Citizens Forum: Rule of Law or the Violence of War
Dear friends of the Peace Education Center,
Please kindly share information about this event with your friends and colleagues. This forum is a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other and explore potential for citizen action to strengthen the possibilities for international law to overcome armed conflict and the violation of human rights, including efforts to further educate and energize the public toward “replacing the law of force with the force of law.”
Best wishes,
Tony Jenkins & Janet Gerson
Peace Education Center
Teachers College, Columbia University
web: www.tc.edu/PeaceEd
The Law of Force or the Force of Law?
“The rule of law has been contemptuously ignored in contemporary conflicts.... Knowledge of and recourse to international law must also be made more accessible to individuals.” --- -- The Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice for the 21st Century
A Citizens Forum on the Rule of Law or the Violence of War
with:
Peter Weiss
President, Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy and Vice-President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Rhonda Copelon
Founder and Legal Advisor, Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice, and Professor of Law and Director International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic, CUNY.
Ayça Çubukçu
A founding organizer of the World Tribunal on Iraq, New York Session
Betty Reardon
Founding Director Emeritus, Teachers College Peace Education Center, 2001 UNESCO Prize for Peace Education, Honorable Mention
Saturday • October 9, 2004
10am-4pm
The Riverside Church, South Hall
91 Claremont Avenue
Between 120th and 121st Streets
PLEASE RSVP to:
The Peace Education Center
Email: peace-ed@tc.edu
TEL: (212) 678-8116
WEB: www.tc.edu/PeaceEd/
SPONSORED by:
Peace Education Center,
Teachers College, Columbia University
The Riverside Church Global Justice & Peace Ministry
A Citizens Forum on the Rule of Law or the Violence of War
October 9, 2004 • The Riverside Church, New York
With the revelations of prisoner abuse in Iraq, the tribunals on crimes against humanity committed in Bosnia and Rwanda, and the debates over the International Criminal Court, there is both flouting and application of a body of international law still largely unknown to most citizens. Yet, the history of war and peace since the close of World War II has indicated that international humanitarian and human rights law provides a set of significant tools through which to build a just world peace.
This forum, inspired by the preparations for the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) will present, in terms accessible to ordinary citizens, the substance and possibilities of international law which is fast becoming a major instrument of peoples’ movements to protect human rights and demand accountability for crimes of war. The evidence and arguments to be advanced at the WTI will be presented for discussion by persons involved in the organization of the tribunal; representatives of the Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice, an NGO that played a significant role in the establishment of the International Criminal Court; and the staff of the Teachers College Peace Education Center.
Potential for citizen action to strengthen the possibilities for international law to overcome armed conflict and the violation of human rights will be considered, including efforts to further educate and energize the public toward “replacing the law of force with the force of law.”
Program
Morning Session
9:30am
Registration
10:00am
Welcome and Statement of Purpose
Janet Gerson, Acting Director, Teachers College Peace Education Center
Law as a Strategic Tool for the Peace Movement
Betty Reardon, Founding Director Emeritus, Teachers College Peace Education Center
International Law and the Iraq War
Peter Weiss, President, Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy
and Vice-President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Discussion and Questions
Gender Violence: A War Crime and a Crime against Humanity”
Rhonda Copelon, Founder and Legal Advisor, Women’s Caucus for Gender Justice, and Professor of Law and Director International Women's Human Rights Law Clinic, CUNY
Discussion and Questions
Lunch Break
12:45pm
Screening of video:
International Women’s Tribunal on Military Sexual Slavery in Tokyo in 2000
Afternoon Session
2:00pm
World Tribunal on Iraq: Crimes, Issues and Purposes
Ayça Çubukçu, A founding organizer of the World Tribunal on Iraq, New York Session
Discussion and Questions
Citizen’s Actions to Support the Rule of Law as an Alternative to War & Action Summary
Discussion led by Janet Gerson and Betty Reardon
4:00pm
Adjournment
