Des Travers talk on Palestine investigations to Maynooth Law

Kilcullen's Colonel Des Travers will provide his reflections on military and legal perspectives on the Gaza Strip in a talk at Maynooth University on Monday evening, 23 March, writes Brian Byrne.

The talk coincides with the presentation of a report to the UN Human Rights Council by an independent Commission of Inquiry on the Gaza Conflict set up to investigate violations of international and humanitarian human rights law following last summer's 'Operation Protective Edge' by Israel against the Palestinian community, in which more than 2,100 people died, mostly civilian inhabitants of Gaza. Some 11,000 Gazans were also injured by Israeli bombing and shelling.

Des Travers, who has been interviewed on his experiences several times here on the Diary, served with various UN peacekeeping missions in the Middle East and the Balkans. He is now a director of the Institute for International Criminal Investigations in the Hague, where he trains and supports teams involved in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Colonel Travers was a member of the Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict that was deployed by the United Nations in 2009, following Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’ in the Gaza Strip.

The talk is in the Renehan Hall, South Campus, Maynooth University. Attendance is free and all are welcome; please email law@nuim.ie to register. The event is organised by Maynooth University Department of Law.