DATE: November 14, 2024
EVENT: Iran, the US and Israel: Conflict Without End?

Brigadier General Kenneth “Ken” Watkin, OMM CD KC, was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1954. After graduating from Loyalist Collegiate, Gen. Watkin attended and graduated from RMC (B.A., 1976). He then obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree, followed by a Master of Laws degree, from Queen’s University. From 2002 to 2003, Watkin was a visiting fellow at the Human Rights Program of Harvard Law School. He is a lawyer, soldier and jurist.

Gen. Watkin started his career as an infantry officer with the Royal Canadian Regiment, as part of a battalion in Gagetown, New Brunswick. Beginning in 1982, he served 24 years as a Canadian Forces legal officer. In 2006 he was promoted to brigadier general and was also appointed Judge Advocate General for a four-year term. He is an expert on military law. He has worked as legal counsel on several investigations into the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and has written papers and books on the topics of human rights, international humanitarian law, and military operational law. He has also spoken out about military irregularities in operations in Somalia and Afghanistan.