Patricia O'Brien Interview

Timings and topics in this film can be found below.

 
Timings and topics

0.19 'What are your thoughts on Syria and the continued violence there?'
3.02 'Is the Security Council fit for purpose?'
5.05 'Do we need to revise the UN Charter?'
7.31 'Your predecessor, Hans Corell, thinks that there does need to be a revision [of the Charter] and perhaps that the permanent members can only use their veto only in situations where there is ‘most serious and direct national interest are effected.’ He says ‘such steps would send a resounding signal around the globe – in particular to repressive regimes and presumptive warlords’. Your thoughts on his suggestion?'
9.05 'David Kay, executive director of the ECLA’s human rights law programme, believes military action in Syria isn’t the solution: ‘It’s not as easy as having a no fly zone; because these forces are going house to house. Using force would lead to all sorts of problems, some of which we can’t even imagine. Over time, with military engagement, the Syrian people will lose the ability to own their own struggle. It could have serious implications for what Syria looks like in the future.’ Your thoughts?
12.36 'You just were mentioning the right to protect (R2P)… Given, once again, that it relies on the Security Council when it comes to military intervention, what effectiveness does R2P have?'
16.27 'What can we do to try and strengthen these [conflict] prevention mechanisms in terms of dialogue with states, mediation and so on?'
18.23 'R2P was really an outgrowth of the situation in Rwanda 1994 (…) when force should have unquestionably been used (…) Do you put Syria in a different category, and why? What makes it right to intervene in one situation and not another?'
20.57 'One of the main criticisms of R2P is that it affects national sovereignty. How do you reply to this criticism?'
22.17 'R2P says that you should act in a timely and decisive manner. How do you define timely and decisive manner, and again this comes to military action?'
24.15 'If the UN doesn’t act, whose responsibility is it to act?'
25.01 'Do you see R2P as a work in progress in terms of the international body of law and if so how do you see it evolving?'
26.33 'The International Criminal Court is a relatively young court, it’s evolving. Where are the areas that you think they’re doing things right and where do you think there are areas that could be improved?'
31.31 'What are your reactions to the allegations of political meddling in the Supreme Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)?'
34.54 'You mentioned the ECCC is a hybrid court (…) How do you get these hybrid situations right and is that a compromise when you can’t have an international court totally? What is the best composition in these types of situations?'
37.22 'Is the paralysis so deep in the Security Council on Syria that it’s not possible to have some piecemeal resolutions passed to establish some kind of legal deterrent and precedent?'
40.16 'As long as the UN are based in New York, under the influence of the US, the world will always be faced with selective justice. How long will it take before people within the Security Council and people in general really address the role of the UN as a means for justice throughout the world and not only selective justice against developing countries?'
45.19 Why does the UN continue to support the court in Cambodia? Should it simply be a situation where we admit that the credibility of the court has been so weakened and that the issue of the independence have both been violated? Hans Corell had raised serious concerns about this court.
47.46 Hans Corell comments: speaks on withdrawing from negotiations with the court in Cambodia, military intervention in Syria, the UN charter, the importance of the rule of law.
52.22 What have you found most surprising since you came to the UN Security Council, what have your found most frustrating, and where does your passion for the law come from?