The Yale Journal of International Law, along with the Law & Political Economy Project and Blog, is hosting a Symposium on Third World approaches to international law (TWAIL) and economic sanctions. As part of the Symposium, there are a number of virtual and hybrid events on Wednesday, April 5.
During the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the United States and its allies have imposed a range of economic sanctions on Russia. While economic sanctions are often portrayed as a legitimate and effective response to international law violations, the legal, political, and economic impacts remain contested. Sanctions are deeply implicated in the global political economy and relate intimately to questions of imperialism. Moreover, sanctions can have devastating consequences for civilians.
This Symposium is an opportunity to hear leading scholars and experts—including three United Nations Special Rapporteurs—offer critical legal perspectives on the harms caused by sanctions while also putting forward visions for building a more humane international legal system. Please mark your calendars and join us on April 5 for any or all of this great event!
Below, we have included the schedule for the workshops.
9:00 AM: Coffee & donuts
9:30 AM: Symposium opening
9:40 AM: Keynote by Professor Alena Douhan, Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures
10:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Panel 1
- Eva Nanopoulos (Queen Mary University of London)
- Obiora Chinedu Okafor (Osgoode Hall/UN Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity) and Nathaniel Tilahun (Coventry University)
- Joy Gordon (Loyola University Chicago)
- Michael Fakhri (University of Oregon/UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food)
- Discussant: Balakrishnan Rajagopal (MIT/UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing)
1:00 – 1:45 PM: Lunch break
1:45 PM – 3:45 PM Panel 2
- Ntina Tzouvala (Australian National University)
- Vasuki Nesiah (NYU)
- Aslı Bâli (Yale)
- Discussant: Tendayi Achiume (UCLA/Stanford; former UN Special Rapporteur on Racism and Xenophobic Discrimination)
3:50 – 4:00 PM ET: Closing
As for the format, the panels will begin with each presenter (or pair of presenters) speaking for about 10 minutes, focusing on the ideas and arguments core to their intervention. Following the presentation, the Discussant will respond with their own presentation for about ten minutes before facilitating questions, discussion, and feedback on the presentation and ticket for the final 25 minutes. After all the presentations, there will be 15 minutes for closing observations amongst the panelists and discussant.
To attend online, please register at the following link: https://yale.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYudOmrqDkpHNRsrIqLTaEik803lt65ceZh