I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2022

Vienna, 2 January 2023

P/RE/28665c

50th Founding Anniversary

In commemoration of the 50th founding anniversary of the International Progress Organization, the President of the I.P.O. on 4 June 2022 gave a gala dinner at La Tour Hassan Palace in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Among the guests were representatives of culture, media, politics and academia from Morocco, Jordan and Palestine. In his address, Dr. Hans Köchler emphasized the continued relevance of the three principles on which the I.P.O. was founded in 1972: internationalism, universalism, and pacifism. Quoting from the founding declaration, he said that “universalism” must not be interpreted in the sense of uniformity of a particular value system and lifestyle imposed on the entire world, but as “respect of and tolerance towards all creeds and cultures” on the basis of reciprocity.

Coinciding with the anniversary of the First General Assembly of the I.P.O. (30 October 1972), the President issued a Special Statement outlining and reaffirming the foundational principles of the organization.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

  • Challenges and Contradictions of World Order: A Reader -- Selected papers published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the foundation of the International Progress Organization. Studies in International Relations, Vol. XXXVII. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2022. ISBN 978-3-900704-29-2, 266 pp.

  • Friedenspolitik im Nuklearzeitalter. AWP / Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Wissenschaft und Politik, 2022. ISBN 978-3-900719-06-7, 17 pp.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

  • On 11 March 2022, the International Progress Organization issued the "Blueprint for Peace in Ukraine," emphasizing neutrality and federalism as basis for peaceful co-existence at international and domestic levels, and suggesting international security guarantees under a P5+ arrangement.

  • On 18 March 2022, the President of the I.P.O. delivered a speech at the University of Le Havre (France) on "Russia - Ukraine: What Peaceful Co-existence?"

  • In a televised conversation with Oksana Boyko of RT International (29 March 2022), the President of the I.P.O. outlined the principles of a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the basis of the Minsk Agreements.

  •  On 28 July 2022, the President of the I.P.O. moderated a discussion on "The Future of Multilateralism in the Aftermath of the War against Ukraine" at an international conference at the German Parliament in Berlin.

  • On 23 September 2022, the President of the I.P.O. gave an interview for the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD), answering 5 questions under the heading: "Grave Escalation in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict: From 'Grain Diplomacy' to an All-out War."

Question of Palestine

On 29 November 2022, the International Progress Organization delivered a statement on behalf of civil society at a special United Nations meeting convened at the UN Office at Vienna by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The President of the I.P.O. welcomed the decision of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee of the UN General Assembly to request an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice concerning the legal consequences from the ongoing violation of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.

United Nations

The I.P.O. endorsed the joint NGO Statement to the 31st Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention & Criminal Justice (16-20 May 2022) and the statement to the UN Commission on the Status of Women initiated by Generations United and the NGO Committee on Intergenerational Solidarity (31 July 2022).

Non-alignment

On 11 February 2022, the President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture on the history of Austrian neutrality at a civil society meeting in Hard, province of Vorarlberg, Austria. -- The I.P.O. also participated in meetings of the "Bandung Spirit Online Conversation Series" on the G20 Summit in Indonesia: "G20 Presidency of Indonesia and Global Crisis" (21 April 2022), and "G20 Summit: What opportunity for BRICS, NAM and the Russia-Ukraine Crisis?" (28 May 2022).

Human Rights

On 19 September 2022, the I.P.O. took part in a side meeting of the 51st session of the United Nations Council on Human Rights in Geneva on "Risks and Problems of the Politicization of Human Rights."

Inter-cultural Dialogue

  • From 19 to 20 May 2022, the International Progress Organization took part in an international conference on "The Role of Culture in Establishing Dialogue and Cooperation in Post-conflict Situations: Advancing a Post-conflict Humanitarian Agenda" in Shusha, Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

  • At the invitation of the Minister of Culture of Morocco, the President of the I.P.O. delivered a lecture at the International Book Fair in Rabat (Morocco) on "Philosophy of Co-existence and Dialogue of Civilizations" (5 June 2022).

  • In connection with the International Book Fair in Amman, Jordan, the President of the I.P.O. took part in a lecture debate at the House of Culture and Arts on "Tensions between the Western and Muslim World" (6 September 2022).

Nuclear ARMS

In the course of civil society debates in Savognin, Switzerland, the President of the I.P.O. delivered a special lecture on "Politics of Peace in the Nuclear Age" (25 July 2022).

At an international law conference in Szczecin, Poland (25 November 2022), the International Progress Organization presented an assessment of the treaties on nuclear disarmament, particularly addressing the problems of the indefinite non-entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and of the lack of universal adherence to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

  • "The Struggle for World Order: Reflections in Times of Global Realignment": 20th International Likhachov Conference, Saint Petersburg, Russia (9-10 June 2022).

  • "Idea and Politics of World Order": Speech on the occasion of Knowledge Day, Saint Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences (1 September 2022).

  • "War and the Deceptive Arrogance of Great Powers": Keynote Speech at the International Conference, "Berlin Wall 33 -- 'In the Wake of the Russia-Ukraine Conflict'," German Parliament, Berlin, Germany (10 November 2022).

  • "Historical Turning Point? Remarks on the Eschatology of Power": Lecture to the readers' circle of the magazine "Current Concerns," Sirnach, Switzerland (30 December 2022).

     

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

  • Exclusive interview for the daily newspaper Al-Bayane, Casablanca, Morocco, 4 June 2022.

  • Interview for CBC (Caspian Broadcasting Company), Shusha, Karabakh Region, Azerbaijan, 20 May 2022.

  • Interview for Institute for Cultural Diplomacy, Berlin, Germany, 27 July 2022.

  • Interview for BBC Serbia on the history of the "Praxis Circle," 23 August 2022.

CO-OPERATION WITH international NGOs

On 4 March 2022, the President of the International Progress Organization issued a special congratulatory address on the occasion of the 60th founding anniversary of the Nomura Center for Lifelong Integrated Education (Japan). -- On 25 April 2022, the President of the I.P.O. received a delegation from the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (Republic of Korea) at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna. -- On 29 August 2022, the President of the I.P.O received a student delegation of the Netherlands Education Group (Libertas International Foundation) at the head office of the I.P.O. in Vienna. -- The International Progress continued co-operation in the framework of CONGO (Conference of Non-governmental Organizations in consultative status with the United Nations).

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