Yanis Varoufakis, Jeremy Corbyn, and Malcolm Rifkind clash over what should be done to ease tensions between Hamas and the IDF.
Does international law make any difference during times of war?
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“In times of war, the law falls silent” declared Cicero. And 2000 years on, it remains unknown whether international law has any real power in war, or whether, in the end, military and economic power are the only ultimately effective forces. International law did not prevent Russia from invading Ukraine, the US from engaging in torture in Guantanamo Bay, Hamas’ attacking Israel on Oct 7th, or Israel from destroying much of Gaza in response. Moreover, Trump appears to have decided that Russia’s military strength in Ukraine is reason to allow it to keep territory. Chairman Mao, it seems, had a point when he said “power grows from the barrel of a gun.”
We recognise war as an exceptional circumstance where acts like murder are permitted, should we give up trying to apply the law to it? With the US, Russia and others breaking international law, should we conclude that international law is unenforceable unless imposed by the victor? Or is international law both necessary and vital to contain the worst atrocities?
#israel #palestine #gaza #netanyahu #warzone #warcrime
Jeremy Corbyn is a British politician and current independent MP who served as the Labour party’s leader from 2015 to 2020. Bronwen Maddox is the Director and Chief Executive of Chatham House.Yanis Varoufakis is a world-renowned economist, academic, and politician who rose to international prominence in 2015 as Greece’s Minister of Finance. Malcolm Rifkind is a renowned British politician who served in the cabinets of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major, most famously in the roles of Foreign and Defence Secretary. Hosted by Mary Ann Sieghart.
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00:00 Introduction
00:15 Yanis Varoufakis on the hypocrisy of international law
01:13 “There is no war happening in Gaza”
01:56 Jeremy Corbyn on the failure of Arab states to support Palestine
02:44 Malcolm Rifkind challenges Corbyn on the problems caused by Hamas
04:26 Yanis Varoufakis calls out Benjamin Netanyahu
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