I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2005


Vienna, 2 January 2006/P/RE/19513c
 

NEW PUBLICATIONS

− Indian edition (published by the Indian Society of International Law): New Delhi: Manak Publications, 2005. ISBN 81-7827-123-0;

− Turkish edition (translation by Funda Keskin and Erdem Denk): Küresel Adalet mi, Küresel İntikam mı? Istanbul: Alkım Yayınevi, 2005. ISBN 975-992-004-2.

 

BOOK LAUNCHING EVENT

On 11 December 2005 a book launching of the Indian Edition of Hans Koechler's "Global Justice or Global Revenge?" was organized by the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL) at Krishna Menon Bhawan in New Delhi. The ceremony took place in the presence of the author on the occasion of the International Conference on "The Emerging Trends in International Criminal Jurisprudence." The President of ISIL, Shri Ram Niwas Mirdha, handed a copy of the book to the chief guest, H.E. Mr. Prithviraj Chavan, M.P., Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office. The Secretary-General of ISIL, Mr. C. Jayaraj, introduced the author who delivered a speech outlining the main intentions of the book.

 

INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE ON THE OCCASION OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

On 4 June 2005 the International Progress Organization organized an international roundtable meeting at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, on "The Use of Force in International Relations − Challenges to Collective Security."  

The meeting was organized in co-operation with the Department of Philosophy of the University of Innsbruck. It was attended by international law experts from Austria, China, India, the Philippines, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Turkey. The roundtable was inaugurated by a lecture of Prof. Hans Koechler, President of the International Progress Organization, on "The Precarious Nature of International Law in the Absence of a Balance of Power." Papers were presented by Prof. Honesto Cueva, Dean of the College of Law of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, on "The Unilateral Use of Force: Violation of National Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity and the UN Charter;" Mr. C. Jayaraj, Secretary-General of the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), on "The Use of Force in International Relations and the Challenges to Collective Security: A View from the Developing World;" Prof. Lyal S. Sunga, Director of Research, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law, University of Lund, Sweden; Prof. Alexander Siedschlag, Professor of European Security Policy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, on "International Non-Proliferation Policy and the United Nations Security System after 9/11 and Iraq;" Prof. Zhongping Feng, Director of the Institute of European Studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, Beijing, on "Global Governance and the Use of Force in International Relations: A Chinese Perspective;" Prof. Türkkaya Ataöv, former Director of the Dept. of International Relations at the University of Ankara, Turkey, on "Pax Americana: An Unfaltering Grand Strategy − Before, During and After the Cold War;" Prof. Anthony Carty, Professor of International Law at the University of Westminster, London, UK, on "The Cultural Foundations of the Present American Approach to Collective Security;" and Prof. Wolfgang Palaver, Chair, Dept. of Systematic Theology, Faculty of Catholic Theology, University of Innsbruck, Austria, on "Collective Security: The Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching."

The papers will be published by the International Progress Organization as No. XXIX of the series Studies in International Relations.
 

GLOBAL FORUM ON REINVENTING GOVERNMENT

The International Progress Organization participated in the 6th Global Forum on Reinventing Government "Towards Participatory and Transparent Governance," organized by the United Nations and the Government of the Republic of Korea in Seoul (24-27 May 2005). The I.P.O. presented a position paper on "Reinventing Transnational Government" (25 May 2005). The President of the I.P.O. was guest of President and Mrs. Roh Moo-hyun at the grand banquet at Cheong Wa Dae presidential palace on the occasion of the 6th Global Forum. The President of Brazil, Lula da Silva, the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmonov, the Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Azarias Ruberwa Manywa, the Vice-President of Iran, Hamid Reza Baradaran-Shoraka, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Lee Hae-chan, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapakse, the Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister of Australia,  Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Donald J. Johnston, Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and José Antonio Ocampo, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, attended the Forum with 5,000 delegates from 140 countries. In connection with the Forum, the President of the I.P.O. gave an interview to the magazine Korea Plus.

 

UNITED NATIONS REFORM

On 22 March 2005 the President of the I.P.O. gave an interview for the Magazine VEJA, São Paulo (Brazil), on the definition of terrorism and proposals for the reform of the United Nations Security Council. The International Progress Organization continued its co-operation with the Committee for a Democratic United Nations (CDUN) which was established in 2003 in Germany. The I.P.O. was invited to  participate in the European Public Debate (Brussels, 4 November 2005), organized by the Union of European Federalists (UEF) and the World Federalist Movement (WFM), and to contribute a paper on "How can regional unions contribute to the strengthening and democratization of the UN?"

The President of the I.P.O. presented the reform proposals of the International Progress Organization in a public lecture at the University of Hong Kong, China, on "International Power Politics and the Question of United Nations Reform" (23 May 2005).

In an exclusive interview for KTV (Korean Television) and Yonhap News Agency  on 26 May 2005 in Seoul, the President of the I.P.O. commented on the reform proposals for the Security Council and stated that the mere adding additional permanent members without veto right will not change the power balance in the Council and will not provide democratic legitimacy to the Council's decisions.
 

CIVILIZATIONAL DIALOGUE

The International Progress Organization participated in the International Conference "Environment, Peace and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures" organized by the Department of Environment of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Nations Environment Programme in Tehran, Iran, and presented a paper on "Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures: The Quest for Mutual Understanding" (9-11 May 2005). The conference was inaugurated by Iranian President Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Khatami and was presided over by the Executive Director of UNEP, Dr. Klaus Toepfer, and the Vice-President of Iran and Minister of Environment, Dr. Massoumeh Ebtekar (Ms.). The conference adopted the Tehran Communiqué which demands, inter alia, that consideration should be given to the development of fora for preventive dialogue and confidence building, conflict resolution and post-conflict restitution; and that cultural, ethical and spiritual values must be fully integrated into strategies of dialogue for peace, security and development.

The International Progress Organization sent an observer delegation to the International Conference "Islam in a Pluralistic World," organized by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vienna (14-16 November 2005).
 

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

On 26 February 2005 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture on "Global Justice or Global Revenge? Reflections on International Criminal Justice and the Role of the United Nations Security Council" at an international conference on Emerging Issues in International Law in The Hague, Netherlands.

On 2 April the International Progress Organization issued a statement on "Sudan: Double Standards in International Criminal Justice" which dealt with the United Nations Security Council's policy of "selective referrals" of situations to the International Criminal Court. The statement was published by the Global Policy Forum (New York).

On 10 December 2005 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture on "Law and Politics in the Global Order: The Problems and Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction" at the International Conference on "The Emerging Trends in International Criminal Jurisprudence" organized by the Indian Society of International Law in New Delhi (10-11 December 2005).

 

FOLLOW-UP TO THE LOCKERBIE OBSERVER MISSION

On 6 April 2005 the President of the I.P.O. delivered a public lecture at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) on "The Lockerbie Trial in the Context of International Power Politics."

On 1 September 2005 the President of the I.P.O. gave an interview for BBC TV, Newsnight Scotland, on the judicial review of the Lockerbie case and a possible retrial in view of recent developments. Revelations about the Lockerbie case published in articles published in the British and Scottish media in the course of 2005 have confirmed many of the doubts raised in Dr. Koechler's observer reports of 2001 and 2003.

On 14 October 2005 the International Progress Organization issued a news release on recent reports in the Scottish and British Media in which the organization reiterated its call for an independent international investigation of the case.

On 25 October 2005 a roundtable discussion on "Evidence in Terrorism Cases" was organized at the University of the Philippines in Manila. The meeting dealt, inter alia, with Dr. Hans Koechler's Lockerbie reports in the light of recent revelations about the case. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Fatemah R. Balbin, former member of the National Amnesty Commission of the Philippines; it was attended, among others, by Brigadier General (rtd.) Jaime de los Santos, Regent of the University of the Philippines; Prof. Antonio Paris, National Secretary of the Philippine Peace & Solidarity Council; Prof. Ponciano Bennagen, member of the 1987 Constitutional Convention; Col. (rtd.) Danilo Real of the Philippine Military Academy.

 

THE PALESTINE PROBLEM

The International Progress Organization delivered the speech on behalf of the network of non-governmental organizations on the question of Palestine at the solemn meeting held by the UN General Assembly's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People at the United Nations Office in Vienna on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (29 November 2005).

On the same occasion, the International Progress Organization called for an independent international investigation of the circumstances of the death of the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Yasser Arafat.

 

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT


INFORMATION VISITS BY THE PRESIDENT

Within the framework of the I.P.O.'s activities, Prof. Hans Koechler undertook information visits to Iran (8-11 May 2005), Thailand (4-8 August 2005), and the Republic of Cyprus (29 September-4 October 2005).
 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

On 11 May Prof. Koechler held consultations in Tehran (Iran) with Prof. Hamidreza Ayatollahy, Head of the Philosophy Department of Allameh Tabatabaii University in Tehran, on co-operation projects in the fields of philosophy and civilizational dialogue.

On 25 May 2005 Prof. Koechler met in Seoul, Korea, with the Secretary-General of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Mr. Kumi Naidoo.

On 21 June 2005 Prof. Koechler met in Innsbruck (Austria) with Mr. C. Jayaraj, Secretary-General of the Indian Society of International Law, to discuss expanding co-operation between the two organizations.

On 7 August 2005 Prof. Koechler met with the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Dr. Kantathi Suphamongkhon, on the fringes of the ASEAN Press Convention in Bangkok.

On 7 August 2005 Prof. Koechler held consultations in Bangkok (Thailand) with Mr. Abdul Razak, Permanent Secretary of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists, on possibilities of co-operation between the two organizations.

On 22 August 2005 Prof. Koechler met at Malaspina University College in Nanaimo, BC (Canada), with the Dean of Social Sciences, Prof. Anne Leavitt, and Dr. Yussuf Kly, to discuss possibilities of academic co-operation.

On 12 December 2005 Prof. Koechler met in New Delhi, India, with Mr. M. P. Yadav, owner of Manak Publications, to discuss the possibility of expanding co-operation in the publishing field.

 

GOLDEN HONORARY MEDAL OF THE I.P.O.

In recognition of their contribution to the realization of the goals of the International Progress Organization, in particular their commitment to global peace and justice, Prof. Dr. Türkkaya Ataöv, Professor emeritus at the University of Ankara (Turkey), and Dr. Fatemah Remedios C. Balbin, President of the Foundation for Social Justice (Philippines), have been awarded with the Golden Honorary Medal of the International Progress Organization.


CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND NGOs

-- The International Progress Organization agreed on co-operation and regular consultations with the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists (CAJ), based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
 

-- In July 2005, the International Progress Organization joined the international non-governmental organization CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

-- The International Progress Organization agreed to co-operate with Malaspina University College (Canada) in internship and conference programs.

 

-- The International Progress Organization continued its participation in the NGO Committee on Development and the NGO Committee on Peace at the United Nations Office at Vienna.

 

INTERNSHIPS

Since October 2005 Mr. Nathan Harstad (Bethany Lutheran College, Minnesota, USA) serves as intern at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.