India, China and the UN Charter Order in the Age of the Russia-Ukraine Crisis
A conversation with UN Under-Secretary General David M. Malone
This event was recorded on October 24, 2022.
About the event
Russia’s actions in Ukraine have raised questions about the future of the United Nations (UN). Many UN members have supported US-led efforts to impose sanctions on Russia, to condemn the invasion of Ukraine, to suspend Russia’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council, and to establish a UN Commission to investigate alleged war crimes in Ukraine. However, two formidable states, namely China and India, have been among the ones resisting the need to “take sides” in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At a time when the capacity for effective UN Security Council responses, even in response to aggression, seems stymied, how should we understand the posture of China and India in response to Ukraine and other formidable global challenges, including climate change? This is the rare opportunity to engage in conversation with a leading UN insider – at a time when the UN faces what some consider to be an “existential crisis.”
This event is co-sponsored by the APEC Study Center at Columbia University.
About the speaker
Dr. David M. Malone
Dr. David M. Malone is rector of the United Nations University and under-secretary-general of the United Nations. He has served as Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, president of Canada’s International Development Research Centre, director general of the Policy, International Organizations and Global Issues Bureaus within Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), president of the International Peace Academy (now International Peace Institute), Canadian high commissioner to India, and non-resident ambassador to Bhutan and Nepal, along with other diplomatic positions. Dr. Malone has held research posts in the Economic Studies Program at Brookings Institution, Massey College at the University of Toronto, and Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University. He has been a guest scholar and adjunct professor at Columbia University and an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law, where he is currently a senior fellow. His latest books are The UN Security Council in the 21st Century (co-editor) and the second edition of Law and Practice of the United Nations (co-author).
About the moderator
José E. Alvarez
José E. Alvarez is the Herbert and Rose Rubin Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law and the faculty director of USALI. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Institut de Droit International, and the Council on Foreign Relations. He is a former president of the American Society of International Law and previous co-editor-in-chief of the American Journal of International Law. He teaches courses on international law, foreign investment, and international organizations. His more than 140 articles and book chapters and six books have made substantial scholarly contributions to a wide range of subjects within international law, including the law-generating rules of international organizations, the challenges facing international criminal tribunals, the boundaries between “public” and private,” and the legitimacy issues surrounding the international investment regime. His most recent books include The Impact of International Organizations on International Law (2017) (originating from his General Course offered at the Xiamen Academy of International Law), International Investment Law (2017), and The Boundaries of Investment Arbitration (2018).