I.P.O. ANNUAL REPORT 2023

Vienna, 26 December 2023

P/RE/29159c

International Roundtable Conference

On 21 September 2023, the International Progress Organization hosted a roundtable consultation at Hotel Imperial in Vienna (Austria) on "Responsibility in International Relations." Experts from Austria, Canada, China, Germany, Iceland, India, Serbia, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, and the United States, supported by academic team members from France and Italy, discussed issues of state responsibility, legal accountability of states and individuals, international criminal justice, and the international rule of law in the context of global power politics. The papers will be published in the series "Studies in International Relations." A follow-up consultation is planned for 2024.

NEW PUBLICATIONS

  • Responsibility in International Relations: Documentation of an International Roundtable Consultation at Hotel Imperial in Vienna. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2023, ISBN 978-3-900704-36-0.

  • MMXXII – War or Peace: Speeches and Thoughts in a Pivotal Year. Studies in International Relations, Vol. XXXVIII. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2023, ISBN 978-3-900704-31-5.

  • Democracy in Times of War: Challenges to Our Common Humanity. World Forum on Democracy and Peace 2023 – Opening Speech. I.P.O. Lecture Series. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2023, ISBN 978-3-900704-32-2.

  • Demokratie in Zeiten des Krieges: Ein Vortrag. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2023, ISBN 978-3-900704-33-9.

  • The United Nations and the Multipolar Order of the Future: Reflections on the Tenacity of Power. Skopje Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2023. Keynote Lecture. Vienna: International Progress Organization, 2023, ISBN 978-3-900704-35-3. 

PalestinE / UNITED NATIONS

On 5 December 2023, the President of 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. He emphasized that the indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza risk triggering a never-ending cycle of violence and revenge that may engulf the entire Middle East and threaten global peace. In messages addressed to the meeting, the President of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the King of Jordan, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed their support for a two-state solution as only viable alternative to perpetual conflict.

Islam and the West

On 25 January 2023 the International Progress Organization issued a statement condemning the public burning of the Quran in Sweden and warning of the increase of anti-Islamic hate crimes in Europe. The I.P.O. emphasized that such acts are not protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights ("Freedom of expression"). On the contrary, any incitement to hatred such as the burning of sacred texts requires penalties according to Paragraph 2 of Article 10 of the Convention. Instead of issuing an official permit and providing security for the commission of what was actually a hate crime against the worldwide community of Muslims, the Swedish government should have prevented this heinous act, in conformity with the country’s obligations as a State Party to the European Convention on Human Rights and of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Participation in International Conferences

  •  "The Rise of Asia 2023: Global Crisis – What impact and what perspectives for Asia and the World?" Paris, France, 8 February 2023.

  • World Forum on Democracy and Peace." Berlin, Germany, 15-16 February 2023. -- The President of the I.P.O. moderated special sessions with Dr. Sahra Wagenknecht (Member of the German Parliament), Mr. Peer Steinbrück (Social-Democratic Party of Germany), and Dr. Karin Kneissl (former Foreign Minister of Austria).

  • "Skopje Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2023." Skopje, North Macedonia, 5-6 September 2023.

Global Appeal for Peace

In connection with the Ukraine conflict, the International Progress Organization, in April 2023, joined the "Philosophers Appeal for Peace," initiated by philosophy professors and students of philosophy in France against the suicidal march towards an "annihilative" world war. 

Law of the SEA

Following up on the I.P.O. research project on the geopolitics of maritime boundaries (2020), the International Progress Organization undertook a fact-finding visit to the maritime border area between Türkiye and Greece around the Greek island of Kastellorizo (Megisti / Meis) (21-24 June 2023). The President of the I.P.O. underlined the need for a negotiated settlement of the dispute over maritime demarcation between Türkiye and Greece, especially as regards the interpretation of the notion of “continental shelf” under current international law.

Crisis in Niger

In a public statement issued on 8 August 2023, the International Progress Organization warned of the consequences of armed intervention in Niger, pointing to the disastrous effects of earlier interventions in the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

SPECIAL LECTURES BY THE PRESIDENT

  • "G20 Summit 2022 -- Implications for World Order": International Conference, "The Rise of Asia 2023," Université Paris I -- Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris, France (8 February 2023).

  • "Democracy in Times of War": Opening Speech, World Forum on Democracy and Peace, Berlin, Germany (15 February 2023).

  • "The United Nations and the Multipolar Order of the Future": Keynote Lecture, Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2023, Skopje, North Macedonia (5 September 2023).

  • "Responsibility in International Relations": Opening Speech, The Imperial Roundtable, Vienna, Austria (21 September 2023).

  • "The Dilemma of International Criminal Justice": Fourth Scientific Conference on the Understanding of Law and Jurisprudence, University of Szczecin, Poland (24 November 2023).

MEDIA INTERVIEWS

  • Exclusive interview for the daily newspapers Bayan al-Youm, Al-Ittihad, and Maghribona (December 2023).

  • Interview for Raay Al Youm, London, on the Gaza War 2023 (December 2023).

Special meetings of the President

  • 16 February 2023: Prof. Lina Lopes, member of the Parliament of Portugal, in Berlin, Germany.

  • 18 February 2023: Prof. Gjorge Ivanov, former President of Macedonia, in Berlin, Germany.

  • 20 July 2023: Prof. Manuel Loureiro, Lisbon, Portugal.

  • 5 September 2023: Mr. Armin Laschet, former Chancellor-Candidate of the Christian-Democratic Party of Germany (CDU).

  • 6 September 2023: Mr. Stevo Pendarovski, President of the Republic of North Macedonia.

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