In the future, it will be difficult to pinpoint the exact date marking the end of the so-called “international order” established by the victors of World War II. However, we can say with some certainty that one of the most significant blows to this order occurred in 2024. This blow was not dealt by critics of the order, such as China, the Russian Federation, or Iran, nor by the growing number of Western political leaders with authoritarian tendencies, but was instead coordinated among statesmen of leading North American and European countries who are either centrist or liberal-democratic in orientation. The paradox, therefore, is that the order is threatened precisely from the political platform of the transatlantic alliance, which has invested the most in the development and promotion of the values of democracy and human rights. The lecture examines the type and extent of violations of international humanitarian law during the war in Gaza, expert reactions, and the consequences of the international community’s failure to stop the year-long humanitarian catastrophe. 

Djordje Djordjević worked for 15 years as an advisor on peacebuilding, rule of law, and security at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), leading technical assistance for transitional justice processes in more than 10 countries across all continents. Djordje studied philosophy in Belgrade, earned a master’s degree from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, and completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at The New School University in New York with a dissertation on Hannah Arendt and the prevention of mass atrocities. He is currently an independent expert for the United Nations in the occupied Palestinian territory, focusing on the implementation of human rights in recovery programs in Gaza and the West Bank, and resides in East Jerusalem.