Al Gillespie
Alexander M. Gillespie is Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Professor of Law at the University of Waikato specialising in international law related to war, the environment and civil liberties. He has served on international delegations including UNESCO, advised the New Zealand government on social issues and made a number of appearances before the Waitangi Tribunal. Gillespie frequently takes public positions on global conflict, climate change, refugees and environmental issues in the New Zealand media and has published seventeen books. He has won international and New Zealand awards in recognition of his understanding of how international law impacts  society. Education and career. Gillespie obtained a (LLB) and (LLM) with Honours from The University of Auckland, a PhD at University of Nottingham and post-doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York City. As of 2022, Gillespie is a professor at The University of Waikato, and an external member of the NZ Centre for Environmental Law, a research centre hosted by Auckland Law School at the University of Auckland. In the Auckland staff profile, it was noted that Gillespie had advised the New Zealand Government on legal matters and provided some commissioned work for the United Nations. In 2005 , Gillespie was named Rapporteur for the World Heritage Convention as part of UNESCO. Gillespie was a professor at the Faculty of Law and Criminology of Ghent University (Department of European, Public and International Law) for six months, spanning 2018 and 2019. He said of his time at Ghent, that he was impressed by young Belgiums as "agents of change...[who were]... very pragmatic, with a healthy distrust of authority." Advisory roles. Gillespie has been involved in advising the New Zealand Government on social issues and in 2018 was acknowledged for his work on reviewing an earlier draft of "A Zero  Carbon Act for New Zealand: Revisiting Stepping stones to Paris and beyond", a report prepared for the New Zealand Government by Simon Upton in his capacity as The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. Between 2016 and 2018, Gillespie provided advisory assistance to "Tūhonohono", a research project that aimed to establish how mātauranga and tikanga Māori could be fully applied in the marine environment of New Zealand, specifically in regard to compatibility with marine policies and law in the country. In a report of the research it was concluded that there needed to be "more inclusive and better resource management policies , practices and laws that enable the accurate application of tikanga and mātauranga Māori to the governance and management of the country's land-based and marine ecosystems...[and the]... emphasis should be on power-sharing arrangements that are suitable for Māori, suitable for the environment and therefore suitable for the nation". The report suggested that government statutes and regulations should be reviewed to ensure decisions were consistent with the Treaty of Waitangi. WAI 262, commonly referred to as "The Indigenous Flora and Fauna and Cultural Intellectual property Claim ", was lodged with the Waitangi Tribunal on 9 October 1991 by six  iwi in New Zealand. The report on the claim released in 2011, recommended: Reform of laws, policies or practices relating to health, education, science, intellectual property, indigenous flora and fauna, resource management, conservation, the Māori language, arts and culture, heritage, and the involvement of Māori in the development of New Zealand's positions on international instruments affecting indigenous rights. Gillespie, who made an appearance in front of the Waitangi Tribunal on this claim, suggested that before responding to the report, the New Zealand Government should consider how Canada, Australia and the United States had dealt the same issues. While he  acknowledged the report had identified the problems, Gillespie said answers were needed, and "from his study of environmental customs and traditions in different countries...[he hoped]... to come up with a set of options for solutions." Public policy positions. Afghanistan. When Geoffrey Millar wrote in The Asian Media Centre in 2021, that the crisis in Afghanistan was likely to result in a "big change in New Zealand's geopolitical landscape", he cited an article in which Gillespie had said that New Zealand had an ethical obligation to take more refugees. Gillespie wrote that it was likely Afghanistan was would see  a major increase in people fleeing persecution, [and] "the list of who could be considered traitors or face persecution by the Taliban is long. They include religious and ethnic minorities, dissidents, women, journalists, human rights workers and those previously in positions of power...[and these people]...are at risk largely because of their support for the Western presence in Afghanistan that New Zealand was part of." Gillespie told the NZ Herald that New Zealand and other countries needed "to decide what conditions they consider basic before deciding if the Taliban are legitimate and they can enter the international stage." Ukraine . On 30 January 2022 Gillespie said he was "optimistic" that possible issues between Russia and Ukraine could be solved with diplomacy that found a "middle ground...about arms control and confidence building with military exercises." After Russia invaded Ukraine on 22 February 2022, Gillespie was asked in a radio interview what he thought Putin's intentions were. He said keeping an historical perspective was important and that Putin was unrestrained by the Minsk agreements in 2014 and 2015 which had left the issue of Ukraine's sovereignty unresolved and the verbal agreement from NATO in 1994 not to expand, that  had never been formalised. Gillespie said Putin was looking to make a mark in history and establish a sphere of interest rather than rebuild the Soviet Union. The role of the United Nations in managing this situation was seen by Gillespie as ineffective due to several countries voting against the resolution by the Security Council demanding that Russia immediately end its military operations in Ukraine, and the challenge was for this body to uphold the UN Charter and become united in protecting the sovereign rights of countries. Gillespie warned that a failure to do this, could create a precedent for  other countries to carry out invasions. He predicted that Ukraine would be taken over by Russia and NATO look to increase its influence. When the New Zealand Government passed a law allowing sanctions to be imposed on Russia, Gillespie urged caution against "anti-Russian hysteria", and that following due process and fairness was important, and a Russian who is wealthy may not necessarily be pro-Putin. Gillespie later acknowledged that autonomous sanctions being put in place outside of the United Nations process was a break with "diplomatic tradition", but New Zealand could also offer non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine , manage the legalities around New Zealand citizens wanting to fight in Ukraine, take more refugees and consider import duties on permitted Russian imports. On Newstalk ZB, Gillespie was not prepared to predict what Putin was going to do, but stated that the sanctions were not a "declaration of war" as claimed by Putin, but an effective non-military intervention and were going to have considerable affect on Russia. New Zealand's relationship with China. In 2020 following the release of a statement by Five Eyes, an international alliance to which New Zealand belonged, that stated China was in breach of  its international obligations by not the respecting the autonomy of Hong Kong, Gillespie said that the Five Eyes statement was "fair and not inflammatory...[and that]... China's actions are not consistent with the promises China made over Hong Kong when it was handed back in 1997." Gillespie saw the challenge for New Zealand as not offending either China as an important trading partner or more traditional allies, but it would be reasonable for Five Eyes to expect New Zealand to regularly speak up on such issues. An article in the New Zealand media in 2021 that noted Nanaia Mahuta  had not directly criticised China for their treatment of the Uyghurs, cited an article by Gillespie in which he said that New Zealand "sticking to the middle ground will look less like wise diplomacy and more like appeasement" and warned that other democracies could form new alliances, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), without including New Zealand. As New Zealand consolidated trading agreements with China in February 2022, concerns were raised on Radio New Zealand about whether that country's human rights record, including an alleged "genocide" against Uighur Muslims, might affect relationships between the two countries. Gillespie said  China had a history of attempting to assimilate Muslim populations into a "collective identity" that had resulted in many improvements for the Chinese people, but because New Zealand was somewhat hamstrung by an economic dependency on China, they were reticent to criticize them for alleged human rights, often in contrast to the approach of Australia. He predicted that while in principle, putting pressure on China to be more open was correct, the response of the New Zealand government was likely to be cautious. COVID-19. When New Zealand went into its first lockdown in March 2020, Gillespie said that people could  be fined under laws at the time for flouting the lockdown rules, but suggested Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would also declare a state of emergency and issue an epidemic notice under the 2006 Epidemic Preparedness Act. Gillespie explained that the notice allowed the government to "change existing laws, subject to only a few safeguards of review, some civil rights and constitutional structure...[and]... if deemed absolutely necessary, the government can do nearly anything that needs to be done to stop the epidemic of COVID-19 in New Zealand." Gillespie suggested that under emergency legislation to manage the pandemic, people in the  country could have some infringements of their rights, however that as long as the restrictions remained "precautionary and in proportion to the risk, it is unlikely they will be challenged seriously." He had previously told The Panel on RNZ that there were three rules in New Zealand needing to be updated to manage the pandemic. These were laws around quarantining, compulsory vaccinations and spitting, which is classed as common assault under the Summary Offences Act 1981. Writing in The Conversation on 19 May 2020, Gillespie said the New Zealand Government's handling had been both praised and criticised, with accusations  of illegality possibly playing on fears that the new law was a "lurch towards authoritarianism under cover of the pandemic." He accepted that in future, laws in these situations would need more scrutiny and oversight. In August 202O as Auckland prepared for another lockdown, Gillespie said the laws being enacted had a "raft of power behind them...[concluding that]...this time, if it gets worse, I don't think you are going to see community road-blocks; while powers over issues such as mandatory testing are very clear." Gillespie was not surprised that an online poll of 525 people in  February 2022 had shown 28 percent opposed the vaccine mandates in place in New Zealand and 29 percent supported the protest on the lawns of Parliament. He said that it was the responsibility of the Government to show that mandates were necessary in the interests of public safety, and that "any restrictions on liberties must continually be justified through a democratic process and for that you need a free press and you need a functioning Parliament." He expressed concern about death threats and hate speech from some of the protestors at Parliament because it was a crime within the Crimes  Act and there needed to be "zero tolerance when it's towards journalists or parliamentarians." Awards. Gillespie, along with Siouxsie Wiles, received the "2021 Critic and Conscience of Society Award", in recognition of his public commenting on COVID-19, "terrorism, cannabis law reform, and gun regulation." The award, which includes a grant, is given annually to an academic staff member who has been judged by an independent panel to have provided the public with "expert commentary on an issue or issues affecting the New Zealand community or future generations." In 2019, Gillespie won the Francqui medal, also known as the "International  Francqui Professor Chair". As a requirement of the award, Gillespie presented a lecture entitled "2050: The Challenge of Peace and Sustainability in a Fragmented International Context", about which he said "I talked about the state of the world today, the challenges we’re likely to face in the next few decades, covering law and politics in the international sphere, from the risks of environmental change, and conflict. Gillespie was awarded "The New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship in 2003" for his research into "legal principles, policy and science of biodiversity, wildlife and ecosystems within international law", and the selection  panel, comprising Sir Ivor Richardson, Justice Bruce Robertson and Professor Richard Sutton, said Gillespie's application showed that he had "the rare ability to synthesise the interdisciplinary science, law and social policy issues involved". Gillespie was awarded the Fulbright Research Scholarship in 1998. Selected publications. "The Causes of War : Volume IV: 1650 - 1800" (2021). This is the fourth volume of a projected five-volume series that explores the causes of war from 3000 BCE to the 21st century by documenting the history of international law within treaties and how they were negotiated. "The Long Road to Sustainability: The Past, Present , and Future of International Environmental Law and Policy" (2018). Gillespie considers why humanity has struggled to achieve sustainable development over several thousand of years, and takes the approach [that] "economic, social, and environmental conundrums have stalled the quest for the long term viability of both our species and the ecosystems in which we reside." "Waste Policy: International Regulation, Comparative and Contextual Perspectives" (2015). In this book, Gillespie takes the position that all forms of waste are "expanding exponentially, and are often of a hazardous nature...[and this has]..legal and political implications." Klaus Bosselmann from the University of Auckland, New  Zealand, reviewed the book and said that it shows how smart policies can lead to minimizing waste and to creating material flows consistent with ecological flows." "International Environmental Law, Policy, and Ethics: Second Edition" (2014). This second edition challenges the assumption that there are shared goals amongst nations when it comes to protecting the international environment and shows across nations there are laws and policies that are inconsistent and contradictory and likely to fail. In a review of the first edition, Lawyers Weekly described the book [as] "a short but incisive review of the foundations of international environmental law ...[and ]... Gillespie is impressive in his use of a plethora of international environmental conventions, declarations and statements to support his arguments." "A history of the laws of war: Volume 3 The Customs and Laws of War with Regards to Arms Control" (2011). The third volume in this series, examines the control of weaponry from the Bronze Age to the Nuclear Age. The American Society of International Law Newsletter, in reviewing the book said [that] the three volumes "provide a vivid, detailed, and especially readable account of the [law of war]." "Conservation, biodiversity and international law" (2011). This book examines the debates  about conservation at the global level within the context of legal frameworks that can pull together "the issues of science, ethics and policy." Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, said the book offered "a complete guide to the complex world of treaties that regulate conservation at the global scale." "The Illusion of Progress: Unsustainable Development in International Law and Policy" (2001). This book critiques sustainability and argues that the "real issues such as consumption, population growth and equity are either sidestepped or manipulated in international policy and law." The (UK) Journal of Environmental Law reviewed the book as  having "powerful arguments against the logic of the existing situation...[and is|...a challenging and thought provoking work that makes us consider the direction that the international community is headed... "