Conference programme

The core principles of international humanitarian law stand on the precipice of extinction as the international community flounders in the face of excruciatingly acute conflicts and horrifying mass humanitarian crises. The International Criminal Court (ICC) faces an existential threat, and very real pervasive challenges stemming from its lack of universality, and open attack from powerful non-States Parties including the US, Russia and Israel. Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is increasingly asked to examine the conformity of state conduct in war with international obligations, including the Genocide Convention.

This panel will examine the existential threat posed by failures to hold states or individuals accountable for egregious violations of the core principles of international humanitarian law (IHL), namely: proportionality, humanity, necessity and distinction. In short: can the norms of IHL survive an environment in which abominable acts of mass violence are met with blind eyes or tacitly defended by state authorities? Does failure to hold perpetrators to account raise the prospect of Total War with the only rule being ‘might over right’?

While wars rage, populations are displaced in eye-watering numbers, and people fight for survival in the harshest of conditions. Ordinary citizens continue to go to extraordinary lengths to document what is happening around them. Doctors and lawyers strive to work as healthcare systems are decimated and legal institutions obliterated. We hear directly from those who have been on the frontline, and those seeking to ensure that these efforts are optimised, and not wasted.

Age-old tactics of deception, propaganda, false-flags, and social manipulation enjoy a new medium. In a world of deepfakes, augmented reality, algorithm-controlled content moderation, and decaying public trust (and interest) in digital imagery, how do we know what – and who – to believe? As the digital arena is flooded with data, how do we distinguish fact from fiction, and how do we even begin to scrutinise, verify, sort, store, and use vast volumes of material? Our expert panellists will discuss the tactical deployment of social media in recent and ongoing conflicts, and the methods they have developed to overcome the modern problems posed in the digital age.

Conflicts must end. Countries emerging from conflict must grapple with transitions of power, reconciliation processes, establishing the rule of law, building resilient governance structures, and transitional justice. What does it take to hold together fragile peace and avoid repeated relapses into conflict so painfully experienced by those caught in the cross-fire in Sudan, Gaza, Myanmar, the Sahel…? What can we learn from the experiences of South Africa, Ireland, Colombia, Iraq, Rwanda? Is the quest for accountability inherently helpful? Our expert panellists will examine the challenges and trade-offs of mediation, post-war retribution, reconciliation, contingent peace, and the role of the private sector. We will hear insights from the Leiden project on jus post bellum, and invite reflections on the first few months since the collapse of the Assad dynasty.