Sisyphean Task: Promoting International Law while at the United Nations Security Council

Geneva Academy Talks

UN Photo/Loey Felipe

Humanitarian considerations and references to existing rules of international law are not immune to the inherently political dynamics prevailing within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Compared to other thematic issues such as the rule of law, human rights in the era of counterterrorism or individual criminal accountability, not enough attention has been paid to the influence of such dynamics and the consistency – or lack thereof – of the UNSC’s practice in relation to international humanitarian law and jus ad bellum.

This online IHL Talk aims at shining light on substantial and/or procedural challenges to the effective and principled promotion of the above-mentioned legal frameworks at the UNSC, including from a State’s perspective. It will also be the occasion to officially launch, and discuss the findings of our Briefing No. 17 Room for Manoeuvre? Promoting International Humanitarian Law and Accountability While at the United Nations Security Council: A Reflection on the Role of Elected Members.

Introductory Remarks

• Maud Bonnet, Executive Director, Geneva Academy

Moderator

• Chris Harland, Deputy Permanent Observer and Legal Adviser, ICRC’s Delegation to the United Nations in New York

Panelists

• Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Legal Adviser, Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations in New York
• Émilie Max, Researcher, Geneva Academy
• Naz K. Mordizadeh, Founding Director of the Program on International Law and Armed Conflict (PILAC), Harvard Law School

Asking Questions to Panelists

Please use the Zoom chat function to ask your questions, the moderator will make a selection of questions at the end of the presentations. There will be no possibility to interact by webcam and microphone in order to avoid connection issues.

About IHL Talks

The IHL Talks are a series of events, hosted by the Geneva Academy, on international humanitarian law and current humanitarian topics. Every two months, academic experts, practitioners, policymakers and journalists discuss burning humanitarian issues and their regulation under international law.

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