Is International Law Built for Today's Wars?

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast
Is there any prospect for accountability when major powers ignore international law? Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and legal expert Louise Arbour answers.
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About The Episode

As the US-Israel war on Iran continues, the international rules, laws, and norms meant to govern it are collapsing and being rewritten. Does international law still matter? And how are modern conflicts reshaping accountability and impunity? Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour breaks down what’s changing, whether laws and norms are eroding, and if these don’t hold—what comes next. 

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About the Experts
Louise Arbour
Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Louise Arbour Headshot
Louise Arbour is special counsel for Borden Ladner Gervais, LLP. She served as Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda from 1996-1999. She was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada in 1999, and served until 2004, when she was appointed as United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights where she served until 2008. She currently serves as a board member for the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Louise Arbour Headshot
Leslie Vinjamuri
President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She is Professor of Practice in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.
Leslie Vinjamuri headshot
Issues Global Politics
Regions Global
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