The Fate of Civilians in War: The Effects and Effectiveness of International Conventions
- Date(s)
- February 13, 2024
- Location
- Senate Room, Lanyon Building, QUB
- Time
- 16:00 - 17:30
- Price
- Free
The Senator George J. Mitchell Peace Lecture Series celebrates and recognises Senator Mitchell’s contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process and to conflict resolution in the Middle East. His aim of transforming conflict and promoting social justice in Northern Ireland and across the world is shared by our Institute.
The Annual Peace Lecture series was inaugurated in 2018 with a lecture from President Mary Robinson on climate justice. President Robinson has subsequently become Chair of The Elders and has held prestigious posts in Ireland and the United Nations.
Speaker: (Balliol College, University of Oxford)
Chair: (°Ç¸ç³Ô¹Ï Belfast)
The Lecture
In the wake of several episodes of mass atrocity in the twentieth century, the international community articulated new legal conventions designed to prevent deliberate harm to civilians and other noncombatants in international and civil conflicts. These include the Genocide Convention (1948); the four Geneva Conventions (1949); the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Convention (1977) and the Responsibility to Protect (2005).
In this Lecture, Professor Neta Crawford will explore:
- What impact, if any, have those conventions had in either preventing or reducing the harm that civilians have suffered?
- Why are civilians still dying in large numbers in war?
- Who is morally responsible for those deaths and for the long term harm to civilians that occurs as a consequence of the destruction of infrastructure?
The Speaker
Neta C. Crawford, FBA is the Montague Burton Professor of International Relations at the . She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the British Academy. Her publications include (Oxford University Press, 2013). Her most recent book, (MIT Press, 2022) won the 2023 American Book Award and the 2024 for World Order. Crawford is also the Co-Director of the , based at .
Her research interests include:
- International relations theory
- Normative theory, foreign policy decision making
- Sanctions
- Climate change
- Climate security
- Military greenhouse gas emissions
- US foreign and military policy
- Peace movements
- Discourse ethics
- Research design
- Utopian science fiction and emotion
The Annual Senator George J. Mitchell Peace Lecture Series
13 October 2022
Human Rights, Justice and Negotiating Peace with Terrorists: The Case of Afghanistan
Mr Nader Nadery
29 October 2020
After Remorse, the Impossibility of Repair
Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
8 October 2019
Interconnectedness for Peace in Our Times
Dr Mamphela Ramphele
6 November 2018
Senator George J. Mitchell: A True Champion of Peace
President Mary Robinson