Vienna, 2 January 1995/P/K/14642c

NEW PUBLICATIONS

As a follow-up to the discussions on the United Nations sanctions policy the I.P.O. published the brochure « Ethische Aspekte der Sanktionen im Völkerrecht» [Ethical Aspects of the Sanctions Policy in International Law - The Practice of Sanctions and Human Rights] (Studies in international Relations, vol. XX, Vienna 1994, ISBN 3-900704-14-7).

As a follow-up to the discussions on the concept of democracy in the «New World Order» the I.P.O. publishes the brochure «Democracy after the End of the East-West Conflict» (Studies in International Relations, vol. XXI, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-900704-15-5).

INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS ON THE CONFLICT IN BOSNIA -HERZEGOVINA

As a follow-up to its earlier roundtable on the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Vienna, 25 November 1993) the I.P.O. participated in several international conferences and presented papers on the settlement of the conflict:

• International Conference of Parliamentarians on Bosnia-Herzegovina (Kuala Lumpur, 22-23 January 1994). The conference was opened by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Muhamad. It was also addressed by the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina, H.E. Dr. Alija Izetbegović. The I.P.O. was represented in the drafting committee.

• International Conference «Bosnia and Herzegovina: Justice and Development are the only Bases for Peace» (Brussels, 28-29 May 1994). The conference was held at the seat of the European Parliament and was opened by the President of the European Parliament, the Hon. Egon Klepsch. The President of the I.P.O. delivered a personal message of Austrian Foreign Minister Dr. Alois Mock. The I.P.O. was represented in the drafting committee.

• International Seminar «Bosnia-Herzegovina: Future Prospects» (Tehran, 27-28 August 1994). The seminar was organized by the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS). It was opened by Iranian Foreign Minister Dr. Ali Akbar Velayati. A special address was given by H.E. Hashemi Rafsanjani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Foreign Minister of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dr. Irfan Ljublijankić, spoke at the opening session.

• On 9 June 1994 the President of I.P.O. gave a special lecture in Vienna on the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina for students of the Central College of Iowa (USA). The I.P.O. established close co-operation with the «International Parliamentarians Against Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina» (IPGB) and held consultations with parliamentarians from several countries, among them Congressman Frank McCloskey (USA), Senator Kamil Al Sharif (Jordan), and Count John Gudenus (Austria).
  

ISLAMIC-CHRISTIAN DIALOGUE

The I.P.O. participated in the Inter-religious Dialogue Conference «Peace for All» in Khartoum (8-10 October 1994). The President of the I.P.O. gave a speech on the sub-topic «Challenges and Perspectives of Inter-religious Dialogue». In connection with the conference Prof. Koechler met with H.E. General Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, President of the Republic of Sudan, Dr. Hassan Abdallah al-Turabi, Secretary-General of the People's Arab-Islamic Conference, Field Marshal A.M.H. Sowar El-Dahab, former Head of State of Sudan, Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin Al-Atabani, State Minister for Political Affairs, the Catholic Archbishop of Khartoum, Gabriel Zubeir Wako, and with the Secretary-General of the Sudanese Council of Churches, Rev. Ezekiel Kutjok.

INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE ON DEMOCRACY

On 27 May 1994 the I.P.O. co-sponsored an international roundtable discussion on « Democracy after the End of the East-West Conflict» at the University of Innsbruck/Austria. The meeting was convened in co-operation with the Department of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck and the University Center Luxembourg. Among the speakers were Prof. Rajab Boudabbous (Libya), Prof. Themba Sono (South Africa), Prof. Jean-Paul Harpes (Luxembourg), Prof. Peter Pernthaler (Austria), Prof. Normand Perreault (Canada). A special reception was given for the participants of the roundtable by the Lord Mayor of Innsbruck.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH PROJECT

The first working session of the research project on «The Political Theory of Transnational Democracy - Citizens, Peoples and Minorities in Europe» will be held in Rome (30 March - 1 April 1995). The I.P.O. will present a working paper on «The United Nations and International Democracy». The project is implemented within the framework of the Human Capital and Mobility Programme of the European Union.

DEMOCRATIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS

The I.P.O. co-sponsored - together with the Jamahir Society for Culture and Philosophy - an International Roundtable on «The United Nations and International Democracy» (Geneva, 1-2 July 1994). Papers were presented, among others, by Erskine Childers (Ireland), Awad al-Karim Mussa (Sudan), Prof. Robert Charvin (France), Prof. William D. Perdue (USA), Marius Martens and Prof. Themba Sono (South Africa), Dr. S. S. Mohapatra (India), Mr. Michel Peristerakis (Greece), Dr. Arturo Munoz-Ledo, Vice-President of I.P.O. (Mexico). It is to be recalled that the I.P.O. convened the Second International Conference On A More Democratic United Nations (CAMDUN-2) at the U.N. Center in Vienna (1991).

UNITED NATIONS SANCTIONS POLICY

On 1 December 1994 the I.P.O. convened in New York an International Meeting of Legal Experts on U.N. Sanctions Against Libya. The rapporteur of the meeting was Prof. Francis Boyle (University of Illinois/USA). Among the participants were Prof. Türkkaya Ataöv (Turkey), Prof. Robert Charvin (France), Prof. Kurt Ebert (Austria), Prof. Auguste-Raynald Werner (Switzerland), Prof. Mohammed Arif (UK). The President of the I.P.O., at the head of a delegation of the group of experts, met on 1 December with the President of the United Nations Security Council in order to brief him on the work of the experts. The President of the Security Council stated that he will forward the Declaration adopted by the meeting of legal experts to the member states of the Security Council. The eleven-point Declaration states, among others, that the «Security Council sanctions against Libya have inflicted severe harm upon the Libyan people in violation of fundamental norms of international human rights law and treaties.» (The text of the Declaration can be obtained from the head office of the I.P.O.) On 2 December the group of experts gave a press conference at U.N. headquarters.

The New York-meeting was convened in follow-up to I.P.O.'s earlier meeting of legal experts in Geneva (23 May 1992).

NGO COMMITTEE ON DEVELOPMENT

In meetings on 18 August and 10 October 1994 at the Vienna International Centre (United Nations Office at Vienna) the I.P.O. - in co-operation with other NGOs - launched the NGO Committee on Development. The purpose of the Committee is better co-ordination among non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in regard to issues of economic development and North-South relations. A consultation meeting on the Report of the UN Secretary-General «An Agenda for Development» was held on 14 November 1994. The I.P.O. has undertaken to present proposals for a working group on North-South relations within the framework of the NGO Committee.

The I.P.O. will also participate in the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen (6-12 March 1995).

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE President

On 30 May 1994 Prof. Koechler arranged a meeting in Vienna between the President of the Republic of Sudan, General Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Bashir, and the Former Head of State of Austria, Dr. Kurt Waldheim, concerning the conflict in the Sudan and possible mediation efforts.

In the course of 1994 the President of the I.P.O. held a series of consultation meetings on political and ideological issues and on the I.P.O.'s activities. Among Prof. Koechler's interlocutors were Prof. Necmettin Erbakan, Leader of the Welfare Party of Turkey, Dr. Mifsud Bonnici, former Prime Minister of Malta, and Prof. Roger Garaudy (France).

HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVES

On 9 March 1994 the President of I.P.O. met in Vienna with H.E. Abdullah Bishara, special envoy of the Foreign Minister of Kuwait, concerning the fate of the Kuwaiti prisoners and detainees In Iraq. A meeting was also held with former Austrian President Dr. Kurt Waldheim on the same issue.

The President of I.P.O. met on 11 May 1994 in Vienna with Iraqi Vice-Prime Minister Tareq Aziz. They discussed the same issue, among other topics.

On 15 May 1994 Prof. Koechler held another meeting with Iraqi Vice-Prime Minister Tareq Aziz in New York concerning the issue of the sanctions imposed by the Security Council on Iraq. The I.P.O. participated in an international consultation of ngo-representatives and parliamentarians on the impact of the sanctions on the humanitarian situation in Iraq (New York, 16 May 1994). The President of I.P.O. - in co-operation with Prof. Mümtaz Soysal, former Foreign Minister of Turkey - drafted an Appeal to the Security Council for the lifting of the sanctions. The Appeal was endorsed by the NGO-representatives and was presented by Prof. Koechler at an international press conference at United Nations headquarters on 16 May 1994. The President of the I.P.O. also met with the former Speaker of the Jordanian Parliament, Dr. Abdul Latif Arabiyat, on the same issue.

PARTICIPATION IN INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

On 14 April 1994 the President of I.P.O. participated in a consultative meeting at the European Parliament in Brussels on the impact of the New World Order on North-South relations. The meeting was convened by a group of British MPs.

President Koechler participated in the International Symposion on «Human and Peoples' Rights and the New International Order» (Tripoli, 30-31 August 1994) where he presented the
introductory report on «Human Rights and the New International Order.»

He further participated in the International Conference on « Rethinking Human Rights» (Kuala Lumpur, 6-7 December 1994). The conference was opened by Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Seri Dr. Mahathir Muhamad. (The speech of the Prime Minister can be obtained from the head office of the I.P.O.)

On 29 November 1994 the Permanent Representative of I.P.O. to the United Nations, Dr. Robert Thabit, sent a special message to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People on the occasion of the meeting in commemoration of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (General Assembly, Official Records, No. 1994/231).

SPECIAL LECTURES

On 23 July 1994 the President of I.P.O. gave the keynote address at a meeting on «The New World Order and its Impact on the Third World» in London. The meeting was convened by the British Afro-Asian Solidarity Organization. It was attended by British members of the European Parliament and of the House of Commons.

On 24 and 25 November 1994 the President of the I.P.O. gave lectures at the University of Istanbul and Mimar Sinan University (Turkey).

CO-OPERATION WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The International Progress Organization will co-operate in the field of United Nations Reform and North-South relations with the Just World Trust (Penang/Malaysia). Meetings were held between the Chairman of the Just World Trust, Mr. Mohammed Idris, and its Director, Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, and the President of I.P.O. The I.P.O. further participated in a co-ordination meeting of NGOs in Kuala Lumpur on 8 December 1994.

The International Progress Organization will co-operate closely with the Center for Development Analysis (CDA) (Pretoria/South Africa) on all issues of mutual interest. On 1 March 1994 the President of I.P.O. was appointed as Member of the Board of Trustees of the CDA.