At the Cutting Edge of Atrocity Prevention: Law, Technology, and Journalism in Myanmar

The February 1 military coup in Myanmar has challenged
international law and the global institutions tasked with
protecting civilians and preventing mass atrocities. What
started as a short-term crisis has turned into an ongoing
conflict that has exacerbated existing concerns of atrocities
targeting ethnic minorities. The current abuses by the
Tatmadaw have raised concerns around the role that
international law and technology have played in failing to
prevent or even facilitating the military?s actions. At the
same time, the official story by the state-run media has been challenged by law student journalists and civil society activists on the ground using social media platforms to disseminate information to the global community.

This roundtable will discuss how the conflict in Myanmar
has further spotlighted failures of the international law and
relations systems, how technology and modern journalism are challenging those failures, and what options exist for pursuing a path to peace in Myanmar.

Speakers include:

BERNARD HIBBITTS, Professor of Law, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of JURIST

WAI WAI NU, Founder & Executive Director, Women?s Peace Network

D. WES RIST, Deputy Executive Director, American Society of International Law

JURIST MYANMAR LAW STUDENT REPORTERS (Anonymized for their safety)

ELIZABETH SHACKELFORD, Senior Fellow, US Foreign Policy, Chicago Council on Global Affairs