Lecture by Prof. Anne Orford
Discussant: Dr. Henning Melber
Monday, 6 February 2012, 19 hrs
University main building, hall IX
Free entrance!

The idea that the UN has a responsibility to maintain order and protect life in the decolonised world began to take shape with two operations that were undertaken while Dag Hammarskjöld was in office as Secretary-General.

The first was the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in response to the Suez crisis of 1956 and the second was the UN offer of military assistance to the Government of the Republic of the Congo in 1960. The techniques of executive rule developed by Hammarskjöld during the Suez and Congo interventions, such as fact-finding, peacekeeping and civilian administration, have since played a major role in shaping the management of decolonisation.

The lecture and comment will explore the ways in which the newly articulated ‘Responsibility to Protect’ concept rationalises and systematises the practices initiated by Hammarskjöld.

Anne Orford is the holder of the Michael D Kirby Chair of International Law and Director of the Institute for International Law and the Humanities at Melbourne Law School. Her latest publication is International Authority and the Responsibility to Protect (Cambridge University Press 2011).

Henning Melber is Executive Director of The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation.

The event is organized by Uppsala Association of International Affairs and The Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation in collaboration with the Swedish institute of International Law.