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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.43/1999 |
Dateline: November 12, 1999 |
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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. 43/1999
MEMBER ORGANISATIONS' AND PROJECT GROUPS' NEWS
David Krieger: Senate Vote Leaves the World a more Dangerous Place
Dr. David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), has recently published this article in which he assesses the US Senate's failure to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. You can obtain the article either from: or from the WNII editor at < >
"The SEU TIMES" No 7 - September/October 1999
"The SEU TIMES" is the electronic newsletter of the "Socio-Ecological Union", one of the Russian INES member organsiations. Its latest issue has the following contents:
Editor: Sviatoslav Zabelin < >
Previous issues of "The SEU Times" may be found at "The Online Gadfly": http://www.igc.org/gadfly
USA: Computer Professional for Social Responsibility (CPSR) http://www.cpsr.org
From 20-23 May 2000, CPSR is sponsoring a "Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing (DIAC)" Symposium entitled " Shaping the Network Society. The Future of the Public Sphere in Cyberspace" at Seattle, Washington, USA.
The objective of DIAC-00 is to integrate many perspectives, conversations, and people from around the world on the topic of public space in cyberspace: What is it? What should it be? What would we do with it? What can we do about it?
While DIAC-00 will present "best practices" and other lessons learned "from the field," there is an urgent need for theoretical work (or "condensed practice") as well. For that reason, DIAC-00 is strongly encouraging reflective work on strategic and policy levels. As an integral part of the DIAC-00 conference social scientists, engineers, computer scientists, artists, journalists, and other members of the research community will contribute their thinking on these pressing issues:
For more, goto: http://www.scn.org/cpsr/diac-00 or contact conference organizer Doug Schuler at < >
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org
Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
Abolition 2000 Network: Three Things You Can Do!
Dear Abolition 2000 Network Members,
Now, more than ever, your action and support are needed to make a difference. As the year 2000 quickly approaches, we must unite in our common endeavors to create a more peaceful and just world, free from the threat of nuclear weapons. Although our different organizations are unique and have a variety of priorities and agendas, we all are striving for the same end nuclear abolition. Did you know that the sunflower is not just one flower, but actually a collection of as many as 2,000 individual flowers assembled together to appear as one united being? As you may know, the sunflower is the official logo for Abolition 2000, and how appropriate! Abolition 2000 is like the sunflower because it is not just one organization, but rather a network of organizations united by our common work.
Here are three things you can do to unite and strengthen the Network:
1. In May 1999, at our annual general meeting held at the Hague Appeal for Peace conference, we agreed that the year 2000 poses a critical challenge for the Network and we set a goal of enrolling 2000 sponsors by the NPT Review Conference which will begin in April 2000. Currently there are 1,377 organizations in 89 countries who have endorsed the Abolition 2000 statement. We need your commitment to outreach to youth groups, religious groups, environmental groups, women's groups and all sectors of society and enroll organizations if we are going to reach our goal.
2. Please continue to circulate and collect signatures for the Abolition 2000 International Petition. To date, more than 13,280,718 signatures have been collected. Please use the petition as a tool to bring awareness and outreach to both individuals and organizations.
3. The Network needs the financial support of its members to sustain coordination of the Network's activities and offer travel costs for our annual general meetings to participants from resource poor countries and indigenous participants who would otherwise not be able to participate. Please commit to making a donation, however large or small to forward our common work and goals for this upcoming critical year. Thank you for your commitment in our common endeavor to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Your support is greatly appreciated.
In Peace, The Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee
Changes of the "abolition caucus" listserve
Please DO NOT send out or post any messages to the previous Abolition Global Caucus at the address "." This account has been closed! Please post any new messages to " " as Egroups.com will now host our listserve.
Carah Lynn Ong, Coordinator, Abolition 2000 Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Email: http://www.wagingpeace.org/abolition2000 http://www.egroups.com/group/abolition-caucus
UN Disarmament Committee Approves Draft Resolution in Support of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Nuclear Weapons
United Nations (4 November) -- The First Committee of the UN General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security issues,today adopted a draft resolution on the "Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons" by a vote of 98 to 27 with 21 abstentions.
The draft, introduced by Malaysia and co-sponsored by more than forty states, calls on all states to immediately fulfil disarmament obligations as stated in the 1996 ICJ opinion "by commencing multilateral negotiations in 2000 leading to an early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer,threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination."
Besides voting on the resolution itself, there were two separate votes on individual paragraphs. Paragraph One, which emphasized "the unanimous conclusion of the [ICJ] that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control," was adopted 137 to two (the US and Russia), with three abstentions (the UK, Bulgaria and Israel). France did not vote. The vote on Paragraph Two (which is quoted above) was adopted 93 to 26 with 22 abstentions. The US, UK and Russia voted no; China and France did not vote. [For those who access the official UN documents will see the vote on this paragraph as 94 to 25; the UK accidentally voted "yes" when it meant to vote "no."] In explaining its vote, the United States said, "We oppose this idea because we remain convinced that the step-by-step process... is yielding concrete results... and is the only realistic [option]" and that the resolution contains "mischaracterizations" of the NPT's Article VI and the NPT Review Conference's 1995 Principles and Objectives. Other NATO countries and Japan (who all voted no) had similar complaints about the resolution's selectiveness and support for a step-by-step process. In defending the resolution, Chile said the Advisory Opinion has a "sound doctrinal basis... [that] cannot be ignored." Committee votes are only recommendations to the General Assembly. The GA is expected to take up this and the other First Committee resolution by early December. Jim Wurst Program Director, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy (USA)
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Call for Papers on Sustainable Consumption
from: Maurie Cohen, Environmental Studies Program, Binghamton University Binghamton, NY 13902, USA Telephone: (1-607) 777 4725 E-mail:
As part of a programme funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (UK) the Oxford Centre for the Environment, Ethics & Society at Mansfield College is seeking authors interested in contributing to an edited book that will examine the interface between material consumption and the natural environment. In an attempt to formulate a broadly trans-disciplinary picture of the emerging discourse on sustainable consumption and ecologically-aware lifestyles this volume will draw together perspectives from sociology, geography, anthropology, economics, politics, history, philosophy, theology, and cultural studies. Scholars working in any of these fields are invited to participate in this exciting and innovative venture. We especially encourage contributions from individuals who are able to bridge two or more disciplinary boundaries and can communicate with an international audience.
Interested contributors should arrange to submit by 30 November 1999 a 250-word abstract. All submissions will be reviewed by the programme's advisory board and authors of accepted proposals will be required to furnish a working draft by 15 February 2000. An editorial meeting of the book's contributors is scheduled for March 2000 for which some funds may be available to defer invitees' travel and accommodation expenses.
Enquiries concerning this project should be directed to Anne Maclachlan at: Oxford Centre for the Environment, Ethics & Society Mansfield College Oxford OX1 3TF, United Kingdom Telephone and fax: (44-1865) 270 886 E-mail:
INES WEB AND E-MAIL SERVICE
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
Malawi: Change of email address of Patrick Mawaya
Patrick Mawaya, INES member from Malawi, has announced his new email address: < >
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