Reflections from The Ambassador Lecture Series at Maastricht University
On 22 September 2025, H.E. Ms. Carolina Olarte Bácares, Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, delivered a captivating lecture at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law titled “Building bridges, dams and locks through the practice of international law.”
Drawing inspiration from Dutch feats of engineering, Ambassador Olarte Bácares used dikes, bridges, and locks as metaphors to explore how international law can be taught, practised, and lived. Her reflections, imaginative yet deeply grounded in experience, invited the audience to see law as a dynamic instrument—one that shields, connects, and enables passage through turbulent times.
Dikes: Protecting through Understanding
The Afsluitdijk, the great Dutch barrier between the Zuiderzee and the Wadden Sea, became her metaphor for academia. For more than two decades, Olarte Bácares has taught and disseminated international law, including to Colombia’s army during the years of armed conflict. Just as a dike both separates and joins two bodies of water, she explained, international humanitarian law, human rights law, and international criminal law are not watertight compartments; they interact continuously. Teaching law to lawyers and non-lawyers alike, she argued, protects societies by making the law understandable and applicable.
Bridges: Building Connections
The Hovenring, a circular bridge in Eindhoven, symbolised her work on business and human rights. Law, she observed, must bridge states, companies, and civil society without collisions. Constructing such bridges requires awareness of diverse perspectives and a preventive mindset rooted in human-rights due diligence. Through such conscious connection, international law becomes an architecture of trust rather than confrontation.
Locks: Linking Legal Orders
Her final image, the Prinses Beatrixsluis (Princess Beatrix lock), reflected her diplomatic role as Colombia’s representative before international courts and tribunals. National and international jurisdictions, she noted, operate like two water levels communicating through a lock. The metaphor highlighted how diplomacy enables dialogue between legal orders, ensuring that one domain informs and elevates the other.
A Plural Discipline
Ambassador Olarte Bácares concluded that there is no single way to “do” international law. Whether as professor, consultant, or diplomat, each professional path enriches the discipline and makes it more human. She called for international law to step outside institutional walls—to be shared with soldiers, students, and citizens alike—so that it can serve as a living tool for protection, cooperation, and peace.
The lecture formed part of The Ambassador Lecture Series, a bi-monthly initiative convened by Professor Fabián Raimondo at Maastricht University’s Faculty of Law. Organised with the assistance of the European Law Students’ Association (ELSA) Maastricht and under the auspices of the Maastricht Centre for Human Rights, the series provides a forum for ambassadors to reflect on international law, international relations, and diplomacy from national perspectives. This inspiring lecture marked the opening of the 2025–2026 academic year.
For inquiries about The Ambassador Lecture Series, please contact Professor Raimondo at fabian.raimondo@maastrichtuniversity.nl.
