I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2010

Vienna,  18 December 2010

P/RE/22498c
 

NEW PUBLICATIONS

  • The Shifting Balance of Power and the Future of Sovereign States. I.P.O. Online Publications, March 2010.

  • Terrorism and Human Rights: Reflections on the Global War on Terror.  I.P.O. Online Publications, June 2010.

 

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL

In December 2010 the International Progress Organization concluded its long-term research project on the United Nations Security Council, which was initiated at the session of the Executive Board in New Delhi on 23 February 1990. The final publication related to this project will appear during the first quarter of 2011: The Security Council as Administrator of Justice? Studies in International Relations, Vol. XXXII.

On 9 April 2010 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a guest lecture at the National Law College of India University in Bangalore on "The Security Council and International Law." In connection with the annual symposium of the National Law College of India Review (NLSIR), a special book launching ceremony was held on 10 April 2010 to introduce "World Order: Vision and Reality, " Vol. XXXI of the Studies in International Relations.

On 9 October 2010 the President of the I.P.O. presented a report on "The United Nations Organization and International Legitimacy: Reflections on the Role of the Security Council" at the Rhodes Forum 2010 in Rhodes, Greece.

 

DIALOGUE OF CIVILIZATIONS

From 24 to 25 May 2010 the President of the I.P.O. participated in the International Symposium on Cultural Diplomacy 2010 in Berlin, Germany. On 25 May he delivered a keynote speech at the German Foreign Office on "Islam and the West: Challenges of a Just World Order." From 8 to 10 October 2010 the I.P.O. participated in the annual conference of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" in Rhodes, Greece. The President of the I.P.O. delivered a keynote address on "The Civilizational Paradigm of Human Evolution."

 

Human Rights

  • Ethnic violence in Nigeria: In a statement issued on 9 March 2010, the International Progress Organization condemned the renewed intercommunal violence near the city of Jos in Nigeria's Plateau State. The I.P.O. called upon the African Union and the United Nations Human Rights Council to undertake their statutory responsibility and remind the government of the Republic of Nigeria of its obligations under African and international human rights covenants.

  • Australia / religious freedom: On 31 May 2010 the International Progress Organization issued a declaration criticizing Australia over the planned deportation of Iranian cleric Sheikh Dr. Mansour Leghaei. The I.P.O. explained that it considers the deportation order as a serious violation of Australia's obligations under international human rights treaties and appealed to the authorities to revoke the decision. Nobel Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu (South Africa) and Máiread Corrigan-Maguire (Northern Ireland), and Australian church leaders also expressed their concern.

  • Free Gaza flotilla: On 3 June 2010 the International Progress Organization called for an urgent investigation into the deaths on board the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara in international waters, while it was on a sail with humanitarian cargo to be unloaded at the port of Gaza. The I.P.O. called upon the United Nations Security Council to set up an international commission of inquiry.

 

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

  • 30 March 2010: special lecture by the President of the I.P.O. in London (U.K.) on "Law and Politics in the International Criminal Court."

  • 31 March 2010: interview for Press TV, "Rattansi & Ridley," on the indictment of the President of Sudan.

  • 23 May 2010: lecture by the President of the I.P.O. on "The Dilemma of International Criminal Justice" at the Second International Criminal Defence Conference "Lessons from the Ad Hoc UN Tribunals, and Prospects for International Justice at the ICC," in Brussels (Belgium).

 

FOLLOW-UP TO THE LOCKERBIE OBSERVER MISSION

In a statement issued on 21 July 2010, Dr. Hans Köchler, UN-nominated international observer at the Lockerbie Trial, expressed his support for the call by a group of United States Senators for an inquiry into the release by the Scottish government of the only person convicted in connection with the midair explosion of PanAm flight 103 over Lockerbie (Scotland) on 21 December 1988.

On 21 July 2010 Dr. Köchler gave an interview for the Newsnight Scotland program of the BBC about the circumstances of the release of the only person convicted in the Lockerbie case. On 22 July he participated in a live debate on Al Jazeera's "Inside Story." On 28 July 2010 Dr. Köchler gave an interview for the London newspaper The Independent.

 

THE QUESTION OF PALESTINE

The International Progress Organization participated in the United Nations Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People and the United Nations Civil Society Meeting in Support of the Palestinian People, which were held at the UN Office at Vienna (24-26 March 2010). The President of the I.P.O. acted as moderator of a panel discussion on "The importance of upholding international law, including with respect to the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion regarding the Wall," and delivered a statement on "The Enforcement of Law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

 

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

  • "Dialogue of Civilizations and the Requirements of a Just World Order": China Foundation for International Studies, Beijing, China, 12 July 2010.

  • "The Geopolitics of Conflict and the Imperatives of Regional Cooperation": 1st Annual Symposium of International Relations Scholars, Center for Strategic Studies, Baku, Azerbaijan, 22 October 2010.

  • "The Meaning and Challenges of Education in the 21st Century": 10th International Forum on Lifelong Integrated Education, Nomura Center, UNESCO, Paris, 9 November 2010.

 

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

  • Session of the International Coordinating Committee, World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations," Vienna, Austria, 29-30 January 2010.

  • World Without Empire Conference & Peace Festival, Union Theological Seminary, New York City, USA, 23-24 April 2010.

  • Continuation Committee of Peace for Life, New York City, USA, 25 April 2010.

  • Globalization for the Common Good, 9th Annual International Conference, California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, USA, 7-8 June 2010.

  • International Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations and Harmonious World," China Foundation for International Studies (CFIS), Beijing, China, 11-12 July 2010.

  • Session of the International Coordinating Committee, World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations," Vienna, Austria, 18 September 2010.


INFORMATION VISITS BY THE PRESIDENT

Within the framework of the I.P.O.'s activities, Prof. Hans Koechler undertook information visits to Brazil (14-15 February 2010), Paraguay (16-20 February 2010), Japan (21-26 June 2010), Bosnia-Herzegovina (3-5 September 2010), and Turkey (26-28 September 2010). In the course of his visit to Japan, the President of the I.P.O. visited the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education in Tokyo (25 June 2010).
 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

  • 26 January 2010: Mr. Nicolai Wammen, Mayor of Århus, in Århus, Denmark.

  • 10 April 2010: Professor Venkata Rao, Vice-Chancellor of the National Law College of India University, in Bangalore, India.

  • 21 April 2010: Amb. Riyadh Mansour, Head of the Mission of Palestine to the United Nations, in New York, USA.

  • 22 April 2010: Amb. Abdel Rahman Shalgam, Head of the Permanent Mission of Libya to the United Nations, former Foreign Minister of Libya, in New York, USA.

  • 24 May 2010: Mr. Bertie Ahern, former Prime Minister of Ireland, in Berlin, Germany.

  • 25 June 2010:  Mrs. Yumiko Kaneko, Director-General, Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education, in Tokyo, Japan.

  • 24 October 2010: Amb. Elshad Iskenderov, Secretary-General of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum, in Baku, Azerbaijan.

  • 9 November 2010: Mme Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director, Office of UNESCO and Regional Bureau for Education in Africa (Dakar), in Paris, France.

  • 10 November 2010: Prof. John Laughland, Director of the Institute of Democracy and Cooperation, in Paris, France.

  • 2 December 2010: Mr. Süleyman şensoy, President of the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies, in Berlin, Germany.

 

CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER NGOs

The International Progress Organization agreed to establish co-operation with the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Japan), the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (Istanbul), the Peace for Life NGO network (Manila), and Globalization for the Common Good (UK).

 

 

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