Kent Law School Professor Nick Grief and Shona Illingworth (Kent School of Arts) have been in Australia for the second hearing of The Airspace Tribunal, a people’s tribunal that is considering the case for and against the recognition of a new human right to protect the freedom to live without physical or psychological threat from above.
The Tribunal hearing was held at The Ethics Centre in Sydney on 14 October as part of The Big Anxiety, an international arts festival organised by the University of New South Wales.
As at the inaugural hearing in London last year, experts across a range of disciplines and lived experience made representations on whether increased protection through the proposed new human right is needed. The panel was then questioned by Counsel to the Tribunal and members of the audience. In addition to Professor Grief and Shona Illingworth, speakers included:
- Felicity Ruby: former political adviser to Senator Scott Ludlam, Greenpeace International, the UN Development Fund for Women, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, now doing doctoral research on transnational political movements resisting mass surveillance
- Brett Biddington: founder of a consulting company specialising in space and cyber security and a former member of Cisco Systems’ global space team and Royal Australian Air Force officer specialising in intelligence, security and capability development
- Steven Freeland: Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University who represents the Australian government at UN conferences and has advised various governments on the regulation of space activities
- Sebastian Pfautsch: tree physiologist, Senior Research Fellow and Drone Research and Teaching Unit lead at Western Sydney University
- Safdar Ahmed: a Sydney-based artist and academic who works mostly in the mediums of drawing and comics and is a founder member of community art organisation, the Refugee Art Project
- Sara Miris: an Iranian-Australian artist and industrial engineer based in Sydney who, as a child, lived through the war between Iraq and Iran and now volunteers as a workshop facilitator with the Refugee Art Project
- Majid Rabet: an electromechanical engineer by trade who experienced the Iran-Iraq war as an adult, came to Australia from Iran as a refugee in 2009 and, having discovered art whilst in immigration detention, now leads art workshops for communities across Western Sydney.
The Sydney hearing was chaired by journalist and curator Jackie Dent. Counsel to the Tribunal was Andrew Byrnes, Professor of international law at the University of New South Wales, former Chair of the Australian Human Rights Centre and rapporteur of the International Law Association’s Committee on International Human Rights Law.
Professor Grief said: ‘It was a very successful event, a wonderful follow up to London. Shona and I are extremely grateful to all our speakers and supporters. We heard thought-provoking arguments on both sides of the debate. For me, the most powerful aspect was hearing Sara and Majid recall what it was like to live under the constant threat of aerial bombardment during the Iran-Iraq war and how psychological trauma continues today as a result of the ongoing threat of war. Professor Byrnes alluded to that in his excellent summing up in which he stressed “the need to think more about harm over time, something that International Humanitarian Law does not deal well with”. We shall certainly be building on this in future hearings as we develop the case for the proposed new human right grounded in lived experience.’
The Airspace Tribunal is part of Topologies of Air, Shona Illingworth’s major new video and sound installation that will examine the impact of accelerating geopolitical, technological and environmental change on the composition, nature and use of airspace. Further hearings are planned across the world including Japan, South Africa and the Middle East. Each hearing is being recorded and transcribed to help form the drafting history of the proposed new right.
Professor Grief specialises in international law and human rights. He teaches Public International Law and EU Law at Kent Law School and practises at the Bar from Doughty Street Chambers.
Shona Illingworth is a Reader in Fine Art. She is a Scottish-Danish artist who works across a range of media including video, sound, photography and drawing.
Pictured above (from left to right): Majid Rabet, Sara Miris, Safdar Ahmed, Andrew Byrnes (Counsel), Steven Freeland