Public Keynote by Professor the Hon Gareth Evans: Australia's Contributions to Shaping International Law in Global Transformations

Please join us for the Public Keynote by Professor the Hon Gareth Evans: Australia's Contributions to Shaping International Law in Global Transformations

When: Wednesday 26 February 2025, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Where: Conference Room 3, Level 9,WSU Parramatta City Campus - 169 Macquarie Street, Parramatta

The current state of global uncertainty is underpinned by simultaneous crises of global peace and security, global health and global trade tensions. While this muti-faceted destabilisation of the international legal order can appear unprecedented, the world has experienced transformative periods of this kind before. For example, each of World War I, World War II, the Cold War and the attacks of September 11 were key periods of significant global transformation, with each generating new forms of international law and governance. These periods, and the years immediately following them, provide fertile ground for an examination of exercises of Australian influence in the development of international law. They also represent pivotal moments of transition for Australia’s engagement in international affairs and for Australia’s relationships with states and institutions beyond its borders. In this keynote address, Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC KC will reflect on his approach to shaping international law in the post-Cold War period, both in his identity as an Australian and in his capacity as an official representative of Australia, including as Foreign Minister from 1988-96.

Biography:

Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC KC FASSA FAIIA is Distinguished Honorary Professor at the Australian National University, where he was Chancellor from 2010-19. He was a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments from 1983-96, in the posts of Attorney General, Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Transport and Communications and - from 1988-96 - Foreign Minister. During his 21 years in Australian politics he was Leader of the Government in the Senate (1993-96) and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives (1996-98). From 2000 to 2009 he was President and CEO of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, the independent global conflict prevention and resolution organisation. He was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2012 for his "eminent service to international relations, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, as an adviser to governments on global policy matters, to conflict prevention and resolution, and to arms control and disarmament". Gareth has written or edited 14 books - including Good International Citizenship: The Case for Decency (2022), Incorrigible Optimist: A Political Memoir (2017), Nuclear Weapons: The State of Play 2015 (co-author), Inside the Hawke-Keating Government: A Cabinet Diary (2014), and The Responsibility to Protect: Ending Mass Atrocity Crimes Once and for All (2008).