Turkish university to hold symposium on future of international law after Gaza

By Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) - One of Türkiye’s top universities this August will hold a symposium on rethinking international law in light of Israel’s months-long offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 36,500 people and injured over 83,000, despite a UN General Assembly resolution demanding a halt to the attacks.

At the Rethinking International Law after Gaza symposium hosted by the Law School at Istanbul’s Bogazici University, “the universality, legitimacy, and role of international law in realizing justice will be critically discussed,” a university statement said on Wednesday

Richard Falk and Michael Lynk, both former UN special rapporteurs on Palestine, will be among the speakers, along with other world-renowned academics.

The symposium is set for Aug. 3-4.

Saying that the international system's inability to "fulfill its mission of ensuring global peace and protecting human rights, as well as its failure to address violations" of the law has given rise to questions about international law’s role in "ensuring justice," Hasan Basri Bulbul, who teaches law at Bogazici and is coordinating the event, said: "Our symposium aims to evaluate proposals for the development of international law and the better protection of human rights, with wide participation from over 100 legal experts from various countries."

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas that killed some 1,200 people.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving millions without health care and facing famine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​