Visit of H.E. Prof. Dr. Kennedy Gastorn to the United Nations, New York for sessions on 18 and 23 October 2018
H.E. Prof. Dr. Kennedy Gastorn, Secretary General of AALCO attended sessions organized by AALCO, through Dr. Roy S. Lee, the Permanent Observer of AALCO at the United Nations.
The first of the two organized sessions on current international law issues before and during the International Law Week of the Sixth Committee, was on 18 October afternoon entitled “Does International Law Matter?” discussed the following topics: (i) procedures and methods of IAEA nuclear safeguards to prevent non-peaceful uses of nuclear materials; (ii) the UN's efforts to preserve outer space for peaceful purposes and the threads to that policy; (iii) why State sovereignty should continue irrespective of sea-level rise induced by climate change; (iv) protection of civilians in armed conflicts and challenges thereto; (v) the application of international law at the United Nations between 1994-2004; (vi) criminalizing “Acts of Aggression” in national criminal law to effect a “de jure pact” among like-minded States to improve friendly relations and to prosecute and punish individual violators. H.E. Prof. Dr. Kennedy Gastorn presented on “why State sovereignty should continue irrespective of sea-level rise induced by climate change”.
The second session was on 23 October morning, as a “Dialogue with Legal Practitioners” where the President of the ICJ, Judge A.A. Yusuf, talked about the compensation for damage to the environment in ICJ case law, while Ms. Daphene Hong, Director General, International Affairs Division, Attorney-General’s Chambers, Singapore, talked about “Resorting to Third Party Means of Dispute Settlement: Benefits and Challenges”.
The general comments on the two presentations were made by Judge Nawaf Salam of the ICJ.
In both sessions, exchange of views with present delegates, legal advisers and UN Secretariat members followed.
H.E. Prof. Dr. Kennedy Gastorn, Secretary General of AALCO also attended the Report of the International Criminal Court in the General Assembly Hall on Monday 29 October 2018.
