I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 1984

Vienna,  December 1984

NEW PUBLICATIONS

NEW MEMBERS

The Executive Board has admitted new members from Austria, Germany (FRG), Ghana, Libya, Malta, Luxemburg, Niger, Spain, the United States and Venezuela.

The Board will consider further applications at its forthcoming session in December.


INFORMATION PROJECT

The I.P.O. organized a documentary exhibition on Sabra and Shatila (Vienna, December 1983),  which was opened by the Austrian Minister of State Johanna Dohnal. The French poet Jean Genet presented his eyewitness report. The exhibition was organized in co-operation with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).


CONFERENCES

The International Conference on Sabra and Shatila, originally scheduled for December 1983, was postponed. It was rescheduled for 2-3 May 1984 in Vienna and dealt with the broader theme Israel as Occupying Power. President of the Conference was Ramsey Clark, former Attorney-General of the United States. The conference was attended by several international organizations and by eyewitnesses and legal experts from the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The I.P.O. organized from 28 to 30 September 1984 in Brussels, Belgium, an International Conference on Tee Reagan Administration's Foreign Policy - Facts and Judgement. Geographical reports on regions such as Central America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, South Africa, South-East Asia, etc. were followed by a legal analysis according to the criteria of international law and human rights. Chairman of the panel of jurists (tribunal), consisting of 8 members from all continents, was Prof. Francis Boyle (USA). Among the participating experts were Nobel Laureates Seŕn MacBride (former Foreign Minister of Ireland) and Prof. George Wald (USA); Ramsey Clark, former Attorney-General of the United States; General Edgardo Mercado Jarrín (former Prime Minister of Peru), and General Nino Pasti, former Deputy Supreme Commander of NATO (Italy). The I.P.O. is planning to publish the proceedings.

The I.P.O. further organized - in cooperation with UNESCO and at the invitation of the government of Cyprus - an international research seminar on The New International Information and Communication Order - Basis for Cultural Dialogue and Peaceful Coexistence Among Nations (Nicosia/ Cyprus, 26-27 October 1984). Experts in the field of communication from all continents participated. The seminar was held under the auspices of H.E. Spyros Kyprianou, President of the Republic of Cyprus. Ambassador Mustapha Masmoudi, former Minister of Information of Tunisia, delivered the opening lecture. The proceedings will be published in the Studies in International Relations.


PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

The permanent representatives of the I.P.O. participated in a number of United Nations meetings in New York, Geneva, Paris and Vienna. In particular, the I.P.O. participated actively in the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which was held in Vienna in August 1984. The President of the I.P.O. took part in the conference of the Arab Lawyers Union in Monastir, Tunisia (3 November 1984).


CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS

A delegation of the I.P.O. headed by President Hans Koechler met with the acting President of the Academy of International Law in the Hague, H.E. Manfred Lachs (Judge at the International Court of Justice). They discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the fields of publications and international conferences.

The I.P.O. has established cooperation with the Korean Association of Social Scientists (Pyongyang) in the field of development questions, human rights and social philosophy.

The I.P.O. has also established cooperation with the International Association of Democratic Jurists (Brussels) in the field of international law and human rights.


SESSION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Executive Board of the I.P.O. met in Malta on 20 December 1984 and adopted a number of decisions on the activities in 1985.

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSION IN GENEVA

The I.P.O. is planning to organize at the University of Geneva/Switzerland an international symposion on The Crisis of Representative Democracy and Possible Alternatives (15-17 November 1985). About 30 experts in political science, philosophy and law will participate.


COLLOQUIUM IN NEW YORK

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations, the I.P.O. will organize in New York (at the end of October 1985) a meeting on Democracy in International Relations. The I.P.O.'s American members and experts from the United States will be invited.


NEW MEMBERS

The Executive Board has admitted new members from Algeria, Austria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Greece, India, Lesotho, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Italy, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, United Kingdom, the United States, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Korea (DPRK), and Zimbabwe.