The Palestinian Institute for International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, at the Faculty of Law and Political Science at An-Najah National University, organized an advanced academic forum on International Law, Apartheid, and Advocacy for Palestine. The forum was held in cooperation with the Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway, and took place in Amman, Jordan, from 2 to 3 September 2025, with the participation of leading academics and experts in international law and human rights from various Palestinian and Irish universities.

Over the course of two days, the forum featured six workshops addressing key legal and political challenges related to the Palestinian cause within the framework of international law. On the first day, Professor Shane Darcy of the Irish Centre for Human Rights delivered a workshop on contemporary challenges in international humanitarian law, with a particular focus on Palestine, highlighting the shortcomings of international law mechanisms and institutions. This was followed by a session led by Professor John Reynolds of Maynooth University on apartheid in international law, where discussions concluded that Israeli occupation policies go beyond apartheid and constitute part of a broader process of genocide against the Palestinian people. The third session was co-led by Dr. John Aasi of An-Najah National University and Dr. Munir Nuseibah of Al-Quds University, who explored the historical evolution of the legal status of Palestinians from 1948, and examined how Israeli policies have produced a system of "civil status engineering" that subjects Palestinians to systematic hierarchies of displacement and dispossession.

On the second day, Dr. Pearce Clancy of Trinity College and the Irish Centre for Human Rights discussed mechanisms of accountability in international law, focusing on the International Criminal Court, universal jurisdiction, and related challenges. Professor Mutaz Qafisheh then led a session addressing the obstacles facing Palestinian academics and proposed strategies to strengthen their legal and scholarly engagement. The forum concluded with a joint session facilitated by Dr. Pearce Clancy and Ms. Bisan Abtli, Coordinator of the Institute’s establishment project, which provided an open and constructive space to explore pathways for legal advocacy and to strengthen academic cooperation networks between Palestinian and international scholars.

This forum comes as part of the activities implemented by the Palestinian Institute of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, under the EU-funded project for the establishment of the Institute. The initiative aims to foster serious academic collaboration, build strategies to enhance the capacities of a new generation of students, researchers, and legal practitioners, and create platforms for in-depth dialogue on the legal and human rights issues central to Palestine.