Student event

Earthquakes in Syria and Turkey: Assessing the humanitarian and geopolitical implications

On 6 February two large-scale earthquakes hit southeast Turkey and northern Syria, directly impacting twenty-three million people in the region, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). One week after the deadly quake, the number of casualties continues to rise. We are deeply saddened by these tragic events, which have also affected members of the Hertie School community. 

Together with Hertie School and external faculty and beyond, we want to discuss the repercussions of this tragic event and share thoughts from students, faculty and external guests.

Agenda

  • 12:00 - 12:40 Panel discussion
  • 12:45 - 13:30 Questions from the audience

Panelists

Prof. Dr. Başak Çalı

  • Başak Çalı is Professor of International Law at the Hertie School and Co-Director of the School's Centre for Fundamental Rights. She is an expert in international law and institutions, international human rights law and policy. She has authored publications on theories of international law, the relationship between international law and domestic law, standards of review in international law, interpretation of human rights law, legitimacy of human rights courts and implementation of human rights judgments. She is the Chair of European Implementation Network and a Fellow of the Human Rights Centre of the University of Essex. She has acted as a Council of Europe expert on the European Convention on Human Rights since 2002. She has extensive experience in training members of the judiciary and lawyers across Europe in the field of human rights law. She received her PhD in International Law from the University of Essex in 2003.

Prof. Dr. Thurid Hustedt (Chair)

  • Thurid Hustedt is Dean of Graduate Programmes and Professor of Public Administration and Management at the Hertie School. Her research focuses on public sector change dynamics, political-administrative relations and comparative public administration. Hustedt is the Managing Editor of the peer-reviewed journal dms – der moderne Staat (with Sylvia Veit). Previously, she was a visiting professor at the Freie Universität Berlin and a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Potsdam. She was a visiting researcher at the University of Bergen and the University of Toronto. Hustedt holds a PhD and a Diploma in Public Administration from Potsdam University.

Wafa Mustafa - Syrian activist and journalist

  • Wafa Mustafa is a Syrian activist, journalist and a survivor of detention. She left the country on 9 July 2013, exactly one week after her father was forcibly disappeared by the regime in Damascus. She moved to Turkey and began reporting on Syria for various media outlets. In 2016, she moved to Germany and continued her interrupted studies and graduated from Bard College Berlin. Mustafa has extensively lobbied the United Nations Security Council to call for the release of the names and the whereabouts of all the disappeared by the Syrian regime and other actors in the country. In her advocacy, Mustafa covers the impact of detention on young girls and women and families. Mustafa also campaigns for international recognition of Syrian refugees and against normalised international relations with the Assad regime.