Partner John Balouziyeh to Moderate International Law Association Panel on Arms Control, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict

Partner John Balouziyeh will moderate “Arms Control, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict,” a panel convened by the American Branch of the International Law Association on Friday, October 23, 2026. 

The session is organized by the Branch’s Arms Control and Disarmament Committee, which Mr. Balouziyeh chairs. It will examine the humanitarian, environmental, and legal consequences of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), focusing on evolving frameworks for nonproliferation, accountability, and civilian protection. Bringing together experts with direct experience of states affected by WMD use, testing, and proliferation, the panel will explore WMD proliferation in North Korea, nuclear enrichment and nonproliferation challenges in Iran, accountability for chemical weapons use in Syria, and the long-term environmental and health impacts of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. The discussion will assess how WMD-related harms intersect with international humanitarian law, human rights law, and emerging accountability mechanisms, and whether existing legal frameworks can meet contemporary threats.

The panelists are Dr. Olufemi Elias, Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice and Member of the United Nations International Law Commission and the Institut de droit international; Nousha Kabawat, Syria Program Director at the International Center for Transitional Justice; Hyun-Seung Lee, a North Korean escapee and Lead Program Strategist at the Global Peace Foundation; Sara Segneri, Partner at Confinium Strategies and Expert at the Forum on the Arms Trade; and H.E. John Silk, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Marshall Islands to the United Nations.

The panel is part of the American Branch’s International Law Weekend, held October 22–24, 2026, at the New York City Bar Association and Fordham University School of Law in New York. 

Details and registration are available here.