I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2000

Vienna, 29 December 2000/P/RE/16999c
 
NEW PUBLICATIONS

-- Globality versus Democracy? The Changing Nature of International Relations in the Era of Globalization. Studies in International Relations, XXXV. ISBN 3-900704-19-8, 231 pages, 2000.

-- The Use of Force in the New International Order. On the Problematic Nature of the Concept of Humanitarian Intervention. By Hans Koechler. Occasional Papers Series, No. 4. 2000.

ACTIVITIES IN THE FIELD OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

The interdisciplinary research project on the concept of humanitarian intervention and the changing nature of international law was continued during the year 2000. Co-operation was established with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR). The President of the I.P.O. presented the outline of the  research paper on "Humanitarian Intervention: The End of International Law?" at a meeting with experts of the Institute in Beijing (22 December 2000). The results of the research will be first published in the Institute's magazine Contemporary International Relations. The I.P.O. will publish the results in the series Studies in International Relations, vol. XXVI, during 2001.

On 21 January 2000 the International Progress Organization issued a memorandum on the legal aspects of the United Nations sanctions policy vis-à-vis Iraq. The memorandum referred to Security Council resolution 1284 of 17 December 1999 establishing a so-called "United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission" (UNMOVIC).

In a communiqué issued on 1 February 2000, the International Progress Organization criticized the unilateral measures adopted by 14 member states of the European Union against the government of Austria. The I.P.O. explained that the decision on "sanctions" announced by the EU Presidency on behalf of 14 member states was ultra vires and constituted a blatant interference in the internal affairs of Austria and a violation of the basic principles of the Treaty of Amsterdam on European Union.

The International Progress Organization acts as editor of a comprehensive legal analysis undertaken by Mr. Elias Davidsson (Iceland) on "Legal Consequences of Economic Sanctions -- Rights of Victims and Remedies." The research paper will be published in 2001.

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVER MISSIONS

Pursuant to Security Council resolution 1192 (1998) of 27 August 1998, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi Annan, appointed on 28 April 2000 the President of the I.P.O., Prof. Hans Koechler, and the Permanent Representative of the I.P.O. to the United Nations, Mr. Robert Thabit, as international observers at the Scottish Court in the Netherlands (Lockerbie Trial). The Secretary-General appointed altogether five international observers, two of them from the I.P.O. The other observers represent the European Commission, the League of Arab States, and (jointly) the Organization of African Unity and the Non-aligned Movement. In his letter to the Security Council, the Secretary-General stated that all five represented entities had demonstrated a long-standing interest in the matter of Pan American flight 103.
Since 11 May 2000, Prof. Koechler and Mr. Thabit regularly attended the proceedings of the Scottish Court at Kamp Van Zeist in the Netherlands. They met with the prosecution and defense teams, inspected HM Prison Zeist and met with the two accused Libyan nationals. The President of the I.P.O. sent a special report with his observations to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

From 13 to 16 October 2000 the President of the I.P.O. visited the Republic of Belarus as international observer of the parliamentary elections. Prior to the election day, he met with representatives of local parties, among them Mr. Sergei Gaidukevich, Chairman of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and with the Head of the Advisory and Monitoring Group Belarus of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ambassador Hans-Georg Wieck. On the election day Prof. Koechler inspected several polling stations in the capital Minsk and on the countryside. A comprehensive report and evaluation of the election process was issued by the I.P.O. on 16 October 2000.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE ACTIVITIES

The United Nations Organization has proclaimed the year 2000 the "International Year for the Culture of Peace" (IYCP). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has been entrusted to co-ordinate all activities related to the IYCP. On 28 February 2000 the International Progress Organization, together with other NGOs, endorsed the Manifesto 2000 for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence and joined those NGOs as a "Messenger of the Manifesto 2000." 

On 16 August 2000 the President of the I.P.O. sent a special message to the Federal Chancellor of Austria, Dr. Wolfgang Schüssel, in support of Charter 99, the Charter for Global Democracy adopted by international NGOs. As an international non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations, the I.P.O. called upon the government of Austria to ensure that the Declaration of the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York supports the call for democratic accountability through the United Nations.

RESEARCH PROJECT ON TRANSNATIONAL DEMOCRACY

Within the framework of an international research project on "European Studies for Democratic Citizenship," the President of the I.P.O. participated in the final meeting of the Working Party on European Studies for Democratic Citizenship and the Expert Group on Democratic Citizenship at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (15-16 June 2000). The experts adopted the final report for the Council of Europe and agreed on the publication of the special reports.

NGO COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT

On 28 April 2000 the Board Members of the Committee met with the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Vienna, Ambassador Shrimati Yogesh Tiwari. 

The Committee organized on 14 June 2000 an NGO-Meeting on Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Millennium Report "We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century" at the United Nations Office in Vienna. 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

On 26 February 2000 Prof. Koechler met in London with the Secretary-General of the British Afro-Asian People's Solidarity Organization, Prof. Mohammed Arif.

On 31 August 2000 the President of the I.P.O. met in Tripoli with the former President of Algeria, Mr. Ahmed Ben Bella.

On 12 November 2000 the President of the I.P.O. met in Baghdad with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Tareq Aziz, and with the Secretary-General of the Union of Arab Jurists, Mr. Shibib al-Maliki. On 14 November 2000 he held consultations with Dr. Mohammed Jawad Ali, President of the Center for International Studies at the University of Baghdad.

On 15 November 2000 the President of the I.P.O. met in Amman with the Permanent Representative of the I.P.O. to the Economic Commission for Western Asia, Dr. Musa Keilani.

On 22 December 2000 Prof. Koechler met in Beijing with the Vice-President of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Prof. Song Baoxian.

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

On 13 August 2000 Prof. Koechler gave a lecture on "Self-Determination as a Means of Democratization of  the United Nations and the International System" at the First International Conference on the Right to Self-determination and the United Nations in Geneva. The conference was jointly organized by the  International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) and the International Council on Human Rights (ICHR).

On 30 September 2000 Prof. Koechler gave a lecture on "The Palestine Problem in the Framework of International Law" at the international seminar on The Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process 1991-2000 in Madrid. The meeting was organized  by the Arab Cause Solidarity Committee (Spain).

On 12 November 2000 Prof. Koechler gave a keynote speech on the issue of economic sanctions and power politics in the Middle East at the meeting of the Follow-up and Co-ordination Committee of the Baghdad Conference.

On 29 November 2000 Prof. Koechler delivered the keynote speech on behalf of the NGO Co-ordination Committee on the Question of Palestine at the solemn meeting organized by the United Nations Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The meeting was held at the United Nations Office in Vienna on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.

On 22 December 2000 Prof. Koechler gave a lecture at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) in Beijing on "Humanitarian Intervention: The End of International Law?"

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

The International Progress Organization participated in the international symposion on "Globalization and Culture" organized by North-South XXI (Tripoli, 30-31 August 2000). The President of the I.P.O. presided over one of the plenary sessions.

A delegation of the International Progress Organization consisting of Ms. Eva-Maria Jansen, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Vienna, and Ms. R. Kinbar participated in the General Assembly of the Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO) held at the United Nations Office in Vienna (6-8 November 2000).

The Permanent Representative of the I.P.O. to the United Nations, Mr. Robert Thabit, participated in the special meeting on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at United Nations headquarters in New York (29 November 2000).

CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER NGOs

On 17 March 2000, the International Progress Organization joined international NGOs from all continents in endorsing an appeal to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank urging these institutions to reorient their economic policies towards the needs of the developing countries and to respect the basic economic and social rights of the people.

On 26 May 2000 the I.P.O. joined 1,350 representatives of over 1,000 non-governmental organizations from more than 100 countries in an initiative under the slogan "Strengthening the United Nations for the 21st century." A joint declaration and agenda for action was adopted at the We the Peoples Millennium Forum at United Nations headquarters in New York (22-26 May 2000). 

INTERNSHIPS

As from October 2000 Ms. Ronit Kinbar (University of Iowa, USA) serves as intern at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.