UN & Global Values/Conference

International Conference on the United Nations and the Evolution of Global Values

On 11 and 12 December, 2008 the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies organised the international conference on The United Nations and the Evolution of Global Values at the Peace Palace.

Experts from the disciplines of public international law, ethics and international relations presented their views on the concept 'global values' and its content, the influence of these values on international law, and on the role of the United Nations in defining and promoting these values.

Contributors to the conference were H.E. Dame Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice, Frank Majoor (Netherlands Ambassador to the UN in New York), Joris Voorhoeve (former Minister of Defence of the Netherlands), Thomas Franck (NYU), Vera Gowlland-Debbas (Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva), Leif Wenar (King's College London), John Keane (University of Westminster) and Thomas Weiss (City University of New York and Director of the United Nations Intellectual History Project).

Programme

The conference took place at the Peace Palace in The Hague, on 11 and 12 December 2008 (click here for a more detailed programme).

Day 1: Thursday 11 December

11.00 Masterclass (Closed Session). Speakers: Leif Wenar and Thomas G. Weiss.

15.00 Arrival and registration Peace Palace

15.30 Opening session in the Peace Palace. Chair: Nico Schrijver.   Welcome by Paul van der Heijden
A legal perspective on global values, H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins
A political perspective on global values, Joris Voorhoeve
An ethical perspective on global values, Leif Wenar
Greetings from New York, Frank Majoor.

17.30-18.45 Reception in the Peace Palace

Day 2: Friday 12 December

09.00 Arrival and registration

09.30 First Panel: The concept of global values.

Chair: Koos van der Bruggen, Speakers: Leif Wenar and John Keane.

12.00 Lunch break

13.00 Second Panel: International law and global values.

Chair: Ralph Wilde, Speakers: Vera Gowlland-Debbas and Thomas Franck.

15.00 Break

15.30 Third Panel: The United Nations and global values.

Chair: Peter Baehr, Speakers: Thomas Weiss and Frank Majoor.

17.30 Closing remarks by Nico Schrijver and Koos van der Bruggen.

Speakers, Chairs, and Organizers
Peter Baehr, Honorary Professor of Human Rights, former Director of the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), Utrecht University.
Koos van der Bruggen, Senior Researcher International Relations, Leiden University.
Thomas Franck, Murry and Ida Becker Professor of Law Emeritus, NYU Law School.
Vera Gowlland-Debbas, Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva.
Paul van der Heijden, Rector Magnificus Leiden University and Professor of International Labour Law.
H.E. Judge Rosalyn Higgins, President of the International Court of Justice.
John Keane, Professor of Politics at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, University of Westminster.
Frank Majoor, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and Chairman of the Third (Social, Humanitarian & Cultural) Committee of the UN General Assembly.
Nico Schrijver, Professor of International Law and Academic Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University.
Otto Spijkers, PhD candidate, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden University, and General Rapporteur of the Conference.
Joris Voorhoeve, former Dutch Minister of Defence, and currently Professor of International Safety Studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy (NLDA), Professor of International Organizations at Leiden University, and Member of the Council of State.
Thomas G. Weiss, Presidential Professor of Political Science at the City University of New York and Director of the United Nations Intellectual History Project.
Leif Wenar, Chair of Ethics at King's College London.
Ralph Wilde, Reader and Vice Dean For Research, University College London, Faculty of Laws.