UNESCO MGIEP hosts its 12th Distinguished Lecture to a full house in JNU

New Delhi, November 10: At the 12th Distinguished Lecture hosted by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) in Jawaharlal Nehru University, Dr. Cecilia M. Bailliet, Professor Jur, Director of the Masters Program in International Law at the University of Oslo in Norway, and UN Independent Expert on Human Rights and International Solidarity, delivered a lecture on, “The Imperative of Solidarity for Peace Education in a Multi-Polar World.”

Dr. Bailliet discussed how the international community is facing a shift in global affairs marked by a trend towards “conflict management” within a multi-polar world that normalises violence and renders the aim of peace, and related law of peace, peripheral. Considering how peace is both an end and a means of the transnational legal system, she also highlighted how peace education in the age of multipolarity should place greater attention on the evolution of global modes of peaceful dispute resolution.

Dr. Bailliet also discussed the importance of peace education in the era of multipolarity, the nuances of peace education, how it is taught, establishing how the right to peace is the enabler for all other rights. Considering that we lack a full understanding of how peace is constructed, she also argued that, given the recent rise of militarisation, peace education should also highlight the need for more women serving as peacemakers within the negotiation, drafting, and implementation of peace treaties, as well as within national dialogues between different communities, emphasising the exemplary role that women already do and can play in it. 

Also present at the event were Dean and Professor, School of International Studies, JNU, Dr. Amitabh Mattoo, Prof Shantesh Kumar Singh from the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament, School of International Studies, JNU, and Dr. Obijiofor Aginam, Director, UNESCO MGIEP.  

Following the Lecture, the floor was opened for questions from the members of the audience, which included JNU’s academic and leadership cohort as well as students from other prominent universities and colleges across the city, including the University of Delhi, IILM as well as students coming in from remote areas of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The questions ranged from how peace can be constructed from below by the people to the importance of purposeful solidarity for peace.

[END]
 

More about the Guest for the 12th Distinguished Lecture:  

Dr. Cecilia M. Bailliet supported the creation of an International Solidarity Map: Solidarity Actions Around The World. She is Co-Chair of the Latin America Interest Group of the American Society of International Law. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bailliet has a combined J.D./M.A. (Hons.) from the George Washington University Law School and Elliott School of International Affairs (USA). She received her Doctorate in law from the University of Oslo in Norway. Dr. Bailliet has published extensively on transnational and cross-disciplinary issues within international law including general public international law, human rights, refugee law, constitutional law, counterterrorism, gender/women's rights, solidarity, and peace. She has contributed lectures to the UN Audio Visual Library of International Law. Dr. Bailliet’s authored and edited books include Research Handbook on International Solidarity and the Law (Edward Elgar 2024), The Construction of the Customary Law of Peace: Latin America and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (Edward Elgar 2021); The Research Handbook on International Law and Peace (Edward Elgar 2019).

For more information please contact: 

Ms. Pallavi Shahi, 
Associate National Project Officer, Communications
UNESCO MGIEP
Email: p.shahi@unesco.org