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Home » Lecture on “Armed Conflict and the Environment” from Dr. Marja Lehto

Lecture on “Armed Conflict and the Environment” from Dr. Marja Lehto

You can view the recording of the event here

Join us on Monday 18 March at 10-12 am in room AU111 (Joensuu campus) and online for an “Armed conflict and the environment” lecture from Dr. Marja Lehto!

For online attendance, please register here by 14 March.

Dr. Lehto is Ambassador for International Legal Affairs at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Adjunct Professor of International Law at the University of Helsinki. She served as the Special Rapporteur for the United Nations International Law Commission (ILC) on the topic “Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflicts” from 2017 to 2022. She is also a member of the Council of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law since 2019. Dr. Lehto has also served, inter alia, as Legal Adviser to the Finnish UN Mission in New York (1995–2000), as Head of the Unit for Public International Law at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (2000–09), and as Finland’s Ambassador to Luxembourg (2009–14). In 2023, Dr. Marja Lehto was awarded the Elisabeth Haub Award for Environmental Law and Diplomacy for her pivotal role in advancing environmental law and policy to protect the environment in times of armed conflicts. Dr Lehto has published on a broad range of international legal questions.

Dr. Lehto’s lecture focuses on the intricate relationship between international law, armed conflict and the environment. Dr. Lehto will discuss the relevant work of the ILC and explore how international law protects the environment in armed conflicts and post-conflict situations. She will also share her insights as to what the future might hold for international law in this field.

Welcome!