The Role of the Media, Storytellers and Artists

The conference brings together international law scholars, practitioners, journalists and artists to reflect on the legacy of the so-called ‘war on terror’ (WOT) today, and the implications for the future. It will examine both continuities and transformations of the WOT, tracing how characteristics and patterns—such as militarisation, dehumanisation, legal imperialism and exceptionalism—have evolved from the WOT initiated nearly a quarter century ago. It also seeks to look forward, exploring synergies between international law, media and the arts in responding to the challenges that arise. The conversation—and exhibition that follows it—invites us to reflect on the dynamic between artistic expression and the pursuit of justice, especially where legal avenues are limited or obstructed.

The backdrop for the discussion are the pervasive and flagrant international law violations around the globe, echoing the WOT’s logic, methods and justifications, and the challenges they pose. Glaring examples include extra-judicial killings of so-called ‘narco-terrorists’ by the US in Caribbean waters, the evolution to openly transactional imperialism in current interventions and regime change in Venezuela, or US-Israeli military assault on Iran, assassinating its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pursuant to evolving stated aims that have been compared to the ‘scattershot’ justifications of the WOT era. More broadly, the WOT shadow continues to spread, such as through the designation of migrants, civil society, protesters or political opponents as ‘terrorists’, evolving migration laws and policies—including ICE brutality and detention at Guantánamo—or the normalisation of the repression of dissent and the erosion of democratic safeguards across the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Europe, among many others. Pretexts include familiar notions of endless ‘wars’ on ill-defined enemies, the dangerous ‘other’ and ‘great powers’ exceptionalism.

Many of the most emblematic WOT violations continue, unaddressed and increasingly unseen. This is epitomised by the ongoing detention and torture at Guantánamo, or the complete impunity for CIA torture to which many states contributed, and the lack of meaningful reparation for its victims despite almost two decades of justice efforts.

The conference is an opportunity to reflect together on the influence of the WOT on key rule of law challenges today, and what we can learn from legal and other responses to them. How do we reflect on the role of law, the strengths and limits of the pursuit of justice, accountability, and the role of multilateral mechanisms? Do patterns of Western legal double standards—visible from Guantánamo to Gaza to Tehran—shape the credibility and legitimacy of international law as a whole, and if so, then what are the implications moving forward? What role have the arts and media played in this context, alongside justice processes? Are there synergies that can be exploited to better give effect to human rights and rule of law in divisive and challenging contexts?

The discussion will be followed by the launch of the exhibition ‘Art/Justice by Abu Zubaydah’. It is the first exhibition in the UK of the original art of CIA torture victim and Guantánamo ‘forever prisoner’ Abu Zubaydah, who has now been detained without charge for 24 years. The UK government recently paid a settlement to end a civil case brought by Abu Zubaydah, in relation to UK complicity in his torture and extraordinary rendition, raising questions as to what more should be done. The exhibition opens at a moment when the UK’s own relationship to US military and legal exceptionalism is once again under acute scrutiny, as British bases and aircraft are drawn into a conflict that has been characterised as an illegal war of aggression.