Dr. Shahabuddin from Birmingham Law School delivered inagural lecture in BUP Law Lecture Series 2018
The Department of Law, Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP) organised its very first Law Lecture Series on 17 October 2018, Wednesday on the topic of postcolonial boundaries, international law, and the making of the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. As the keynote speaker, Dr. Mohammad Shahabuddin, Reader in International Law & Human Rights at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, spoke on the above-mentioned topic. In his speech, he outlined that the unique process of the ‘making’ of postcolonial states through the operation of international law is intrinsically connected to the suppression of ethnic minorities and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophes in these states. With the continuation of colonial boundaries in postcolonial states, international law has facilitated many of these catastrophes.
Exploring the questionable legal status of the uti possidetis principle in international law and the fallacy of its conflict-preventing potential, Dr. Shahabuddin argued that the idea of uti possidetis itself is a key problem. He further said that, the continuation of arbitrarily-drawn colonial boundaries often undermines the legitimate right to self-determination of numerous ethnic minorities.
Dr. Shahabuddin’s speech specifically explored the extension of uti possidetis to Myanmar and demonstrated how it contributed to the making of the Rohingya crisis by depriving the Rohingya ethnicity of their legitimate right to self-determination. In his speech, the inherent relationship between colonialism and international law and the way they shape the future of postcolonial states was also highlighted.
Besides teaching at Birmingham Law School, Dr. Shahabuddin is a Junior Faculty Member for Harvard Law School’s Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) Workshop since 2013. He is also the author of Ethnicity and International Law: Histories, Politics, and Practices (Cambridge University Press, 2016). He is currently working on a new book project – Minorities and the Making of Postcolonial States in International Law (Cambridge University Press, 2021) – under the Leverhulme Trust Research Fellowship (2018-2020).
A total of 90 law students, academics and practitioners attended the inaugural lecture of BUP Law Lecture Series 2018. After delivering his speech, the keynote speaker also answered to the questions posed by the participants. The programme came to an end with the vote of thanks forwarded by Lt. Col. (retd.) Siraj Uddin Ahmed, psc, Chairman of Law Department, BUP.
Covered by Law Desk.
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