[Media-watch] Occupied Iraq: human rights/humanitarian law- lecture

[Sigi D]

Tuesday 25th May LSE London - important lecture!!
all the best,
Sigi
Lecture LSE 
You are warmly invited to join us for a public lecture
on 'Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in Occupied
Iraq: current problems and future prospects'

in association with the International Committee of the
Red Cross

(This event is free and open to all and no
pre-registration is required.)


Speakers: Professor Christopher Greenwood QC,
Professor Françoise Hampson, Professor Philippe Sands
QC, Professor Ruth Wedgwood

Chair: Professor Conor Gearty, Centre for the Study of
Human Rights
Date: 6pm, Tuesday 25 May 2004
Venue: Old Theatre, Old Building, LSE (location maps
can be found at
http://www.lse.ac.uk/resources/mapsAndDirections)


Abstract
It is now nearly a year since the successful
conclusion of the American-led invasion of Iraq.
Saddam Hussein and many of his cohorts have been
captured or killed. The US forces together with their
allies continue their occupation of the country, and
their presence in some form or another is likely to
remain into the indefinite future. The war continues
to be very controversial, with the millions who took
to the streets in opposition to it remaining
unreconciled to its outcome.

The conflict was partly waged in the name of human
rights and humanitarian principle. How do these
principles stand in Iraq today? The conduct of
military hostilities and the occupation of territory
are subject to the rule of international humanitarian
law, the provisions of which are meant to ensure the
protection and assistance of victims against the
effects of both international and non-international
armed conflicts. How effective is humanitarian law at
achieving these ends in Iraq? The Third and Fourth
Geneva Conventions impose certain obligations in
relation to prisoners-of-war and the preservation of
the infrastructure, administration and economy of
occupied territories: are these rules of international
law being followed in Iraq? Where humanitarian law
does not operate, the full scope of human rights and
civil liberties must prevail, but what does this
inter-relationship between humanitarian and human
rights law mean in practice in occupied Iraq,
especially as it moves towards representative
government? What is the meaning of the right to
democratic government in the context of present day
Iraq? What international law duties, if any, does such
a right impose, and on whom?

At a more abstract level, the situation in Iraq, and
indeed in Afghanistan (which has also been subjected
to military operations by a coalition of foreign
powers), raises fundamental questions about the state
of both international humanitarian and international
human rights law. If there are breaches of these laws,
is this because these are out-of-date and not suited
to modern conditions, particularly in the context of
anti-terrorism? Or is the case that the idea of the
regulation of international relations in and after war
is increasingly considered by powerful states to be an
outmoded idea? If this is the case, what are the
implications for the regulation of international
affairs?


Christopher Greenwood QC is a professor of
international law at LSE. Françoise Hampson is a
professor of law at the University of Essex. Philippe
Sands QC is Professor of Law at University College
London and a member of Matrix chambers; Ruth Wedgwood
is an international law professor at Johns Hopkins
University.

For full biographies of all four speakers, and for
further details of the Centre's other forthcoming
events, please see our website:
http://www.lse.ac.uk/humanrights


RECENT ADDITIONS TO THE CENTRE'S WEBSITE

• 	White Paper on Commission for Equality and Human
Rights: comment from Francesca Klug
• 	Certificate in International Human Rights Law and
Practice




	
	
		
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