Senator Douglas Roche, O.C. Visited
Sr. Ardeth Platte in Danbury Federal Prison

(Douglas Roche writes about the visit)

Sr. Ardeth has mentioned a special visit that she had last month in Danbury, and the person who visited her wasn't familiar to me, so I looked him up on the web, and this will give an idea of who her visitor was.

Author, parliamentarian and diplomat, Douglas Roche was Canada's Ambassador for Disarmament from 1984 to 1989. He was elected Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Committee, the main UN body dealing with political and security issues, at the 43rd General Assembly in 1988.

Mr. Roche was elected to the Canadian Parliament four times, serving from 1972 to 1984 and specializing in the subjects of developing and disarmament. He lectures widely on these themes. In 1989, Mr. Roche was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta, where he teachers "War and Peace in the 1990s".

He is the author of 14 books. His latest books, published in 1995 are Safe Passage into the Twenty-First Century and An Unacceptable Risk: Nuclear Weapons in a Volatile World.

Mr. Roche has served as President of the United Nations Association of Canada and was elected in 1985 as Honorary President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the first Canadian to receive this honour. He was named Chairman of the Canadian Committee for Parliamentarians for Global Action, an international network of 1,200 parliamentarians in 82 countries; founding editor of the Western Catholic Reporter (1965 to 1972); and International Chairman (1991 to 1996) of Global Education Associates, New York.

An Honorary Doctor of Divinity was awarded him by St. Stephen's College, Edmonton, in 1977. He was also received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Simon Fraser University (1985) and the University of Alberta (1986), and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the Thakore Foundation Award "in recognition of his prolonged and distinguished work towards disarmament, global peace and peace education." In 1995, he received the United Nation's Association Medal of Honour.

Mr. Roche serves as Special Advisor on disarmament and security matters on the Holy See's delegation to the UN General Assembly and, in 1995, Pope John Paul II presented him with the Papal Medal. He is currently Chairman of the Millennium Council of Canada and Vice-Chairman of Canadian Pugwash.

In 1992, Mr. Roche was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Author, parliamentarian and diplomat, Douglas Roche was appointed to the Senate of Canada September 17, 1998 .

Senator Roche was Canada 's Ambassador for Disarmament from 1984 to 1989.

He was elected Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Committee, the main U.N. body dealing with political and security issues, at the 43rd General Assembly in 1988.

Senator Roche was elected to the Canadian Parliament four times, serving from 1972 to 1984 and specializing in the subjects of development and disarmament.

In 1989, he was appointed Visiting Professor at the University of Alberta , where he teaches "War or Peace in the 21st Century?" In 1997, he was chosen by the Students’ Union to receive a SALUTE Award for “outstanding contributions to students.”

Senator Roche is an Officer of the Order of Canada , Chairman of Canadian Pugwash and Chairman, Middle Powers Initiative, a network of nine international non-governmental organizations specializing in nuclear disarmament.

He is the author of sixteen books, and has contributed chapters to nine more. His latest is Bread Not Bombs: A Political Agenda for Social Justice (University of Alberta Press, 1999).

Senator Roche has served as President of the United Nations Association in Canada and was elected in 1985 as Honorary President of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, the first Canadian to receive this honour. He was named Chairman of the Canadian Committee for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations in 1995. He was the founding President of Parliamentarians for Global Action, an international network of 1,200 parliamentarians in 82 countries; founding editor of the Western Catholic Reporter (1965-72); and International Chairman (1990-96) of Global Education Associates, New York .

An Honorary Doctor of Divinity was awarded him by St. Stephen's College, Edmonton , in 1977. He has also received Honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Simon Fraser University (1985) and the University of Alberta (1986), and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Peter's College, Jersey City , N. J., for his work at the United Nations. In 1992, he was given the Thakore Foundation Award "in recognition of his prolonged and distinguished work towards disarmament, global peace and peace education." He received in 1993 and again in 1997 the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation for World Peace Award. In 1995, he received the United Nations Association's Medal of Honour, and in 2000 the Pomerance Award for work at the United Nations on nuclear disarmament.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II presented him with the Papal Medal for his service as Special Adviser on disarmament and security matters. In 1998, the Holy See named him a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Gregory the Great.