I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Vienna, 4 January 2021
P/RE/27849c
NEW PUBLICATION
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Kastellorizo: The Geopolitics of Maritime Boundaries and the Dysfunctionality of the Law of the Sea. Studies in International Relations, Vol. XXXV. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2020. ISBN 978-3-900704-27-8, 106 pp.
Responsibility in International Relations
Approaching the 50th
anniversary of its foundation, the I.P.O.
decided to discuss the
dual aspect of
responsibility in international relations – as
obligation on the part of states and
as accountability at individual and
collective level. An international roundtable
consultation was scheduled in Vienna, Austria (15 October 2020), with
the following main topics/questions: -
Responsibility of states (individual and collective) on the basis of the
UN Charter;
UNITED NATIONS
On 14 February 2020 the President of the International Progress Organization delivered a guest lecture at John Cabot University in Rome (Italy) on "The United Nations and International Democracy."
On 10 December 2020 the International Progress Organization delivered a statement on behalf of international non-governmental organizations at the United Nations Office at Vienna, in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. The meeting was held under the auspices of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The meeting received special messages from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas.
The Executive Board of the
I.P.O. decided to launch a research project in the period 2020-2021 on
problems of the law of the sea.
Instead of
establishing a precise and comprehensive legal régime for maritime
spaces, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
appears to have
opened a Pandora’s box of unresolved, at times almost intractable,
disputes and conflicts over maritime
jurisdiction around the globe. Since the
second half of the 20th century, the assertion of national interests has
increasingly included efforts to control and exploit the resources of
the sea – with major implications for the global power struggle in the
21st century.
International Criminal Justice
On 26 June 2020 the President of the International Progress Organization issued a statement on the decision by President Donald Trump to block property and restrict entry into the United States of any foreign person directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate or prosecute United States personnel without the consent of the United States.
Developments in the Lockerbie Case (Scottish Court in the Netherlands)
The relatives of the only person convicted in the Lockerbie case have requested the resumption of the appeal before Scotland's High Court of Justiciary. The International Progress Organization attended the trial and appeal proceedings in the Netherlands (2000-2002) and issued two analytical reports. In its decision of 2007, the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) had suggested the referral of the case to the High Court of Justiciary. Several of the reasons for appeal listed by the SCCRC were similar to the points raised in the reports of the I.P.O. After the withdrawal of the appeal by the only person convicted in the case, and the death of the convict, a new (third) appeal (upon request of the convicted person's family) has now been granted before Scotland's High Court of Justiciary. The appeal proceedings have started in November 2020.
I.P.O. Observer Mission
Populism in the Global Age
On 3 October 2020 the President of the I.P.O. addressed the Horasis Extraordinary Meeting on "Populism versus Multilateralism in the Global Age." The worldwide virtual meeting was attended by approx. 900 politicians, business leaders, researchers and civil society activists from all around the globe.
SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE
PRESIDENT
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"History of the European Forum Alpbach." Club Alpbach, Innsbruck, Austria, 29 August 2020.
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"Challenges to Global Peace: Is there a way from Mistrust to Dialogue?" International Forum "Volgograd Dialogue," Volgograd State University, Volgograd, Russia, 29 October 2020.
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"International Relations in Times of Change." Moderator's Statement, International Forum of People's Diplomacy, Volgograd, Russia, 31 October 2020.
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"The Current International System, International Law and the Role of the United States?" Medeniyet University, Istanbul, Turkey, 28 November 2020.
SPECIAL
MEETINGS OF THE PRESIDENT
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10 February 2020: Participation in the debates of the annual meeting on the occasion of the awarding of the Vernon Smith Prize in Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein.
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On 14 February 2020 the President of the I.P.O. met with members of the Faculty of John Cabot University in Rome, Italy.
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On 26 February 2020 the President of the I.P.O. met in Vienna, Austria with a delegation of the Swiss Co-operative "Zeit-Fragen."
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On 15 April 2020, a meeting with a delegation of the Omani Defence Studies Center was scheduled at the headquarters of the International Progress Organization in Vienna. The meeting had to be postponed in the wake of travel restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
MEDIA INTERVIEW
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Conversation on United Nations reform ("Global Reach: UN at 75") with Bill Boerum of Sister Cities International (USA), 20 November 2020.
CO-OPERATION WITH international NGOs
The International Progress Organization continued cooperation with the Swiss civil society initiative Mut zur Ethik / Courage for Ethics; the NGO Committees on Peace and on Development at the United Nations Center in Vienna; Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (Berlin); the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Japan); and with the Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO).
The International Progress Organization joined the newly established NGO Committee on Language and Languages within the framework of the United Nations Conference of Non-governmental Organizations.
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