PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
The EU as a human rights-promoting peace mediator?
14:50 – 15:50 CEST – 6 May 2021
Moderator
Sarah Nouwen, Chair and Professor of Public International Law, EUI
Moderator
Barney Afako, Member of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan and Member of the United Nations Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisors
Federica Mogherini, Rector, College of Europe and former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission
Katia Papagianni, Director for Policy and Mediation Support, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue
Ayşe Cihan Sultanoğlu, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations
The EU has become known as a bastion of peace. It has also increasingly presented itself as a promoter of peace outside its borders. What is the state of the union in the field of peace mediation? With 27 member states, it is a potentially powerful broker, but often needs to act in concert with others. It may also suffer from a fragmented voice. How is the EU positioning itself in the increasingly crowded area of peace mediation? What are its comparative advantages; what are its burdens? While the Union’s overt human rights commitment provides an ideal blueprint for a liberal peace, does it sometimes appear far removed from the issues that the warring parties are most concerned about? What successes and challenges has the EU experienced when seeking to promote both peace and human rights in conflict resolution contexts?
PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
EU sanctions: what’s their place in the world?
16:00 – 16:50 CEST – 6 May 2021
Moderator
Neha Jain, Professor, Public International Law, EUI
Speakers
Betty Bigombe, Senior Director, Fragility, Conflict and Violence, World Bank Group
Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, Associate Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham House, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict
Mairead McGuinness, Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
One instrument used by the EU to promote human rights and peace is sanctions. How significant a player is the EU in the international sanctions regime? Does it set the standard or follow others, such as the US and the UN? What’s the added value of autonomous EU sanctions? Do they have a “Brussels effect”? Who feels threatened, who feels the pain? How effective are the EU’s sanctions in promoting human rights and peace? Are they “smart” enough?
PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Delivering on UN@75: towards a reinvigorated multilateralism for the future we want
18:55- 19:45 CEST – 6 May 2021
Moderator
Alexandre Stutzmann, Special Adviser to the President of the 75th United Nations General Assembly
Speakers
Isabelle Durant, Acting Secretary-General, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
Cristina Gallach Figueras, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs and for Ibero-America and the Caribbean, Spain
Natalie Samarasinghe, Executive Director of the United Nations Association – UK
Volker Türk, Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination, Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General
On 21 September 2020, World Heads of State and Government unanimously committed to an ambitious political declaration for the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN). Recalling the Charter and setting out 12 policy priority areas, they call for determined collective action in order to tackle key global challenges, reaching out to a wider range of stakeholders, notably civil society and youth. More than ever strengthened international cooperation is perceived as the way to solve global challenges; on the other hand, the credibility and legitimacy of political leadership and the responsiveness of international organisations in building back better is increasingly being put to the test. Is multilateralism as traditionally promoted by the UN still relevant in this context? How can the UN best build on its past achievements, overcome its shortcomings and bring adequate responses for the future of “We the peoples”? In other terms, is the UN still relevant today and what would be the cost of having no UN? How can the international community collectively reinvigorate multilateralism so that it can efficiently deliver? This panel will candidly reflect on these questions and the ongoing process lead by the UN Secretary-General to come up with concrete recommendations to advance a more networked and all-encompassing global common agenda by the summer.