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“Dr. Orbinski represents to the highest degree a life-long commitment to human rights,” says the Hon. Ronald Atkey, P.C., Q.C., President of the International Commission of Jurists (Canadian Section). “In the course of his extensive humanitarian work, he has improved the lives and safe-guarded human rights of hundreds of thousands of innocent and marginalized civilians across the globe. Dr. Orbinski embodies and represents Canadian leadership in the field of human rights.”

James Orbinski is Chair of Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Professor of Family and Community Medicine and of Political Science at the University of Toronto. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, and at the Munk Centre for International Studies.

Dr. Orbinski was international president of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from 1998-2001. He launched MSF’s Access to Essential Medicines Campaign in 1999, and in that same year, MSF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its pioneering approach to medical humanitarianism. In 1998, Dr. Orbinski received the Governor General's Meritorious Service Cross for his work as the MSF Head of Mission in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide. He talked about his experience in Rwanda in his best-selling book, An Imperfect Offering: Humanitarianism in the 21st Century (2009).

Dr. Orbinski co-founded, and serves as board-chair of Dignitas International, a medical humanitarian organization working with communities to increase access to life-saving treatment and prevention for people living with HIV in the developing world.

Dr. Orbinski became an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.

Dr. Orbinski will be announced as the winner of the award at the Annual General Meeting of ICJ Canada on August 14 at 4:00 p.m. in Suite 202-203 of Halifax’s World Trade and Convention Centre. The meeting is held in conjunction with the CBA 2011 Canadian Legal Conference and Expo in Halifax from August 14-16. The presentation of the award and the Tarnopolsky address will take place in the fall or early 2012 in Toronto. Details will be forthcoming.

The Walter S. Tarnopolsky Award recognizes a resident of Canada who has made an outstanding contribution to domestic or international human rights. The Award is administrated by the International Commission of Jurists (Canadian Section). Recipients are chosen by an annually constituted Selection Committee comprised of representatives of ICJ Canada, the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Law Teachers, and the Canadian Superior Court Judges Association.

The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Aug 12-16: 902-492-7889
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org