Apartheid, Occupation, Genocide - AIUK and ICJP legal panel on Palestine

Apartheid, Occupation, Genocide – how enforcing International Law can secure justice for Palestinians

Amnesty International UK and the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians are hosting a legal panel discussion on securing justice for Palestinians in the context of legal challenges regarding apartheid, occupation and genocide, followed by a Q&A with the audience. The event will take place at One Birdcage Walk, in the heart of Westminster.

The speakers include:

• Zaha Hassan, Palestinian human rights lawyer and former coordinator and senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership

• Itay Epshtain, Special Advisor on International Law and Humanitarian Principles to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), former Director of Amnesty International Israel

• Gerhard Kemp, Professor of law at UWE Bristol Law School and extraordinary professor of public law at Stellenbosch University, South Africa

• Victor Kattan, Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the University of Nottingham School of Law

The current devastating human rights crisis across the occupied Palestinian territory is not new. It is an escalation of a decades old crisis rooted in illegal Israeli occupation and apartheid that has been enabled by a total absence of justice and accountability. In 2024, as the crisis continues to escalate, international courts have kickstarted important processes and reached landmark conclusions. How could these legal processes contribute to ending the crisis? And what must the UK and other governments do to enforce the law and end the suffering?

We will discuss the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice; the International Criminal Court investigation, including the application for arrest warrants; and the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of July 2024 which found that Israel’s occupation and annexation of Palestinian land is unlawful and its policies violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.

About the speakers:

Zaha Hassan is a Palestinian human rights lawyer and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research focus is on Palestine-Israel peace, the use of international legal mechanisms by political movements and U.S. foreign policy in the region. Previously, she was the coordinator and senior legal advisor to the Palestinian negotiating team during Palestine’s bid for UN membership and was a member of the Palestinian delegation to Quartet-sponsored exploratory talks between 2011 and 2012.

Zaha regularly participates in track II peace efforts and is a regular commentator in the US and international media on Palestinian-Israeli affairs. Her edited book (with H.A. Hellyer), Suppressing Speech: Shrinking Civic Space, Transnational Repression and Palestine-Israel, will be published in the Fall by OneWorld Publications.

Itay Epshtain is Special Advisor on International Law and Humanitarian Principles to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Formerly the Policy and Protection Advisor of the NRC Palestine Office, West Bank Protection Consortium Representative, International Humanitarian Law Advisor with Diakonia IHL Resource Centre, and Director of Amnesty International Israel.

Epshtain is a graduate of Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and Université Catholique de Louvain with an Advanced Masters in International Law, where he is currently a PhD candidate. Epshtain holds post-graduate diplomas in Public International Law and International Humanitarian Law from the Hague Academy of International Law, the T.M.C. Asser Institute, and the International Institute of Humanitarian Law. Epshtain holds a teaching position with the University of Milan (Università degli Studi di Milano Statale) Faculty of Political, Economic and Social Sciences.

Gerhard Kemp is professor of law at UWE Bristol Law School and extraordinary professor of public law at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is admitted as an advocate of the High Court of South Africa and has published widely on international criminal law, comparative criminal law, and transitional justice.

Gerhard has received several awards and scholarships for his work, including fellowships of the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, the Robert Bosch Foundation, and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study.

He serves on the board and executive committee of the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation in Cape Town and on the Advisory Council of the Crimes Against Humanity Project, which advocates for, and was instrumental in, the adoption of the Draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention by the International Law Commission.

He also serves on the editorial boards of several academic journals, including Criminal Law Forum and The Journal of Criminal Law.

Victor Kattan is Assistant Professor of Public International Law at the University of Nottingham School of Law and an academic member of Temple Garden Chambers. Victor's expertise encompasses the legal aspects of territorial disputes, the history of international law, including the law of the United Nations, international humanitarian law, and the use of force.

He is the author or editor of five books: Making Endless War: The Vietnam and Arab-Israeli Conflicts in the History of International Law (2023), The Breakup of India and Palestine: The Causes and Legacies of Partition (2023). Violent Radical Movements in the Arab World: The Ideology and Politics of Non-State Actors (2019), From Coexistence to Conquest: International Law and the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2009) and The Palestine Question in International Law (2008). He is currently writing a book on Apartheid as a Crime against Humanity for Oxford University Press.

Host or Publisher International Centre of Justice for Palestinians