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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No.49/1999 |
Dateline: December 22, 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. 49/1999
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org
Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
Abolition 2000: Countdown to the NPT
Dear Friends and Activists,
Only 126 days remain until the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference, which begins on April 24, 2000. At the Hague Appeal for Peace, we set a goal of having 2000 organizations by the time of the NPT. Currently, the Network is comprised of 1,415 organizations in 90 countries and 239 Municipalities have endorsed the Abolition 2000 Municipal Resolution. We are seeking your support to help us reach our goal. Please join me in a commitment to enroll as many organizations as possible between now and the NPT Conference Thank you for your continued support of Abolition 2000 and a world free from the threat of Nuclear Weapons.
Yours In Peace, Carah Lynn Ong Coordinator, Abolition 2000 < >
A Nuclear South Asia: "Sagar" Call for Papers
The South Asia Research Journal "Sagar", produced by the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Texas, has issued the following Call for Papers with regard to its Volume 7/2000 on A Nuclear South Asia:
The last two years has witnessed wholesale changes in the polities of South Asia's two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. Among these changes are nuclear capacity in both states and another conflict over Kashmir fought in Kargil. The internal political dynamics of both countries have also shifted considerably. A stellar victory by the BJP in India has further emboldened rightwing elements of the Sangh Parivar and the re-emergence of military rule in Pakistan is emblematic of a rightist trend there as well. Further complicating matters is the onslaught of neoliberalism, emanating from the US, in which 'non-competitive' economies that engage in social spending are being marginalized, either by attrition or by force.
Papers may discuss, but are not limited to, the following questions:
What does the next decade hold for the two nuclear states of South Asia? Are the enmities too deep for constructive engagement? Are nuclear weapons just another sword hanging over the population of these two states? What does the nuclear state status of India and Pakistan mean, if anything, for the other nations of South Asia?
Submissions are elicited from activists, policy makers, and scholars of political science, economics, communications, anthropology, sociology, history of science and other related fields on pertinent to the theme as described above. While we have no strict length requirements, a maximum of 7,500 words (30 pages) is suggested. Footnotes and bibliographies should follow the Chicago Manuel of Style. Book reviews are welcome as well. Reviews need not follow the theme of the issue. Please send two copies of your submission as well as a disk copy in MS Word by April 1, 2000 to :
"Sagar" -A South Asia Research Journal, c/o Center for Asian Studies, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA Email: < >
International conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects planned
An NGOs Planning Meeting on 14 December considered preparations for an international conference on "the illicit arms trade in all its aspects," which has been requested by a resolution of this year's U.N. General Assembly. The goals of the conference include: assessing and improving the capacity of governments to respond collectively to illicit arms transfers; exchanging information on national and regional approaches to the problem and developing norms; and establishing the seriousness of the small arms issue on the international agenda. The conference is tentatively scheduled for June of 2001, with three Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meetings, the first of which will take place from February 28-March 3, 2000. This first PrepCom will decide, among other things, the parameters of NGO participation in the 2001 conference. Although there are no clear precedents for a disarmament conference of this nature, it is not likely that civil society representatives will be permitted the degree of participation they enjoyed during the "Ottawa process" of negotiations on the land mine ban treaty.
The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), a network of roughly 200 peace, development, humanitarian, human rights and gun control groups, will take an active interest in this conference. Although governmental consensus extends no farther than tackling the illicit trade in conventional armaments, primarily small arms, many NGOs would prefer to see a broader governmental agenda considering legal arms transfers as part of the overall problem of weapons flows to areas of conflict. Some IANSA members, will need to familiarize themselves with U.N. procedures.
The NGO Committee on Disarmament has agreed to assist in facilitating NGO participation in the February-March PrepCom meeting for the 2001 conference, by handling the accreditation process, advising key NGOs on working in the U.N. and participation in the conference process, and consulting with U.N. Secretariat staff about appropriate NGO working space. Members of IANSA and the NGO Committee will meet shortly with the new Conventional Arms director in the U.N. Department for Disarmament Affairs, Agnes Marcaillou.
For more information, contact Roger Smith, Network Coordinator, NGO Committee on Disarmament: < >
CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS
Update: Millennium Forum "The United Nations for the Next Century" (see WNII No. 35/1999)
To register and apply to participate, go to: http://www.millenniumforum.org/html/Mfreg.html
Applications should be submitted as soon as possible and not later than 1 February 2000.
For more details, mailto:
INES WEB AND E-MAIL SERVICE
All INES e-mail addresses and homepages are available upon request from:
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