The Reckoning: Ukraine & Gaza Wars

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently issued a historic advisory opinion against Israel, declaring its occupation of Palestinian territories as a violation of international law and urging Israel to end the occupation and make reparations for its "internationally wrongful acts." This non-binding ruling identifies multiple breaches of international law, including actions amounting to apartheid, and advises that other states should not recognize the occupation as lawful nor provide assistance.

This ruling underscores the challenges faced by international law in addressing occupation and human rights violations. It is set against the backdrop of other significant legal actions, such as the International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. 

Join us for a discussion on how international law addresses conflicts, the role of legal institutions like the ICJ and ICC in pursuing justice, and the impact of these rulings on global politics. Explore the mechanisms available for holding states accountable for breaches of international law and the importance of international consensus in upholding human rights.

Speakers:

Philippe Sands, KC is a Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at UCL. His teaching areas include public international law, the settlement of international disputes (including arbitration), and environmental and natural resources law. 

As a practising barrister, he has extensive experience litigating cases before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes, and the European Court of Justice.

Author of many academic books, he has also published  East West Street (2016) and The Ratline (2020).

Janine di Giovanni is the CEO of The Reckoning Project. Janine has worked for over 30 years as a human rights reporter and investigator in conflict zones in the Balkans, Africa, and the Middle East. She is the recipient of nearly a dozen journalistic awards, including two Amnesty International Awards and the National Magazine Award, and in 2020, The American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded her their highest prize for non-fiction, the Blake Dodd, for her lifetime body of work.

Ibrahim Olabi is a barrister with specialized international law knowledge and experience and a focus on the Middle East. He is lobbying and advocating on policy matters linked to the region and also working on international legal cases.

He has delivered statements in international forums such as the United Nations Security Council, and regularly engages with policymakers in different capitals around the world on justice-related issues relevant to the Middle East.

Moderated by Sam Kiley, Award-winning journalist covering wars and insurgencies in more than thirty countries over the last thirty years. Educated at Oxford University, he joined The Times in 1987, and since 1990 has worked as a foreign correspondent all over the world, most notably in Africa, where he won acclaim for his coverage of conflicts in the Congo, Somalia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. Recently Sam has been covering the Ukraine War. He’s been based in Jerusalem twice, for The Times and Sky News, and until the end of last year was a senior international Correspondent for CNN based in Abu Dhabi.