I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2006

Vienna, 28 December 2006/P/RE/20106c
 

NEW PUBLICATIONS

• The Use of Force in International Relations: Challenges to Collective Security. Studies in International Relations, XXIX. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2006. ISBN 3-900704-23-6. 237 pages.

• Can the Exercise of Universal Jurisdiction Be Regionalized? I.P.O. Online Paper. August 2006.

• Religion, Reason and Violence: Pope Benedict XVI and Islam. Statement by the President of the International Progress Organization, Prof. Dr. Hans Koechler, on the lecture delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg on 12 September 2006. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 16 September 2006/P/RE/19920.

   

UNITED NATIONS

On 15 April 2006 the I.P.O. sent a "Memorandum on the dispute between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America and other states over the interpretation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and related legal and political problems of the non-proliferation régime" to the United Nations Security Council.

On 7 September 2006 the President of the I.P.O. participated in a public debate with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Ki-Moon Ban, candidate for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations, in connection with the ASEM Summit in Helsinki, Finland.

The I.P.O. co-sponsored a study visit on 12 December 2006 to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Comprehensive Test-Ban-Treaty-Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission, and the United Nations Office at Vienna within the framework of the seminar on "Legal and Ethical Aspects of Nuclear Policy" (University of Innsbruck).

CIVILIZATIONAL DIALOGUE

On 25 March 2006 the I.P.O. participated in the International Consultation of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" in Moscow, Russia,  and joined the international network of NGOS for the dialogue of civilizations.

From 12 to 14 May 2006 the I.P.O. participated in the  International Symposion on "Civilizations and World Orders," organized by the Foundation for Sciences and Arts in Istanbul, Turkey. The President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture on "Civilization as Instrument of World Order? The Role of the Civilizational Paradigm in the Absence of a Balance of Power."

On 19 August 2006 the President of the I.P.O. held consultations with Prof. Syed Farid Alatas of the National University of Singapore on academic co-operation in the field of civilizational dialogue.

In September 2006 the I.P.O. joined the "Global Think-tank of Co-existence" in Copenhagen, Denmark.

On 16 September 2006 the President of the I.P.O. issued a statement on the lecture delivered by Pope Benedict XVI at the University of Regensburg on 12 September 2006. The statement under the title "Religion, Reason and Violence: Pope Benedict XVI and Islam" was published in several international media.

From 28 September to 1 October 2006 the I.P.O. participated in the Fourth Annual Conference of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" in Rhodes, Greece. Upon the conclusion of the conference, the President of the I.P.O. was appointed as member of the International Co-ordinating Committee of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations."

On 7 December 2006 the President of the I.P.O. attended the inauguration ceremony of the international office of the World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" in Vienna, Austria.

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

On 13 February 2006, the book launching of the Turkish edition of "Global Justice or Global Revenge?" took place at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey, in the presence of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Yeditepe University, Mr. Bedrettin Dalan, former Mayor of Istanbul, and Professor Ahmet Serpil, Rector of Yeditepe University. The President of the I.P.O., Dr. Hans Koechler, delivered a lecture on "Universal Jurisdiction and International Power Politics: Ideal versus Real."

On 17 February 2006 the President of the I.P.O. was special guest in the talk show of AVRASYA TV in Ankara, Turkey, in connection with the launching of the Turkish edition of the book "Global Justice or Global Revenge?"

FOLLOW-UP TO THE LOCKERBIE OBSERVER MISSION

 In his capacity as international observer of the I.P.O. at the Lockerbie trial in the Netherlands (2000-2002), Dr. Hans Koechler on 7 June 2006 gave an exclusive interview to Al-Jazeera International in Doha, Qatar. He called for a retrial of the convicted Libyan national. The newly-launched English Channel of Al-Jazeera has broadcast excerpts of the interview in a special documentary program ("Flight into Darkness") on 19 December 2006.

THE PALESTINE PROBLEM

On 2 June 2006, the International Progress the International Progress Organization issued a statement condemning the de facto state of siege imposed by Israel and Western powers against the people in occupied Palestine and describing the starvation policy against the Palestinian people as an international crime.

A delegation of the International Progress Organization consisting of Dr. Hans Koechler, Mr. Markus Simbeni and Mr. Nathan Harstad, participated in the United Nations International Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace at the United Nations Center in Vienna, Austria (27-28 June 2006). The meeting was held under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly's Committee for the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Among the speakers were Mr. Abdullah Abdullah, Head of the Political Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council, and Ms. Colette Avital, Deputy Speaker of the Israeli Knesset. In the Final Document, the experts, diplomats and civil society representatives emphasized that the continuing occupation of the Palestinian territory remained the root cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

On 30 June 2006 a delegation of the International Coordinating Network on Palestine (ICNP), consisting of Ms. Phyllis Bennis (USA), Co-chair of the ICNP, Ms. Adi Dagan (Israel), Spokesperson for the Coalition of Women for Just Peace, and Dr. Hans Koechler (Austria), President of the I.P.O.,  met in Vienna with the Head of the Near and Middle East Department and Deputy Director of the Political Department of Austria's Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Ralph Scheide, and urged the outgoing Presidency of the European Union to take a more active stand in conformity with the EU member states' legal obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

On 29 November 2006 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.

LEBANON WAR

In a statement issued on 20 July 2006, the International Progress Organization condemned the serious violations of international humanitarian law in Lebanon and appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to remind all States party to the Fourth Geneva Convention of their collective obligation to ensure the respect of the Convention's provisions. The I.P.O. furthermore endorsed the "Save the Lebanese Civilians Petition."

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

• " Legal Reform in the Arab World: An Imperative of Self-determination": International Expert Conference on Legal Reform in the Arab World, jointly organized by the Institute of Law of Birzeit University (Palestine), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium) and Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (Germany), in the framework of the  Second World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies, Amman, Jordan, 13 June 2006.

• Statement on behalf of the International Progress Organization: NGO Consultation, World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations," Fourth Annual Conference, Rhodes, Greece, 29 September 2006.

• "The State of Peace under the Conditions of a Unipolar World Order": 9th International Forum organized by the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education - "Lifelong Integrated Education: Enlightenment on the Order of Coexistence," Paris, France, 9 November 2006.

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

On 7 September 2006 the I.P.O. participated in the International Conference "ASEM@10 - Connecting Civil Societies of Asia and Europe," organized by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in connection with the 6th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Helsinki, Finland.

On 31 August 2006 the I.P.O. participated in an international scientific  symposion on "CTBT: Synergies with Science - 1996-2006 and Beyond" which was held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Test-Ban-Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.

From 5 to 6 September 2006 the I.P.O. participated in Copenhagen, Denmark, in the "Copenhagen Lab of Co-existence" and took part in the launching of the "Co-existence Expedition."

From 7 to 8 September 2006 the I.P.O. participated in Helsinki, Finland, in the international conference "ASEM@10 - Connecting Civil Societies of Asia and Europe," organized by the Asia-Europe Foundation (Singapore).

INFORMATION VISITS BY THE PRESIDENT

Within the framework of the I.P.O.'s activities, Prof. Hans Koechler undertook information visits to Qatar (4-8 June 2006), Bahrain (6 June 2006), Jordan (12-15 June 2006), Singapore (13-15 August 2006), Malaysia (16-17 August 2006), and Latvia (25-26 December 2006).
 

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT

• 13 February 2006: Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, with Mr. Bedrettin Dalan, former Mayor of Istanbul.

• 15 February 2006: Meeting in Eskişehir, Turkey, with the Vice-Rector of Osmangazi University, Prof. Atilla Yildirim.

• 12 May 2006: Meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, with Prof. Ahmet Davutoglu, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister of Turkey.

• 14 June 2006: Meeting in Amman, Jordan, with the Editor-in-Chief of Al-Urdon Newspaper, Dr. Musa Keilani.

• 30 June 2006: Meeting in Vienna, Austria, with the Chairperson of the International Co-ordinating Network on Palestine, Ms. Phyllis Bennis (USA).

• 30 June 2006: Meetings at the United Nations Office in Vienna with Mr. Romesh Chandra, Chairperson of the NGO Committee on Development, and Ambassador Norma Goicochea, Permanent Representative of Cuba to the United Nations.

• 15 August 2006: Meeting in Singapore with the Deputy Executive Director of the Asia-Europe Foundation, Mr. Bertrand Fort.

• 16 August 2006: Meeting in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, with Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).

• 29 September 2006: Meeting in Rhodes, Greece, with Mr. Michael Karlen, Secretary-General of the organization "Comprehensive Dialogue Among Civilizations" (Geneva).

• 8 November 2006: Meeting in Paris, France, with Ms. Yumiko Kaneko, Director-General of the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Tokyo).

GOLDEN HONORARY MEDAL OF THE I.P.O.

• Prof. Dr. Türkkaya Ataöv: The conferral ceremony has taken place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 13 February 2006, in the presence of the former Mayor of Istanbul, Mr. Bedrettin Dalan, and the Rector of Yeditepe University, Professor Ahmet Serpil.

• Dr. Fatemah Remedios C. Balbin: The conferral ceremony has taken place in Roanoke, Virginia, USA.

CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS AND NGOs

-- The International Progress Organization entered into informal co-operation with the Law Institute of the University of Birzeit, Palestine, in the field legal reform in Palestine.

-- The International Progress Organization continued co-operation with other NGOs within the framework of the NGO Committee on Peace (United Nations Office at Vienna).

-- Editorial co-operation was agreed upon with the international online magazine FutureIslam.com (New Delhi, India).

INTERNSHIPS

Mr. Nathan Harstad (Bethany Lutheran College, Minnesota, USA) and Ms. Anne Groelz (Buena Vista University, Iowa, USA) served as interns at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna.