The Post-Postcolonial Woman or Child

Abstract

This essay is based on remarks given as Distinguished Discussant for the 16th annual Grotius Lecture at the 2014 Annual Meeting of the American Society of International Law/Biennial Conference of the International Law Association. The essay examines the international law status of women, on the one hand, and children, on the other, through the contemporary lens of the post-postcolonial world and the historical lens of Hugo Grotius and the colonialist era. In so doing, the essay responds to the principal Grotius Lecture, "Women and Children: The Cutting Edge of International Law," which was delivered by Radhika Coomarswamy, NYU Global Professor of Law and former Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary-General on Children & Armed Conflict and U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.

Keywords: colonialism, postcolonialism, Hugo Grotius, international law, women, children, International Criminal Court, United Nations, social and economic rights, human rights, peace, armed conflict, Security Council, child soldiers

JEL Classification: K1, K10, K14, K33, K19, K40, K42, K41