About this Event
An event co-hosted by UCL European Institute and the Association of European Journalists.
As the USA seeks to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court and others openly challenge human rights institutions, are international conflicts and genocide becoming normalised? Are we condemned to live in a world where impunity protects the powerful from accountability for war crimes and whole populations lose the basic protections of international law?
Those questions must now be addressed urgently. Bloody conflicts drag on with terrible human consequences -- between Russia and Ukraine, across the Middle East and in Sudan -- while a global slide to authoritarianism threatens fundamental rights and civil society space in every part of the world.
Will the post-World War Two framework of international law prove resilient enough to prevent such dystopias from materialising? Or can that framework be re-imagined for an age in which societies are transformed by new forms of great power rivalry and dizzying technological change? A leading international jurist and a uniquely experienced war reporter share their insights into these issues of existential importance.
17:30-17:40: Welcome, UCL European Institute & Association of European Journalists
17:40-18:00: Opening Remarks, Prof. Veronika Fikfak, Director UCL Institute for Human Rights
18:00-19:00: Moderated discussion with Fergal Keane
Professor Veronika Fikfak is Director of UCL Institute for Human Rights, a judge ad hoc at the European Court of Human Rights, and a member of the Advisory Committee to the UN Human Rights Council, As a leading international jurist she challenges the facile idea that international law “doesn’t matter anymore”, and argues that violators still know they will be held to account.
Fergal Keane has risked his life often over four decades to bear witness to war crimes and crimes against humanity. He has described how being a witness at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda triggered his PTSD. Now he calls for the media and states themselves to “stand up to the bullies” and asks how international law can protect the truth-tellers.
William Horsley (Chair) is chair of the AEJ in the UK and a former BBC journalist, He co-founded the Centre for Freedom of the Media at the University of Sheffield and contributed to the launch in 2015 of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists, a Europe-wide mechanism for monitoring and seeking remedies for attacks against the media.
The AEJ is an independent journalists’ network committed to promoting informed debate about European affairs and the UK’s place in the world.
UCL European Institute is UCL’s hub for research, engagement and teaching on Europe.
Event venue & nearby stays
The Gideon Schreier Lecture Theatre, Bentham House, 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens, London, United Kingdom
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