I’m Back

I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog for the past couple of weeks. I’ve been travelling – first to Oslo, and then to Paris.  I was in Oslo for a conference organized by ACL’s own Gro Nystuen and the International Law and Policy Institute.  It was a great first session of a two-session conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law – the papers from which will also comprise an edited volume to be published by Cambridge University Press.  It was a great meeting with high quality presenters covering jus in bello, jus ad bellum, and nonproliferation law aspects of nuclear weapons possession and use. ACL’s own Marco Roscini was also in attendance, and gave a great paper on the ME WMD FZ. My presentation was on NPT Article VI and the obligation of nuclear disarmament. The conference was extremely well organized. I just had to take a picture one morning of the sign on the doorway leading to the room in which the conference was to be held that day – a different room than had originally been planned. In the context of the conference, all the participants knew exactly what it meant. But I wondered what a casual passerby might have thought of the sign. I thought of naming this post “Evidence of Norwegian Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Uncovered,” but I decided to demur. Who knows, maybe Albright will pick up the scent on this one too. I can see it now – a new ISIS report, and a corresponding post over at Arms Control Wonk with 200 comments, fearfully speculating about what it all must mean, and where Norway’s red line is – after which there will be nothing stopping it from nuking Stockholm. Sigh.

My next stop was Paris, where I gave two presentations. The first was on Thursday at the University of Paris Ouest (Nanterre), where I gave a conférence d’actualité at the invitation of Professor Mathias Forteau, sponsored by the Centre de Droit International De Nanterre (CEDIN). My presentation was on Iran’s nuclear program and international law. Monday I gave a similar presentation at the Centre Thucydide, University of Paris II (Pantheon-Assas), at the invitation of Professor Serge Sur. Both of my hosts in Paris were extremely gracious, and there were great discussion periods with the students and others in attendance at the lectures.

I do have some thoughts and developments to report in subsequent posts.