A prince of Jordan muses on the Middle East, world

LAKEVILLE — Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was invited to speak at The Hotchkiss School on Thursday evening, April 28, and to share insights and observations on recent events in the Middle East. So much had already happened in the Arab world since January; but at the time of his speech, Osama Bin Laden was still alive.It’s possible, though, that the prince would not have changed his comments in any significant way. The undercurrent of all his remarks was that in international diplomacy today there really is no way to know what the after effects will be of any event, large or small. “When a fruit vendor ignited himself in front of the governor’s mansion, who could have predicted what would happen?” he said.International politics and diplomacy are like a game of chess with millions upon millions of dimensions, he explained. One can look at the pieces on a board and figure out more or less how they got there; and one can try to figure out what the next move might be. But there is no way to know for certain how events large or small will affect the world.Prince Zeid, 47, who is a cousin of King Abdullah II, has devoted his career thus far to international law and diplomacy. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Christ’s College at Cambridge University in England, he seemed at ease on the stage of the Katherine M. Elfers Hall at Hotchkiss, facing a large audience of students, faculty and community members. He spoke in perfect British-accented English, in tones that were calm and soothing and words that were, though softly spoken, passionate and often poetic.His main themes were the unpredictability of world events and the importance of holding world leaders accountable for crimes against humanity. The prince helped establish the International Criminal Court and was elected the first president of its governing body. He helped define the “elements” of what constitutes, for example, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He continues his involvement with the court and is currently chairman of the committee charged with choosing the next prosecutor for the International Criminal Court. The former Jordanian ambassador to the United States and non-resident ambassador to Mexico (2007-10), he is once again his country’s permanent representative to the United Nations (he also held this position from 2000 to 2007). He has lived and served in many of the world’s most volatile regions. It was while living in one such region that he saw a man he described as a war criminal driving through town in a limousine with the head of a very small child impaled on the hood, as an ornament. Seeing these kinds of crimes against humanity “make you so disgusted that you believe something must be done,” he said.For about 30 minutes he spoke of his work, the world, the past and the future, and his fears that humans are treating each other worse now, not better. He ended by beseeching the high school students to study hard and take their school work seriously so that someday they can go out and make a difference.If one were to ask him what is the greatest threat facing the world today, he said, the answer would not be climate change, shortages or wars. “What really is the major threat is the mediocrity of public officialdom around the world today,” he said. If there were even just 20 charismatic and visionary leaders at work at one time, the future could be so much better. As it is, he said, the world is lucky to see even as many as five at one time. “The tensions, the stresses on the system today are very great,” he said. “We need you to help us.”For the next half hour, audience members asked questions about topics that included the difficulty of prosecuting world leaders who have immunity; the intractability of gender issues and abuse of women when they are part of a country’s culture; and the challenge of changing thought patterns and behaviors. “No one expects us to change human behavior overnight,” he said. “It will take generations.”One of the last questions he fielded came from a young female student, who asked, “Do you ever worry that your kingdom will be overthrown?”“Ah, yah,” drawled the prince, offering his most informal answer of the evening. “All the time. Is nepotism good? No. Do I worry about my job? Yes. But I hope I have cut my teeth sufficiently that there will always be a job waiting for me at the end.”