Suhong Yang spoke at the 120th American Society of International Law Annual Meeting and elected Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Interest Group

From 22 to 25 April 2026, the American Society of International Law (“ASIL”) convened its 120th Annual Meeting with the theme, “Advancing and Defending the Rule of Law” in Washington D.C.

Suhong Yang was invited to speak on the panel “International Criminal Justice in the Contemporary Asia-Pacific Region” with co-panelists Emma Palmer (Griffith University) and Azadah Raz Mohammad (Melbourne Law School), which was moderated by David Luban (Georgetown University Law Center). The panel discussed the following issues: situations under investigation by the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in the Asia-Pacific Region, such as the Philippines and Myanmar; mechanisms for international criminal justice in addition to the ICC, including domestic prosecutions, universal jurisdiction, and hybrid tribunals in the Asia-Pacific Region; and initiatives and efforts concerning Afghanistan at international and domestic levels, including the UN-mandated investigative mechanisms for Afghanistan, the ICC arrest warrants, gender apartheid and the draft convention on crimes against humanity, and the People’s Tribunal for Women of Afghanistan. Suhong focused on mechanisms other than the ICC, addressing hybrid courts in East Timor and Cambodia, the International Crimes Tribunal (Bangladesh), and future possibilities for tackling human trafficking in East and Southeast Asia. The panelists also actively engaged with audiences for various questions. This panel was well attended and received lots of good comments. A recording of the panel can be watched online. Last year in September, Suhong and Professor Simon Young organized a successful two-day workshop on the topic of this panel at HKU.

In addition, at the time of the 2026 ASIL Annual Meeting, Suhong got elected as Co-Chair of the ASIL Asia Pacific Interest Group for a three-year term. She looks forward to serving the members and fostering conversations on diverse topics regarding international law and the Asia-Pacific Region. Meanwhile, Suhong’s three-year term as Secretary of the ASIL Women in International Law Interest Group came to an end. Suhong will continue to serve as a member of the Steering Committee and contribute to enhance the role and careers of women in the field of international law.

ASIL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, educational membership organization founded in 1906 to foster the study of international law and to promote the establishment and maintenance of international relations on the basis of law and justice. The Society’s members are from more than 100 nations. ASIL advances international law scholarship and education for international law professionals as well as for broader policymaking audiences and the public. ASIL holds Special Consultative Status to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and is a constituent society of the American Council of Learned Societies.

ASIL’s Asia Pacific Interest Group brings together lawyers, scholars and others interested in the topic to inform each other of developments relating to international law and international relations in this vast and important region. Topics include such diverse areas as gender discrimination, sovereignty and the state, Taiwan-Mainland relations, Hong Kong’s political future, islands in the Pacific, human rights, intellectual property, the impacts of Western countries, and many more. Among our faculty, Professor Weixia Gu was a Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Interest Group from 2018 to 2021.