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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.12/2000 |
Dateline: April 6, 2000 |
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This is a weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail: < >
INES homepage: http://inesglobal.org
INES International Office < >
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner < >
INES Congress 2000
''Challenges for Science and Engineering in the 21st Century''
Stockholm, 14-18 June 2000
http://www.ines2000.org
INES 2000 Conference Secretariat: mailto:
CONTENTS of WNII No. 12/2000
MEMBER ORGANISATIONS' AND PROJECT GROUPS' NEWS
INES Council Meeting 2000
Agenda of the Council Meeting 2000 in Stockholm, June 18, 2000
Please inform the INES Office about your participation:
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org
Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
Briefings on the 2000 NPT Review Conference
New IALANA project to promote nuclear disarmament "Questions Relating to the Implementation of the Obligation to Pursue and Bring to a Conclusion Negotiations Leading to Nuclear Disarmament (work in progress)" is the title of a Draft Application recently published by the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), which was described by IALANA representatives as a possible "World Court Project II". (The original World Court Project was the successful NGOs' initiative to put the question to the International Court of Justice whether or not nuclear weapons are illegal by international law.) So far, an Executive Summary of this project exists which certainly will be discussed during the NGO gatherings around the forthcoming NPT Review Conference. You can get this paper as an rtf-file from the WNII editor. NOTE in addition that IALANA is publishing "IALANA Update", a bimonthly newsletter which is digitally available to anyone who is interested in legal aspects of nuclear disarmament. In order to be added to the mailing list, please send an e-mail to:
Oxford Research Group: New Report on the NPT, CTBT and ABM Treaty A new report entitled "Collective Security: A New Role for Britain" and produced by the independent research organisation, Oxford Research Group, highlights the threats to three crucial treaties which are fundamental to the international arms control regime and currently in danger of unraveling. Also, the report proposes ways in which Britain can play a powerful international role in bringing about greater collective security. To order copies of the report for £5.00/$8.00 contact Oxford Research Group at:
IEER Conference: Nuclear Disarmament, the NPT, and the Rule of Law (update) http://www.ieer.org On 24-26April, the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), a US-based INES member organisation, is holding this conference (previously announced as seminar; see WNII 6/2000) at the United Nations in New York. The main points of the conference agenda are:
For additional information, contact Michele Boyd:
UN Department for Disarmament Affairs NPT Press Kit The UN Department for Disarmament Affairs has placed its NPT Press Kit on-line at: http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/nptfolder.pdf It contains:
A. Nikitin: Supreme Court leaves Russian legal system in limbo (29 March 00)
(From the Bellona Foundation, Norway) Background: http://www.bellona.no/ On 29 March, the Russian Supreme Court failed to follow the Constitution and put an end to more than four-year long persecution of Aleksandr Nikitin, after postponing the Supreme Court hearing for indefinite time. The request to postpone the session came from a representative of the Prosecutor General Office present at the trial. The prosecutor grounded the request by saying his office did not have enough time to evaluate sentence of acquittal in the Nikitin case reached by the St. Petersburg City Court in December 1999. The Presiding Judge granted the request without taking notice of the protesting defence team. The Russian officials confronted by the West have always stressed that the court is to decide upon the fate of Aleksandr Nikitin. This is exactly what the Russian court system fails to do. The appeal lodged by the prosecution to the Supreme Court questioning the sentence of acquittal reached in the Nikitin case is completely groundless. It basically advocates for the practise when sub legal acts can override the Constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court had an easy task of following the Constitution by reaffirming the acquittal of Nikitin. But it seems that other considerations were involved. These considerations will become clear at the next session of the Supreme Court that will hopefully takes place in a few weeks time.
CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS
Sustainable Energy - New Challenges for Agriculture and Implications for Land Use http://www.sls.wau.nl/congresme/default.htm
The main objective is to bring together economists and scientists working in the area of sustainable energy and land use modeling, to discuss the implications for agriculture of a transition toward a society that relies on sustainable energy For more details, contact: Will Bodde, Congress Office:
UPDATE: Disasters in the Black Sea Region: Prevention and Liquidation of Sequences (see WNII 2/00)
Third Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC 2000) http://www.abic.net/
Under the theme, Agbiotech: The Science of a New Century, participants will consider the opportunities agricultural biotechnology can offer. For more details, mailto:
International Symposium on Desertification http://www.khgm.gov.tr/isdesertification.htm
The symposium will provide a forum for presenting and discussing current research, new technologies, recent accomplishments and practical applications in all aspects of desertification. For more details, contact: Fikret Eyüpolu, ISD Secretary, Soil and Fertilizer Research Institute: mailto:
EcoEfficiency 2000 -Towards Sustainable Economic Growth http://www.nutek.se/information/ecoefficiency2000/index.html
EcoEfficiency 2000 will present strategies for attaining sustainable economic growth on the societal, company and product level, and will explore how profit can be increased and environmental impact reduced by applying the EcoEfficiency concept to infrastructure, corporate strategy, product development, and use of materials and energy. For more details, mailto:
5th Congress on Marine Sciences http://ioc.unesco.org/iocweb/news/external/marcuba2000_e.htm
Topics for discussion will include integrated coastal zone management, marine resources management, marine biodiversity, and the global ocean observing system For more details, mailto:
International Conference on Climate Change Communication http://geognt.uwaterloo.ca/c3confer/
The Conference is intended to support effective communication as a means of strengthening the climate change science-policy process. For more details, contact Jean Andrey, Department of Geography, University of Waterloo: or contact Daniel Scott, Adaptation and Impacts Research Group, Environment Canada:
21st ISODARCO Summer Course: Nuclear Weapons in a Vulnerable World
From scientific discoveries prior to World War II to the Manhattan Project and the use of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima, the course will take the participant through the Cold War Arms Race to post Cold War developments. How have these weapons of mass destruction affected political systems, relations among nations? What are the prospects for their control, management and elimination? In the manner of ISODARCO, participants and faculty will partner in the discussions and share ideas, strategies and visions for the future. Application should arrive not later than June 30, 2000 and should be addressed to: Prof. Carlo Schaerf (Director of the school)
International Conference on Forest Ecosystems - Ecology, Conservation and Sustainable Management http://www.agnic.org/mtg/2000/icfeecsm.html
The conference aims to share the knowledge and technologies needed for sustainable management of forest resources and biodiversity conservation, and to promote multifunctional management and forest resources utilization For more details, mailto: or mailto:
Biotechnology 2000 - 11th International Biotechnology Symposium http://www.dechema.de/englisch/veransta/ibs11/pags/ibs11_1.htm
For more details, mailto:
Earth Technologies Forum
For more details, mailto: or visit: http://www.earthforum.com/
No new or changed email or web addresses in this issue. All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from: < >
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