International law, international institutions, and the continuing betrayal of Palestine

Saul Takahashi is Professor of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University in Osaka, Japan. He was Deputy Head of Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Occupied Palestine from March 2009 through May 2014, during which time he traveled throughout both the West Bank and Gaza, monitoring and documenting human rights violations. Saul’s fields of expertise include international human rights law, international humanitarian law, and international refugee law. He is the author of several books, including The Palestinian People Continue to Suffer: Why the UN Can’t Solve the Problem (Japanese, Gendai Jinbun-sha); and Civil and Political Rights in Japan: a Tribute to Sir Nigel Rodley (Routledge). Learn more about Professor Takahashi's work by CLICKING HERE.

In this special public lecture, Professor Takahashi will reflect on his time with the UN in Palestine and offer an analysis of the existential crisis of legitimacy now facing the West as double standards in the approach of many Western countries towards human rights and international law have brought the system close to breaking point. From the perspective of the Palestinian people, hypocrisy on the part of the Western powers, and the international institutions they lead, is nothing new, and Professor Takahashi will examine some of the main ways the international community has betrayed Palestine, and continues to do so to this day.

Chaired by Dr Mira Al Hussein

Mira Al Hussein is Alwaleed Early Career Fellow in Authority in the Globalised Muslim World. She researches and writes extensively on topics related to state-society relations, citizenship, women and migrants in the Arab states of the Gulf. Mira’s research interests and area expertise broadly covers the Middle East, with a focus on the Arabian Peninsula. She is currently researching the migratory patterns and experiences of Arab Gulf citizens, and the formation of diasporic political agency in host countries. She will be teaching a course on Gulf histories, cultures and societies. Learn more about Dr Al Hussein's work by CLICKING HERE.