探花直播 of Cambridge - Marc Weller

Russia-Ukraine 鈥榦ff-ramp鈥�: potential plan drafted by Cambridge peace negotiator

fpjl2 — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 16:27:02 +0000

Update (16 March): Prof Weller has now published a聽Possible Draft of a Framework Agreement on the Restoration of Peaceful Relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.

Cambridge, 14 March 鈥� A 鈥渇inely balanced formula鈥� in which the disputed Donbas regions have increased self-governance but remain Ukrainian, and a tacit 鈥渟tatus quo鈥� for Crimea is agreed along with rights for minority groups, could help provide an 鈥渙ff-ramp鈥� for both sides in Russia鈥檚 war on Ukraine.聽聽聽聽聽聽

This is according to a proposed settlement designed by Marc Weller, Professor of International Law at the 探花直播 of Cambridge and leading legal expert, who has mediated in a wide range of conflicts for the United Nations and others, including Kosovo, Syria, Yemen and Russian-occupied Transnistria.

Weller鈥檚 suggested deal would see NATO maintain its 鈥渙pen door鈥� policy but grant Russia medium-term assurances on an effective moratorium for Ukraine, and possibly Moldova and Georgia, while allowing Sweden and Finland access if wished.

While nuclear arms controlled by the United States remain in Europe, the peace plan compels a return to negotiations on limitations of intermediate-range nuclear weapons on both sides, as part of several 鈥渃onfidence-building鈥� steps.聽聽聽

Importantly, Weller argues that no agreement should intrude on pursuing Russian accountability for the horrific war crimes witnessed by the world in recent weeks, which may ultimately see demands for trillions of dollars in reparations to Ukraine.

His proposal is published by international law forum Opinio Juris in the form of a draft outline agreement.

鈥淎 settlement will only be possible when victory is unlikely, or when losses imposed upon either side by a continuation of conflict become truly unbearable,鈥� said Weller. 鈥淭hat moment may come sooner or later, but in any event, we be must be ready to help establish peace.鈥�

鈥� 探花直播sense of outrage and injustice on the part of Ukraine will be difficult to overcome. It is vital the Ukrainian government is not pressured into accepting outcomes that reward a war of aggression.鈥�

Moscow demands recognition of the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk, the 鈥渟tates鈥� in eastern Ukraine鈥檚 Donbas region recognised by Russia at the outset of the conflict.

Their supposed independence was cynically used by Russia to argue a right of self-defence of these purportedly sovereign states, says Weller. He argues that these are 鈥渘on-states鈥�, and backing for purported statehood is not possible under international law.

Weller advocates a revised version of 2015鈥檚 Minsk II agreement that Russia has long complained was never fully implemented 鈥� one offering plenty of autonomy to both districts yet keeping them within Ukraine鈥檚 sovereign territory.

His proposed compromise, a form of 鈥渁symmetrical federation鈥�, would see overall claims of statehood abandoned, but areas 鈥� or Oblasts 鈥� within the Donbas that have ethnic or linguistic majorities be given greatly enhanced local self-governance.

鈥淯nless Donetsk and Luhansk walk back their unfeasible claims to statehood, they will remain trapped in the twilight of international isolation, even with Russia propping them up,鈥� said Weller, a Fellow of Hughes Hall.

鈥淎 settlement that keeps them as Ukrainian provinces but in an environment of self-government 鈥� almost virtual statehood 鈥� will allow both Oblasts authority over all their territory, rather than just the third taken by force in 2014,鈥� he said.

鈥淭his would be balanced by internationally guaranteed rights to genuine local elections and safeguards for the right of minority populations 鈥� whether Russian speaking or Ukrainian.鈥澛犅�

International observers should be maintained throughout to reassure populations of all backgrounds, says Weller, as should the possibility of cross-border links to the Russian Federation to placate separatist groups.

While cease-fire and retreat of forces 鈥� along with full humanitarian access 鈥� are conditions that underpin the settlement, Russian withdrawal from the Donbas regions could be subject to a 鈥渢ransitional phase鈥�. 鈥淗owever, Ukraine must not suffer de-facto division forever more as a consequence of turning the invasion into a frozen conflict,鈥� Weller said.

Crimea cannot be formally recognised as part of Russia, Weller contends, regardless of Kremlin demands. However, both sides could pledge not to challenge the 鈥渢erritorial status quo鈥� of the situation as of 23 February 2022 forcibly or perhaps in general terms, for the sake of hostility cessation.

This balancing act would require international cooperation to secure rights for Crimea鈥檚 non-Russian speakers, and see the region鈥檚 Tatars 鈥� a mainly Muslim population persecuted during the Soviet years 鈥� benefit from a restoration of the ethnic minority 鈥渟pecial protection鈥� they once had.聽聽

While NATO鈥檚鈥渙pen door鈥� policy will remain unshakeable in principle, Washington has already floated possible moratoria on Ukraine membership. Any settlement could adapt this into a self-imposed limitation by Ukraine for a given period of time 鈥� expressed through a legally binding unilateral declaration. Weller argues that such commitments could extend to Georgia and Moldova if needed.

He also outlines 鈥淐ooperative European Security Architecture鈥� strategies to help reassure eastern European states that will not join NATO in the medium-term.

This would draw on existing arrangements as well as establish further steps to build transparency and keep regional tensions in check: rules for military flights toward national borders; prior notice agreements for military manoeuvres; arms limitations in key areas, supported by third-party verification.聽聽

Read more about the proposed settlement from Marc Weller in the Scotsman.聽

An international law expert outlines terms for a possible agreement on Ukraine, including proposals for the Donbas and Crimea regions, and a 'Cooperative European Security Architecture'.聽聽聽聽

It is vital the Ukrainian government is not pressured into accepting outcomes that reward a war of aggression

Marc Weller

Ministry of Defence Ukraine

A Ukrainian soldier near the front lines in the Donbas region in 2015

探花直播text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright 漏探花直播 of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified.聽 All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways 鈥� as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

Yes

Licence type:

Attribution-ShareAlike

Russian attempts to invoke international law dismantled

fpjl2 — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 17:01:16 +0000

Professor Marc Weller, a leading expert in international law and advisor on a large number of peace negotiations, debunks in turn Russia鈥檚 attempts to invoke international law.

Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 awards showcase Cambridge researchers' public engagement and societal impact

Anonymous — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 15:26:38 +0000

Hundreds of post-war peace settlements were trawled through by a team at Cambridge鈥檚 Lauterpacht Centre for International Law to build this innovative research tool. Outputs from the work have been used to assist mediators engaged with聽some of the world's most violent and tragic conflicts.

探花直播announcement was made at a prize ceremony held at the Old Schools on 9 July, during which a number of other awards were also presented to Cambridge researchers for projects that have made significant contributions to society 鈥� including work on prisons, pandemics, and pollution.

Professor Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the 探花直播 of Cambridge, says: 鈥淭his award scheme, now in its third year, received nearly a hundred nominations from all areas of research within the 探花直播, which were of an extremely high calibre across the board.鈥�

鈥淚mpact is at the heart of the 探花直播鈥檚 mission. Engaging the public is crucial to helping our 探花直播 deliver on its mission, and to be a good citizen in our city and community. Institutions such as ours have a vital role to play in restoring trust and faith in expertise and ways of knowing.鈥�

Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Impact Awards

探花直播Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Impact Awards were established to recognise and reward those whose research has led to excellent impact beyond academia, whether on the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life. Each winner receives a prize of 拢1,000 and a trophy, with the overall winner 鈥� Prof Marc Weller from the Faculty of Law 鈥� receiving 拢2,000.

This year鈥檚 winners are:

Overall winner: Marc Weller (Faculty of Law)

Making and sustaining international peace

Drawing on a ten-year research programme addressing self-determination and ethnic conflicts, the Legal Tools of Peace-making project聽presents, for the first time, the vast practice revealed through peace agreements on an issue-by issue basis, making it instantly accessible to practitioners and academics.

探花直播project, led by Weller, uses this repository to derive realistic settlement options for use in actual peace-negotiations, and making these available to the United Nations, the African Union, the EU and other mediating agencies. 探花直播work has had immediate impact on on-going, high-level peace negotiations in the inter-ethnic negotiations in Myanmar, the UN-led negotiations on Syria, discussions on Catalonia, the independence of Kosovo, Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia and several others. 聽聽

Marko Hyv枚nen聽(Department of Biochemistry)

Production of growth factors for stem cell research

鈥楪rowth factors鈥� are proteins that regulate many aspects of cellular function 鈥� including proliferation. These complex proteins are essential for stem cell research, to differentiate stem cells into the specific cell types found in our bodies. 聽

Hyv枚nen and colleagues have used their expertise as structural biologists to develop methods to efficiently produce growth factors in extremely high quality: reducing cost to the stem cell community locally, and facilitating world-class research. They have spun out a company to supply these proteins for researchers around the globe and secured an Innovate UK grant for the company. 聽

Ryan Williams (Centre of Islamic Studies)

Re-imagining Citizenship

Williams鈥� research on Islam and society works on the borderlines of religious studies and criminology, challenging practitioners and policy-makers to think holistically about social inclusion and the role of religion in contemporary society.

His research has been incorporated into: guidelines on countering prison radicalisation, adopted by the European Commission in 2017; the evidence base for the Lammy Review on equality and implementing its recommendations; a course on the Good Life Good Society, adopted in 2016 in a high security prison. Read Ryan's This Cambridge Life here.聽

Florin Udrea (Department of Engineering)

Cambridge CMOS Sensors

Sensors that sniff the air can warn us of pollution in city streets, offices and homes. Breathe on these sensors and they can check our health. But they are normally big, heavy and drain batteries quickly.

Florin Udrea and his team set out to create environmental micro-sensors that are ultra-efficient and small enough for smart phones, watches and air purifiers in smart homes. Their spin-off, Cambridge CMOS Sensors, was acquired by AMS in 2016, which is now shipping products.

Julia Gog (Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics)

Harnessing mathematics to help control influenza

Predicting the evolution of the seasonal human influenza virus to better inform vaccination selection is critical to controlling the spread of influenza each year. Moreover, a rarer global outbreak pandemic would have severe consequences on loss of life and the economy, and is viewed by the UK government as a major threat to the UK due to both its high likelihood and severity of outcome.

Julia Gog worked with data gathered through the BBC鈥檚 Pandemic project to produce mathematical modelling that helps predict how UK populations move and interact, and consequently how and where a virus would spread. 聽

Tim Cox (Department of Medicine)

Innovative Treatments for Lysosomal diseases

Niemann-Pick C, Tay-Sachs, Sandhoff and Gaucher diseases are genetic lysosomal diseases that affect several organs, including the brain, resulting in painful symptoms, neurological complications and early death. Tim Cox is a leading UK clinical investigator for Lysosomal diseases, exploring the rebalancing of excess production of the toxic sphingolipids, which cause these diseases.

His work has developed effective treatments that have been introduced into the clinic, improving patient outcomes. This research has also identified a definitive correction of the cruel children鈥檚 condition, Tay-Sachs disease, through gene transfer. After successful preclinical work, a 探花直播 spin-out, Cambridge Gene Therapy, is accelerating the clinical programme for this disease.

Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Public Engagement with Research Awards

探花直播Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Public Engagement with Research Awards were set up to recognise and reward those who undertake quality engagement with research. Each winner receives a 拢1000 personal prize and a trophy. This year鈥檚 winners are:

Sophie Seita (Faculty of English)

Seita produced a collaborative multi-media creative project that combined experimental performances, lecture performances, poetry, publications, and installations; both emerging from and feeding back into research. Presented as star-gazing conversations with a number of Enlightenment writings in English, French, and German, from tragedies, melodramas, philosophical treatises to proto-romantic romances of the period, the work investigates which aspects of the Enlightenment still speak to us today, and was performed at the 探花直播鈥檚 Festival of Ideas.

Anna Spathis and Stephen Barclay (Department of Public Health and Primary Care)

Fatigue, an extreme tiredness that affects the mind as well as the body, is the single most common and distressing symptom experienced by teenagers and young adults with cancer. Spathis and Barclay worked with these young patients to co-design a treatment for fatigue that meets their unique needs. Read Anna and Stephen discuss how public involvement contributed to the research outcomes here.聽

Charlotte Payne (Department of Zoology)

Working together with farmers and scientists at every stage, Payne developed a participatory research project on the sustainable use of edible caterpillars in southwestern Burkina Faso, and has explained the methods, aims and results to a variety of public audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Read Charlotte discussing edible insects on the BBC here.

Ragnhild Dale (Scott Polar Research Institute)

Dale was a researcher and assistant dirtector on a three-day staging of a mock trial version of the ground-breaking lawsuit where Norwegian environmental organisations Greenpeace and Nature and Youth are suing the Norwegian Government for allegedly allowing unconstitutional oil exploration in the Barents Sea. 探花直播project inviting expert witnesses from academia, industry and NGOs to testify in our production in Kirkenes, bringing the drama of the trial directly to the people who live and work in the north.聽

探花直播first major repository of legal practices for mediators and conflict parties to draw on when negotiating peace has won the top prize in this year鈥檚 Vice-Chancellor鈥檚 Impact Awards at the 探花直播 of Cambridge.

Impact is at the heart of the 探花直播鈥檚 mission

Stephen Toope

Yes