UNA Westminster: Should we be worried about the health of international law?

15th Ruth Steinkraus-Cohen International Law Lecture

Speaker: Françoise Hampson, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Essex

Making rules and adhering to them has underpinned the course of the United Nations and international relations more generally since 1945. Some states have not respected these and situations have arisen where adherence to these rules were dismissed. This had limited the impact of the rules themselves, as such situations constituted a violation of the rules, rather than a challenge to them. But some argue that they must now fight for the rules themselves, a cause they never anticipated.

Françoise Hampson was an independent expert member of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (1998-2007) and acted as a consultant on humanitarian law to the International Committee of the Red Cross. She is currently working on autonomous weapons; investigations into alleged violations in situations of armed conflict; and on the use of an individual petition system to address widespread or systematic human rights violations.

The lecture is co-sponsored by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS and the Bar Council of England and Wales. A reception will follow the Q&A session.

Book tickets: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/should-we-be-worried-about-the-health-of-international-law-tickets-31372049645