, authority over the fund
would be delegated to the President of the Centre who
would report back to the board. This change occurred in
2003.
o The decision to provide funding to Al Haq, Al Mezan
and B’Tselem was in line with this procedure.
• Funding of $ 7,000 to support the visit in Colombia of the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and
fundamental freedoms of indigenous people is approved by
all members of the Executive Committee, except Mr.
Braun, who says has a veto.
• Funding is finally granted at the next meeting of the Board
of Directors in June 2009.
• At its meeting on 7-8 January 2010, the Board adopts a
resolution providing for a freeze of the urgent action and
the important opportunities funds pending further
consideration.
• The freezing of the funds forced the management team to
support the disaster relief effort to Haiti in January 2010 out
of regular budgets.
• The board later changed its mind later and approved that
the funding come from the urgent action fund.

30 March, 2010 3
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
March 2009 Jacques Gauthier Sylvain Beauchamp, At meetings of the Board, it is • In his conversation with Sylvain Beauchamp, Mr. Gauthier
Senior Advisor, customary to invite employees to indicated that it could be expected that important changes
Partnerships meet board members during a would be made to the orientations of the Centre.
buffet style luncheon.
March 2009 Jacques Gauthier Razmik Panossian After each meeting of the Board, • Mr. Gauthier questioned Razmik Panossian at length about
it is customary for the his ethnic origin, religion, migrations from Armenia, to
management team to join Lebanon, London and then Canada.
directors for dinner.
• Mr. Gauthier later wrote that he had been offended by
Razmik’s questions following set of questions on his own
origins and the possibility that he or his wife would be
Jewish given his great interest in the status of Jerusalem.
March 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard The Board was informed by Mr. • During a telephone conversation with Secretary of the
(and Jacques Gauthier Marie-France Cloutier Beauregard at the meeting in Board, Ms. Cloutier, Mr. Braun tried to amend the minutes
throughout the March 2009 of its decision that to attribute this decision to himself. She refused.
year, as Rights and Democracy would not
evidenced by participate in any way to the
• Mr. Braun insisted after this incident that the deliberations
of the Board be recorded, which was done.
conversations Durban Review Conference, nor
with Cynthia to parallel events reserved for • Despite assurances given by Mr. Beauregard, Mr. Gauthier
Gervais in civil society organizations even if and Mr. Braun continued to investigate whether Rights &
October 2009 we had been invited to attend by Democracy had not participated in one way or the other at
in particular) the civil society unit of the Office the conference.
of the High Commissioner for • Both have interviewed, each in turn, the director of the
Human Rights. Geneva Office of Rights & Democracy, Cynthia Gervais,
on the subject. (see incident dated October 2009).
• They have refused all offers to meet with the Assistant
Program Director, France-Isabelle Langlois, to whom
Cynthia Gervais reports.
• In his memorandum announcing the postponement of the
October board meeting, Mr. Braun continued to believe that
Rights & Democracy participated in Durban II, that the
intern at the Geneva Office had played an active role in it
and that the decision to commission an external evaluation
of the Geneva Office at great expense (in his words) was

30 March, 2010 4
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
made without consulting with him.
May 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard The adoption of family law by • Mr. Braun was outraged that we had embarrassed the
Razmik Panossian the Shia Family Law in Minister Cannon in an article in Embassy magazine which
Charles Vallerand Afghanistan has raised suggested that the government knew of the Bill. Mr. Braun
Michael Wodzicki international outcry and brought a insisted that a letter of apology be sent to the Minister.
lot of media visibility to Rights
and Democracy.
• It was decided not to send a letter, since in fact the
journalist had drawn his own conclusions.
• The offices of Minister of Foreign Affairs and CIDA, with
which we were in constant contact during this period,
understood and accepted our position. Our collaboration
with our counterparts continued as well as the coordination
of messages.
• The editorial board of the Embassy Magazine later
published a long interview with Mr. Beauregard on our
projects in Afghanistan, setting the record straight.
• Mr. Beauregard has clarified this matter before the Standing
Committee on Foreign Affairs and International
Development at its meeting on May 7, 2009.
June 2009 Board of directors Rémy Beauregard At the meeting of the Board of • Mr. Braun did not recall this discussion and attempted to
Marie-France Cloutier Directors in March 2009, the first remove reference made to it in the minutes of the meeting.
chaired by Mr. Braun, the director
Guido Riveros Franck
• A consultant is selected following a recommendation by
staff of the Treasury Board and in coordination with the
recommends training on rules of
Office of the Privy Council and DFAIT. Mr. Braun
governance.
considers the cost of this consultant excessive. Mr. Gauthier
did not participate in training.
• Mr. Braun refused repeatedly to meet with officials of the
Privy Council Office, which sought to explain to him the
duties and obligations of a Chairman of the Board.

30 March, 2010 5
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
August 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Mr. Braun expected to approve • The established practice since the inception of the Center
Charles Vallerand the Annual Report 2008-09 was that the board’s chair would approve his introductory
remarks only.
• The report on the organization activities is prepared in close
collaboration with the program officers who have intimate
knowledge of their achievements.
• Mr. Braun took office at the end of the fiscal year 2008-09
and could not have been able to comment on the annual
report for the period ending March 31st 2009.
• Mr. Beauregard agreed, in an email dated September 10,
2009, to submit to Mr. Braun drafts of the next annual
report in advance.
September Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Preparing for an interview with • Mr. Braun is consulted by telephone on our set of
2009 Marie-France Cloutier journalist Graeme Hamilton of the anticipated questions and answers. He considers them to be
Charles Vallerand National Post for a new article on inaccurate. He said there are serious problems at Rights &
Phase 1 of the Special Review Democracy. We cannot hide them from reporters. "Press
conducted by DFAIT’s Office of gets upset when they are in denial." If we do not talk, he
the Inspector General following will do and make public the problems within the board. He
allegations of mismanagement. also mentioned that there was "an alternate view about
human rights".
• It was decided to explain as planned to the reporter that his
first articles made references to past events, and that
administrative controls had since been implemented and the
programming of the Centre was successful.

30 March, 2010 6
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
September Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Identify human rights experts who • Telephone consultation with Mr. Braun to identify experts:
2009 Razmik Panossian will bring new perspectives to the Charles Taylor (McGill), Andrew Arato (New School in
Nicholas Galletti Board of Directors, following a NYC), Gerald Steinberg (Bar Ilan University).
suggestion by Marco Navarro-
Genie at the June Board meeting.
• Gerald Steinberg, head of Israel’s NGO Monitor, is not
approached contrary to what had been discussed. Other
board members are strongly against the idea to invite him.
• Decision made by Razmik Panossian, in consultation with
the management committee that, given the travel costs to
bring Mr. Steinberg to Canada and the short time before the
Board meeting in October, it would be better to invite him
at the next meeting which would also allow to better plan
his visit.
• Mr. Taylor and Mr. Arato are not available. We then turn to
Frank Chalk (Concordia) who enthusiastically agrees to talk
about his latest book on the "Will to Protect", widely
covered in the media at the time.
• Mr. Braun was outraged that we had not approached or
asked Mr. Steinberg.
October 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Mr. Braun announces • The board’s international members are insulted that the
Jacques Gauthier Marie-France Cloutier postponement of the 22-23 announcement is made while they are en route to the airport
Brad Farquhar October board meeting 48 hours
Marco Navarro- before it is to take place
• Cancellation fee of $ 15 000
Génie • Cancellation decided by a minority group of 5 members
Elliott Tepper (out of 11) without consultation with the others.
• Cited reasons to cancel are as valid reasons to hold the
meeting without any delay.
• Since the issue of the performance appraisal of the
President had not been resolved, there was a risk that the
October board meeting would face the same outcome as the
previous June meeting.
• Minority members can now hope that the two vacancies on
the board will be filled to their advantage.

30 March, 2010 7
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT
MEMBER(S)
October 2009 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard The letter announcing the
Jacques Gauthier Marie-France Cloutier postponement of the Board
Elliott Tepper meeting of October invokes the
Brad Farquhar Government's intention to create a
Marco Navarro- new institution to promote
Génie democracy in the world. The
adoption of the new Five-Year
Plan 2010 – 2015 is jeopardized.
October 2009 Aurel Braun et Pierre Robert, Mr. Robert had planned to
Jacques Gauthier international consultant interview Mr. Braun and Mr.
Gauthier as part of his mandate to
evaluate the Geneva office
project. Mr. Robert was selected
after an international call for
tender. The external evaluation
had been approved as part of the
initial project submitted to Rights
& Democracy board of directors
in 2006.
30 March, 2010
ISSUE
• Mr. Beauregard and the staff have devoted considerable
energy to preparing this plan, which had been adopted in
the form of a white paper by the board at its June 2009
meeting.
• The adoption of the final version of five-year plan at the
meeting of October 2009 would have allowed for it to be
presented before the Standing Committee on Foreign
Affairs in October 2009, in support of our request for a
consolidated funding.
• The preliminary agenda for the Board meeting of January
2010, prepared by Mr. Braun, did not include any
discussion on the five-year plan, only a few months away
from the new fiscal year.
• The item was added to the agenda at the request of Payam
Akhavan, but was never discussed following the death of
President Beauregard.
• Cancellation of the Board of Directors meeting to be held in
October in Montreal has not allowed Mr. Robert to meet
them. He had travelled from Berlin to Montreal for the
occasion.
• Mr. Braun and Mr. Gauthier finally did a phone interview
with him, but did not answer his questions. They instead
asked about the Durban II Conference, on the relationship
between Rights & Democracy and the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights, with the Council on
Human Rights, or with Ms. Arbor or Ms. Pillay.
• In his report, Mr Robert noted the governance issues that he
had observed at Rights & Democracy.
8
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
October 2009 Aurel Braun et Cynthia Gervais, Telephone conversation over an • On a few occasions, Mr. Gauthier and other board members
Jacques Gauthier Director of the Geneva hour with Ms. Gervais, on her tried to visit Ms. Gervais at our Geneva office. For various
office (non-unionized motivations, on the origins and reasons (illness, travels) such a meeting never took place.
employee, but not part coordinates of the intern in the
of the management Geneva office.
• Mr. Beauregard was very uncomfortable with the idea that
board members would deal directly with employees.
team)
Normally, it is up to the President to respond to their
inquiries, to ensure that answers provided are accurate and
complete.
• Mr. Braun and Mr. Gauthier did manage, through
persistence, to question Cynthia Gervais each in turn. They
have both asked the same questions on the Durban II
Conference, the presence (repeatedly denied) of the office’s
intern at the Conference, on the relationships between
Rights & Democracy and the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and with the Council of
Human Rights.
• There were also questions on the choice of the external
consultant Mr. Robert, the decision to conduct an external
evaluation, the role of the Geneva office’s own board of
directors - all of which seemed to show a misunderstanding
of roles and responsibilities.
• They also raised personal issues (history, contact
information, skills, future projects, cause of sick leave),
which are clearly a violation of the rights of persons
concerned.

30 March, 2010 9
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
29 October Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Appearance before the SCFAID • Mr. Braun asked that we address the existing issues within
2009 Razmik Panossian on Rights & Democracy five-year Rights and Democracy, especially between the Board and
Nicholas Galletti review, and in order to get support the President.
Charles Vallerand for a consolidated funding.
Marie-France Cloutier
• It was decided to that this was not the appropriate occasion
since the purpose of our appearance is to discuss the five-
year review, which is positive, and a consolidated funding
• On the eve of our appearance, Mr. Braun declined Mr.
Beauregard’s invitation to appear with him Jean Guilbeault
and Payam Akhavan joined the President, Razmik and
Marie-France for the presentation.
• Elliott Tepper and Brad Farquhar, who did not announce
their presence, showed up at the meeting.
30 October All Rémy Beauregard A majority of members of the • The Executive Committee is convened to approve the
2009 Marie-France Cloutier Board agree to convene a meeting renewal of two international members whose term expires
of the Executive Committee, after (Sima Samar and Guido Riveros Franck) and to adopt three
obtaining a legal opinion prepared projects.
by the Mercier Leduc law firm
confirming the legality of their
• This meeting triggered a fiery email exchange between the
two opposing factions on the Board.
decision.
• At its 7-8 January, 2010, the Board challenges the validity
of decisions made by the Executive Committee and reviews
them one by one.
• The mandate of the Mercier Leduc law firm is terminated,
considering that there could be a perceived conflict of
interest and that the legal opinion was flawed.
• The mandate of Sima Samar is extended but not that of
Guido Riveros Franck. Sima Samar and Payam Akhavan
then resign.
• The three-year project “Sexual Violence in the Demoractic
Republic of the Congo” is approved for the current fiscal
year, and will again be discussed at the next meeting once
new board members have had a chance to read the proposal.

30 March, 2010 10
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT
MEMBER(S)
November Elliott Tepper Nicholas Galletti, Mr. Tepper visits Nicholas
2009 Senior Policy Advisor shortly after the opening of
to the President Rights & Democracy’s Ottawa
offices.
.
January 2010 Board of directors Rémy Beauregard The board adopts a resolution to
terminate the contractual
agreement with the law firm
Mercier Leduc
January 2010 Board of directors Rémy Beauregard Mr. Braun presented at the
meeting of the Board of January
7-8, a modified agenda and cut
short all discussion on the
reasons for the changes proposed
by imposing the vote.
January 2010 Aurel Braun Rémy Beauregard Mr. Matas came at the meeting of
David Matas the board with in hand a 15-page
document arguing that that Al
Haq, B'Tselem and Al Mezan
were toxic and vicious groups
making use of the technique of
"lawfare" to attack Israel.
30 March, 2010
ISSUE
• Mr. Tepper has hinted that there could be consequences if
the Ottawa office was spreading rumours and helped to
publicize the problems of the board of directors.
• He also said that there was no possibility of reconciliation
between President Beauregard and some members of the
Board following the events arising from the June meeting.
He said "We have an impasse and the solution will not be
pretty."
• The statutes provide that the Center's President Rémy
Beauregard has full authority to hire consultants.
• Mr. Beauregard was not entitled to an explanation of the
reasons that motivated Mr. Braun to move the President's
report towards the end of the meeting rather than at the
opening as was customary.
• Mr. Beauregard did not understand that one could hold an
informed Board meeting without members having first
heard the report of the President.
• Mr. Braun did not see fit to limit the speaking time of Mr.
Matas, as he had demanded of other members during the
meeting, given the tight schedule.
• Mr. Braun did not refrain from insulting Mr. Beauregard,
going as far as saying that his undergraduate students would
have done better than the staff Rights and Democracy in
their research on the three groups.
• Mr. Navarro-Génie used a similar insult with Mr.
Beauregard in denouncing the decision to hold the
executive committee in October 30, 2009.
11
 BOARD
DATE EMPLOYEE(S) INCIDENT ISSUE
MEMBER(S)
January 2010 Board of directors Despite the briefing notes, the • The partnership agreement terminated on March 31, 2009.
many questions asked during
board meetings or interviews with
Cynthia Gervais and Pierre
Robert, the board adopted a
resolution entrusting Brad
Farquhar and David Matas to
revise the partnership between
Rights & Democracy and the
Office of the High Commissioner
for Human Rights.
January 2010 Brad Farquhar Maxime Longangué, The day after sending the union • It is not common for board members to deal directly with
president of the union had sent its own letter in support employees.
of the letter signed by all
members of the management
• The union filed a grievance against the member of the
board of directors Brad Farquhar for his communication of
committee requesting the
20 January with the union president, Maxime Longangué.
postponement of the meeting of
the Board of Directors to be held
in Montreal on the eve of Mr.
Beauregard’s funeral service, Mr.
Farquhar left a voice-mail to
Maxime and wrote him an email
commenting on the action taken
by unionized members of the
staff and his responsibility as
union leader.

30 March, 2010 12