Professor Milena Sterio conducted an online expert training for a cohort of Ukrainian prosecutors on prosecuting environmental crimes, as ecocide or as war crimes.  The training was organized by the International Bar Association, and it took place on March 27th.  Professor Sterio focused on the definition of the war crime of destruction against the environment under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, as well as on the development of the crime of ecocide under national law as well as international criminal law.  Professor Sterio has already conducted similar trainings in person with different cohorts of Ukrainian prosecutors. 

Professor Milena Sterio moderated a debate on the legality of Operation Epic Fury (Iran) on March 26.  The debate was organized by the Federalist Society at Ohio Northern University Law School, and it featured Professor Dan Maurer (Ohio Northern) and Professor Robert Turner (University of Virginia Law School).  

Professor Milena Sterio participated as an expert and moderator in a United Nations event on March 10, titled “Women’s Equal Right to Participate in the Judiciary and Women’s Access to Justice: More Women, More Access.”  This event was organized as a side event to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference at UN headquarters in New York City. 

The event focused on the need for equal and inclusive participation of women in the international judiciary, including at the International Court of Justice.  The panelists included Ambassador Jennifer Feller, Director General for Human Rights and Democracy, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Catherine Amirfar, Partner & Co-Chair, International Dispute Resolution and Public International Law Groups, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Ms. Akila Radhakrishnan, Legal Advisor, End Gender Apartheid Campaign; Professor Jelena Pia-Comella, Independent Expert, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) ; Amanda Chong, Counsellor (Legal), Permanent Mission of Singapore to the United Nations; Ms. Amie Lewis, Senior Program Officer and Lead, Women in Leadership in Law (WILIL) Initiative, International Association of Women Judges; Claudia M. Flores, Chair of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls; and Lucía Solano, Legal Adviser to the Permanent Mission of Colombia. 

The event was organized by the Gender Parity at the ICJ project, co-sponsored by the American Branch of the International Law Association, the Women in International Law Interest Group at the American Society of International Law, as well the Permanent Missions of Canada, Mexico, Sweden, and Singapore.  

Professor Milena Sterio provided an expert review for Kriminologie, a peer reviewed online journal in the field of criminology based in Germany.  Professor Sterio’s expert review focused on an article about the role of war crimes prosecutions in the transitional justice process of Kosovo.   

Professor Milena Sterio spoke at the British International Law Studies Association webinar on February 24, on the topic of “Trump, US Foreign Policy, and International Law.”  Professor Sterio’s remarks focused on use of force issues under international law in light of President Trump’s intervention in Venezuela, and the Administration’s threats against Iran and Greenland.  

Professor Milena Sterio was an invited speaker at the Armenian International Law Association Conference in Yerevan, Armenia, on February 14, in Yerevan, Armenia, “Rethinking International Law: Knowledge, Action, Reflection.”

She presented on a panel titled “International Courts and Beyond: Various Pathways of International Law Enforcement” on the specific topic of The Role of Domestic Courts in Global Peace and Security.  In her remarks, Professor Sterio focused on how different courts can play a role in transitions toward peace and security, by holding states responsible for international law violations, and by imposing individual criminal responsibility on perpetrators of atrocity crimes.