Report on the Armed Forces Law Association of New Zealand Conference: 28-30 August 2009, Wellington NZ

Abstract

The Armed Forces Law Association of New Zealand has again staged a highly successful conference, which built upon the success of the 2008 conference in Christchurch. The theme of the conference was Human Rights and the Military. This attracted a wide range of speakers from the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand and Australia. The first keynote address from Anthony Cleland-Welch OBE set the scene through a personal perspective of the British experience of human rights in military operations over recent decades. The first day then had a focus upon operational issues with a number of papers discussing the interaction between international humanitarian law and human rights - particularly with respect to extra territoriality, detention, targeting in Afghanistan and also the European Convention on Human Rights. Other papers addressed piracy, insurgency, gender issues in peacekeeping operations, command responsibility and cluster munitions. A highlight was the lunchtime address by Greens MP Dr Kennedy Graham on the International Non-Aggression and Lawful Use of Force Bill currently before the New Zealand Parliament. Brigadier Kevin Riordan NZDF and Captain Rob McLaughlin RAN closed the day with presentations on current operations and legal issues in the NZDF and ADF respectively.