For decades, multilateralism has been the guiding principle for regulating international trade relations between states. The European Union (EU) has long championed this approach, firmly believing that global cooperation - ideally through consensus among all countries - is the most effective way to...
On 17 April, many of us had the pleasure of attending an IGIR Expert Lecture by John Clarke, former Chief Agriculture Negotiator of the European Union and former Head of the EU Delegation to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations in Geneva. He is currently a fellow at the Maastricht...
On 30 May 2024, the Council of the European Union announced its final approval of the Union’s long anticipated withdrawal from what can fairly be labelled as the most controversial international treaty ever, the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Last year’s COP28 has resulted in a ‘historic’ mention of fossil fuels in its final decision, be it in a rather limited way. Where does the EU, the forerunner in climate action, stand when it comes to the elimination of fossil fuels? This post highlights a few problematic features of the EU’s policy...
A male senior manager enthusiastically slapping a female colleague’s buttocks – is that acceptable? And what if a female staff member did this to her female supervisor? Or a manager who puts his arm around a colleague who is having a hard time? What is crossing the line? Who decides?
Asylum-seekers at the Greek island of Lesbos are in a vulnerable position. They claim basic human rights and hold the Europeans accountable. What can a human rights scholar do? His role is limited. When there is no political will, compassion and solidarity are gone.
The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 25th anniversary of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights are a landmark in the development of human rights and a source of inspiration for academic research on new global human rights issues.
The US government is breaching its obligation to promote universal respect for human rights by cutting back on its contribution to UNRWA for aid to Palestinian refugees. Other states have extraterritorial human rights obligations to compensate for this reduction.
On 6 June, IGIR fellow Dr. Iveta Alexovičová, Assistant Professor of International Economic Law, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, delivered a lecture entilted "Substance alongside procedure - a lesson learned?".
