THE ROLE OF THE UN IN THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

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SPRING MEETING
OF THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

THE ROLE OF THE UN IN THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE: ATTEMPTS TO BYPASS THE UN CHARTER IN THE SPIRIT OF THE CHARTER ITSELF?

7 JUNE 2023 19.00 – 21.00
LEIDEN UNIVERSITY, CAMPUS THE HAGUE AND ONLINE

While the UN provides refugee protection and humanitarian aid in Ukraine and is actively involved in the Black Sea Grain Initiative, its role in the domain of peace and security is limited: examples include speeches by the UN Secretary-General and the February 2023 General Assembly resolution demanding that the Russian Federation withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory, in line with the UN Charter.

However, GA resolutions lack ‘bite’. The impossibility for the Security Council to act in this conflict has, again, raised the question as to what role the GA and other UN organs can still play. Various initiatives have been taken, such as the GA’s emergency special session and the adoption of GA Res. 76/262 (‘Standing mandate for a GA debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council’). Are these examples of ‘bypassing the UN Charter in the spirit of the Charter itself’, knowing that formal changes of the Charter are not a realistic perspective? Or does the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the use of its veto in the Security Council bring new stimuli to the long-standing negotiations about Security Council Reform?

Dr. Alanna O’Malley, Associate Professor at the Leiden University Institute for History, and
Prof. Niels Blokker, Professor of International Institutional Law at Leiden University,
will provide a presentation. This will be followed by a Q&A.

Date and time: Wednesday 7 June 2023, from 19.00-21.00

Location: Leiden University, Campus The Hague, Turfmarkt 99, 2511 DP The Hague, or online via Zoom

Registration: Please send an email to gro.r1685472506ivnk@1685472506tcatn1685472506oc1685472506 by 2 June 2023 indicating whether you would like to attend the meeting in person or online via Zoom.

For questions, please contact the Secretary via gro.r1685472506ivnk@1685472506draob1685472506.

Annual General Meeting 2022

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On 4 November 2022, the Society held its Annual General Meeting, which explored the theme ‘Shaping International Accountability around Mega-Sporting Events’. A video recording of the speakers’ presentations and the discussion of the Collected Papers can be viewed here.

KNVIR - Annual General Meeting 2022

Winner – François Prize 2022

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At the Annual General Meeting of 4 November 2022, held in The Hague, the J.P.A François Prize was awarded to:

Emma R. van den Boogaard

Ms Emma R. van den Boogaard

Click here for the jury report

Click here for the prize winning paper

Ms Ingeborg H. de Koningh (Leiden University) received an honourable mention for her paper entitled “Consolidating International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law: the Protection from Gender-Based Violence against Women in Non-International Armed Conflict”.

Election of Prof. Yvonne Donders as member of the UN Human Rights Committee

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The Board of the Society is delighted at the news that Prof. Yvonne Donders has been elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Committee for 2023-2026. Prof. Donders was a member of the Board of the Society from 2012-2021. The Board congratulates her on this achievement.

Statement Executive Board on the Situation in Ukraine

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Like so many around the world, the Executive Board of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law is shocked about the situation currently unfolding in Ukraine. The purpose of our Society is, among other things, to promote public international law. Promotion includes an explicit condemnation of the blatant violations of the international legal order that we are witnessing these days. This is why we fully endorse the statement of Prof. Chinkin, Executive Chair of the International Law Association (ILA), as well as similar statements issued by other national branches of the ILA.

Update 4 March 2022: the Executive Board further fully endorses the statement by the International Law Association, available here.

The Executive Board of the Royal Netherlands Society of International Law

Spring Meeting 2022

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The Society devoted its Spring Meeting of 24 May 2022, which was held in hybrid format, to the theme: ‘Sanctions as the go-to tool: Do they work and what role for international law?’. The recording of the meeting, which was hosted by The Hague Humanity Hub, can be viewed here. Speakers were: Prof. Peter van Bergeijk (Erasmus University) and Prof. Larissa van den Herik (Leiden University). The meeting was introduced and moderated by Prof. Willem van Genugten (President KNVIR).

Annual General Meeting 2021

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On 5 November 2021, the Society held its Annual General Meeting which explored the theme ‘Global Health Law Disrupted: COVID-19 and the Climate Change Crisis’. A video recording of the speakers’ presentations and the discussion of the Collected Papers can be viewed here.

KNVIR - Annual General Meeting 2021