Expert Roundtable:

The War in Ukraine and the Role of the United Nations

Ініціатива лідерства думок PILPG

Війна в Україні та роль Організації Об’єднаних Націй

Event Description

Join PILPG on May 20 from 12 pm to 1 pm EDT for a conversation with experts regarding the role of the various United Nations (UN) bodies in addressing global peace and security generally, as well as in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full scale invasion of Ukraine, which has thus far led to thousands of civilian deaths and massive destruction of Ukrainian cities, including areas around the capital Kyiv. In response to these actions and the contravention of core international legal principles, the international community has imposed fierce sanctions targeting every sector of the Russian economy. There has also been a swift response within the United Nations. States have taken to the UN General Assembly floor to condemn the Russian aggression and the dire humanitarian crisis. The General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council. The International Court of Justice ordered the immediate halt of Russian military operations, and the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into atrocities being committed in Ukraine (without a referral from the UN Security Council). Despite all of these actions, some commentators have questioned whether the United Nations is effective in responding to armed conflict, and many have expressed a growing disillusionment with the UN Security Council’s ability to safeguard international peace and security.

During this event, co-sponsored by Weil, our panelists will discuss recent developments surrounding the war in Ukraine, provide insights to some of the most pressing legal questions regarding the role of the various United Nations bodies in addressing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and provide background to the other international mechanisms charged with maintaining global peace, security, and justice. This event will be moderated by PILPG Senior Legal Advisor Dr. Yvonne Dutton.

This event is part of the PILPG Thought Leadership Initiative. The Initiative focuses on prominent international law and international affairs topics and organizes monthly expert roundtables to share expertise and reflections from our work on peace negotiations, post-conflict constitution drafting, and war crimes prosecution.

Опис події

Приєднуйтесь до PILPG 20 травня з 12:00 до 13:00 EDT для обговорення з експертами щодо ролі різних органів Організації Об’єднаних Націй (ООН) у вирішенні проблем глобального миру та безпеки загалом, а також у контексті російського вторгнення в Україну.

24 лютого 2022 року президент Росії Володимир Путін віддав розпорядження про повномасштабне вторгнення в Україну, яке наразі призвело до тисяч загиблих мирних жителів і масового знищення українських міст, включаючи райони навколо столиці Києва. У відповідь на ці дії та на порушення основних міжнародно-правових принципів міжнародне співтовариство ввело жорсткі санкції проти всіх секторів російської економіки. Також була швидка реакція на рівні Організації Об’єднаних Націй. На засіданні Генеральної Асамблеї ООН держави засудили російську агресію та жахливу гуманітарну кризу. Генеральна Асамблея проголосувала за виключення Росії з Ради ООН з прав людини. Міжнародний суд наказав негайно припинити військові дії Росії, а прокурор Міжнародного кримінального суду розпочав розслідування жорстоких злочинів, які скоюються в Україні (без направлення Ради Безпеки ООН). Незважаючи на всі ці заходи, деякі коментатори ставлять під сумнів ефективність Організації Об’єднаних Націй у реагуванні на збройний конфлікт, і багато хто висловлює дедалі більше розчарування у здатності Ради Безпеки ООН захищати міжнародний мир і безпеку.

Під час цього заходу учасники дискусії обговорять останні події, пов’язані з війною в Україні, поділяться думками щодо деяких найактуальніших правових питань щодо ролі різних органів ООН у реагуванні на російське вторгнення в Україну, а також нададуть інформацію про інші міжнародні механізми, покладені на підтримання глобального миру, безпеки та справедливості. Модеруватиме цей захід старша юридична радниця PILPG, доктор проф. Івонн Даттон.

Цей захід є частиною Ініціативи лідерства думок PILPG. Ініціатива зосереджується на найактуальніших темах міжнародного права та міжнародних відносин, обговорення яких відбувається на щомісячних круглих столах, де експерти діляться думками та досвідом зі своєї роботи щодо мирних переговорів, постконфліктного написання конституцій та судового переслідування воєнних злочинців.

Event Recording/запис події

Speakers

**Professor Jennifer Trahan**
Jennifer Trahan is Clinical Professor at NYU's Center for Global Affairs where she directs the Concentration in International Law and Human Rights and teaches: International Law; Human Rights in Theory & Practice; International Justice; Transitional Justice; U.S. Use of Force & the “Global War on Terror”; and leads a field intensive to The Hague, Bosnia and Serbia, and one to Rwanda. She has published scores of law review articles and book chapters including on the International Criminal Court’s crime of aggression. Her book, “Legal Limits to Security Council Veto Power in the Face of Atrocity Crimes” (Cambridge University Press 2020) was awarded the “2020 ABILA Book of the Year Award” by
the American Branch of the International Law Association. She has additionally authored: “Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: A Digest of the Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda” (HRW 2010) and “Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity: A Topical
Digest of the Case Law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia” (HRW 2006). She serves as one of the US representatives to the Use of Force Committee of the International Law Association and holds various positions with the American Branch of the International Law
Association, including as co-Chair of their Committee on the International Criminal Court. She additionally served as an amicus curiae to the International Criminal Court on the appeal of the situation regarding Afghanistan and served on the Council of Advisers on the Application of the Rome Statute to Cyberwarfare. Most recently she is pleased to have joined the PILPG team in their amicus brief on
the Ongwen appeal, and has become Convenor of the Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression.

**Ambassador Todd Buchwald**
Todd Buchwald is a former U.S. Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice. Prior to assuming this position, he served in a variety of capacities in the State Department, including during the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations as the Assistant Legal Adviser for United Nations Affairs, and as the Assistant Legal Adviser for Political-Military Affairs. Following his departure from the State Departent, he served as a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, taught international law, international criminal law and international organizations at The George Washington University Law School and various other schools, and was recently elected to be a member of the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva. Professor Buchwald is also a Senior Peace Fellow at PILPG.

**Petro Burkovskyi**
Petro Burkovskyi is the Executive Director of the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF). Before joining DIF, he worked for 14 years at the National Institute for Strategic Studies as the head of the Center for Advanced Russia Studies (2019-2020), head of Department for Political System Development (2016-2019), deputy head of Analysis and Information Department (2010-2016), and chief consultant (2006-2010). He is a cadre civil servant (2005-2018).
Petro Burkovskyi holds an MA with distinction in Political Science from the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He is alumnus of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. In 2014, he participated in the High Level Expert Program at the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. In 2015, he completed Defence Management Course at the Cranfield University, Defence Academy of UK.
Since 2004, he has engaged in the civil society space, working as an independent analyst for media watchdog “Detector Media,” tracking political propaganda influence and manipulation in Ukraine and Russia.
His areas of expertise are history, comparative analysis, constitutional law, decision making processes, security policy, energy policy, and international relations.

**Serhii Dvornyk**
Serhii Dvornyk is the Acting Deputy Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN and served as the Political Coordinator of the Mission previously. Dvornyk also served as First Secretary of both the Directorate-General for EU and the Political Directorate-General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. From 2017-2020 he also served as the Head of the Political Analysis Unit at the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dvornyk also served as First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organizations in Vienna and as a Secretariat of Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine. Dvornyk holds a degree in Economics and Law with a specialization in International Relations from the Uzhgorod State Institute for Informatics and also holds a Masters in State Management from the National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine.

MODERATOR

Dr. Yvonne Dutton is a Senior Legal Advisor at PILPG. She is a Professor of Law at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law teaching evidence, criminal law, criminal procedure, international criminal law, international law, and comparative law. Professor Dutton graduated from Columbia Law School, where she served on the Columbia Law Review and was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar (all years). She also holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Colorado at Boulder. After graduating from Columbia Law School, Professor Dutton clerked for the Honorable William C. Conner, United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. Professor Dutton has practiced law as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she tried narcotics trafficking and organized crime cases. She also practiced as a civil litigator in law firms in New York and California. Professor Dutton’s research interests include international criminal law, international human rights law, and maritime piracy. Broadly speaking, her scholarship examines questions about international cooperation and the role and effectiveness of international institutions in deterring and holding accountable those who commit crimes of international concern. In May 2013, her book entitled Rules, Politics, and the International Criminal Court: Committing to the Court was published by Routledge. Professor Dutton has recently been involved with providing technical assistance with the development of framework laws on transitional justice and the harmonization of Ukrainian domestic law with international humanitarian law and the drafting of a legal charter for the Ukrainian peacebuilding/documentation center.