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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.19/2000 |
Dateline: July 28, 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 <
CONTENTS of WNII No. 19/2000
MEMBER ORGANISATIONS' AND PROJECT GROUPS' NEWS
Weekly WNII edition to be continued
Dear readers, Last week, INES Treasurer Dr Dieter Meissner has ordered not to implement the decision concerning the cut of my payment, and to reconsider the matter in the course of the next budget planning. I do not want to go into details but it seems to me that prior to this order, there had been some misunderstandings along with a bit of lack of communication. I trust there will be ways for a solution satisfying all parties involved.
Yours, Tobias Damjanov, Editor
Update IPB Triennial Meeting: Paris Peace Declaration + workshops overview
In preparation for its Triennial Meeting at Paris, 12-15 October this year (see WNII 16/2000), the International Peace Bureau (IPB) has issued the following "Paris Peace Declaration" which is now open for endorsing signatures.
THE PARIS PEACE DECLARATION
Everyone is talking about globalisation -- but the globalisation of peace?
The year 2000 is not only the opening of a new century, a new millennium. It is also 10 years since the end of the Cold War. It is 10 years too since the IPB last gathered in Paris, at its 1990 conference in Créteil. This time period gives us sufficient distance perhaps to see the contours of the new order (or disorder) that is evolving. It is clear that we are in an era where there is one dominant military superpower (USA), one powerful alliance (NATO), and a number of regional powers. This in itself is a recipe for serious instability. The global military industry continues to reap huge profits from death preparations, and its market is a global one without frontiers.
The last 10 years have seen terrible killing and some serious wars and acts of genocide: Rwanda, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Afghanistan, Angola...to name only the worst. But they have also seen 10 years of peacemaking and progress in certain directions: landmines treaty, Criminal Court, World Court decision on nuclear weapons, peace settlements in S.Africa, Ireland, Guatemala...the Pinochet case, etc.
The horizons of the peace movement have expanded enormously: not only covering disarmament and conflict resolution, but also human rights, sustainable development, justice, democracy, global governance...all these and more are rightly the subject of reflection and nonviolent action of all kinds. We can no longer say we have ONE peace movement, rather we belong to a family of movements and networks.
All the themes mentioned above were woven into the Hague Appeal for Peace and its historic conference in May 1999, which IPB helped to organise and which has been its most ambitious project to date. The principal outcome is the 50-point Hague Agenda for Peace and Justice, a document that was produced with the participation of hundreds of civil society groups and has become an official UN document. Our task now is to work together to implement that vision and those measures. This will require planning, resources and above all commitment. The voices of civil society must be heard, and governments must learn to listen. We offer our full support for the October conference in Paris, conscious of the magnitude of the tasks ahead but inspired by the knowledge that thousands, millions even, are working with us.
Send your signature to: < >
Along with the three key conference themes (A) Lay down your Arms, (B) Globalisation and War, and (C) Cultures of Peace, related workshops are part of the programme. Note : For all workshops, the work includes the task of considering resolutions or action ideas for IPB Assembly on 14 October, or for contributions to the Conference Declaration.
(A) Lay down your Arms (plenary, 12 Oct, 14.00-15.30) The workshops (16.0018.00) are: A1. Nuclear abolition A2. Small arms A3. Military spending A4. Space and missiles A5. Nuclear health effects
(B) Globalisation and War (plenary, 13 Oct, 9.30-11.00) The workshops (11.30-13.30) are: B1. Globalisation and the war system B2. Humanitarian intervention B3. Kosovo 18 months after B4. Conflict zones and solidarity work B5. Future of ecological security B6. UN Reform
(C) Cultures of Peace (plenary, 13 Oct, 16.00-18.00) The workshops (14 Oct, 9.00 11.00) are: C1. Culture of peace/Peace education C2. Massmedia, peace and war C3. International humanitarian law C4. Building a youth peace movement C5. Cultures of tolerance
Closing plenary: 14 Oct, 11.30 13.00; followed by the IPB Assembly: 14 Oct, 15.0018.30, and the IPB Council, 15 Oct
News from the the Hague Appeal for Peace http://www.haguepeace.org
The Hague Appeal for Peace will be hosting two workshops at this year's annual DPI/NGO UN conference at New York:
--- Globalization of Militarism Workshop, August 28, 2000 (13.15-14.45; Conference Room 4, UN Secretariat)
One consequence of globalization is the promotion of militarism and war because it undermines human security, encourages military over civilian economies and requires oppressive force to impose civil and international order while protecting the interests and investments of transnational corporations. NATO expansion, the arms trade and deployment of troops to foreign lands are also factors. This session will discuss these issues. But globalization can also promote peace and solidarity. We will discuss that as well.
Panelists:
--- Civil Society and the New Democratic Diplomacy , August 29, 2000 (13.15-14.45; Conference Room 4, UN Secretariat)
Partnership among civil society, government and international organizations is the only way forward to achieve sustainable peace and justice. The landmine ban treaty, Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the World Court decision on the illegality of nuclear weapons and the Rome Statute for an International Criminal Court are success stories in the use of Democratic Diplomacy. The Hague Appeal for Peace Conference in May 1999 demonstrated that we can no longer rely on governments alone to facilitate change. This workshop will explore the potential for collaborative strategies for peace and justice.
Panelists:
Next issue of "Peace Matters", the quarterly newspaper of the Hague Appeal for Peace
As the next Peace Matters is soon going to print, the publishers are looking for calendar items. If you wish to get your event publicized, contact
Regina Mylan < >
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
Computer-based three-dimensional simulations of nuclear detonations (Source: "Virtual Nuclear Arms Tests," by Walter Pincus, The Washington Post, July 22, 2000)
Scientists at the three nuclear weapons laboratories of the USA have for the first time been able to reproduce on computers three-dimensional simulations of the detonations that together produce the explosive output of thermonuclear weapons. The breakthrough will allow scientists to follow in 3-D the simulated inner workings of a thermonuclear warhead as it explodes. Previously that could only be done by an actual underground nuclear test.
The supercomputer programs at the three labs--Los Alamos, Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California--are a major part of the US Energy Department's nearly US$5 billion-a-year stockpile stewardship program. Within the next five years, each lab is expected to receive yet another generation of new supercomputers. That would allow officials to conduct virtual tests of existing and new weapons, analyze design and production of new parts and view reenactments of accidents.
"The ability to computationally simulate each of these components individually will allow us to simulate an entire nuclear explosion in three dimensions, which is the goal of the [Energy Department computer] program," according to Bob Weaver, a leader of the Los Alamos team.
As Stephen Starr noted on the abolition-caucus listserve on 28 July, "The purpose of this type of testing has much more to do with designing new types of nuclear weapons than verifying the reliability of old designs.The U.S. has already acquired all the expertise and information it needs to insure the reliability of its current nuclear arsenal."
"Must Try Harder": Abolition 2000 Progress Report Card
Edited by Janet Bloomfield (Oxford Research Group, UK) and Pamela S. Meidell (The Atomic Mirror, USA), this publication by the Abolition 2000 Network sums up the total grade on progress toward nuclear abolition over the past five years. Introduced by Nobel Peace Laureate and INES member Sir Joseph Rotblat, this special edition of the Abolition 2000 Progress Report Card for this year's NPT Review Conference also provides a number of recommendations as how to break the obvious deadlock of current nuclear disarmament policy.
"Must Try Harder" can be obtained from: < >
International Network of Whistleblower Protection Organisations founded (from Dr Guenter Emde)
Whistleblower organisations of several countries have agreed to form an international network cooperating for the promotion and protection of whistleblowing in public interest. Common goal is to offer assistance to individuals who take responsible action and who suffer or fear reprisals because of their ethically motivated, unselfish efforts in the public interest.
This is one result of the workshop "Towards a Culture of Individual and Institutional Responsibility" having taken place at the INES2000 Conference in Stockholm, from 14th to 18th of June, 2000.
The network is open for other organizations which agree with these goals. We will try to get partners in every country worldwide. Future common actions are envisaged.
Founding participants (Country, Organization, Representative, Email address):
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
CHANGE email: Syndicat National des Travailleurs de la Recherche Scientifique (SNTRS-CGT) France
Note the change of the email address of the French INES member organisation Syndicat National des Travailleurs de la Recherche Scientifique (SNTRS-CGT) (National Trade Union of Workers in Scientific Research):
CHANGE email Åse Richard, INES Executive Committee Member
Note the new email address of Åse Richard (Sweden):
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