The Future of Humanitarian Intervention
February 12, 2001
Dear Colleague:
The Center on Law, Ethics and National Security (LENS) at the Duke University School of Law, in conjunction with Duke University's Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Kenan Institute for Ethics, and Center for European Studies, will sponsor a major conference at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham, North Carolina on April 19-20, 2001 entitled The Future of Humanitarian Intervention. You are cordially invited to attend.
The issue of humanitarian intervention is generating considerable debate in academic and policy circles in this country and abroad, especially following NATO's intervention in Kosovo in 1999. That military operation, conducted without a supporting United Nations Security Council resolution, has given rise to questions regarding the tension that clearly exists between Article 2(7) of the UN Charter and the acknowledged need to prevent widescale human rights abuses by a government within its sovereign borders, as well as the more specific question of who the arbiter should be in determining when intervention is appropriate as against less coercive means. In that respect, humanitarian intervention has generally been discussed and analyzed within the confines of a particular discipline, be it law, policy, or ethics, and much of the literature on the subject therefore tends to be compartmentalized along those lines. We believe that this issue now demands an interdisciplinary approach, and we seek to do just that in our conference. We intend to explore such topics as the history of humanitarian intervention, the policy reasons for and against its use, the current state of the law, whether legal or institutional reforms could facilitate the decision-making process, the role of regional organizations, and the rules of conduct to be applied during humanitarian interventions. Our conference will assemble a prestigious group of national and international scholars, policymakers and commentators who will seek to find the nexus between law, policy and ethics in their analysis of and discussions about the future of humanitarian intervention.
As noted above, the conference will be held at the Washington Duke Inn at 3001 Cameron Boulevard in Durham. A block of rooms has been reserved for this conference, but you must make your reservation with the hotel ((919) 490-0999) or (800) 443-3853) by 8 p.m. on 3/19/01. The single/double room rate for the conference is $138.00/$153.00 plus tax, so please advise the Reservation Office that you are with the Duke University School of Law conference to receive the group rate. Other hotels/motels, conveniently located to the conference site, are available in the area. Making your hotel reservation and guaranteeing late arrival, if necessary, will be your responsibility. Although there is no registration fee to attend the conference, the cost for the conference meals for those attending is $25.00 for each of the two luncheons and $50.00 for the Thursday evening reception and dinner. Checks are to be made payable to the Center on Law, Ethics and National Security and returned with the completed registration form by Monday, April 9th, 2001. In the event you should find it necessary to cancel your meal reservations, a refund will be provided if notice of cancellation in writing is received at the Center by Friday, April 13th, 2001.
I hope to see you at the Washington Duke Inn for this important conference.
Sincerely,
SCOTT L. SILLIMAN
Executive Director