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WHAT'S NEW IN INES? |
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No. 4/2002 |
Dateline: February 2, 2002 |
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This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:
WNII is archived at: http://inesglobal.org/archive.htm
INES homepages: http://inesglobal.org http://www.inesglobal.com/
INES International Office
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner [Please note that the first "1" in q18 is the number one, while the last "l" is an "L"]
CONTENTS of WNII No. 4/2002
UK: Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) http://www.sgr.org.uk
This is to announce that SGR will hold its 10th Anniversary Conference on 27 April 2002. Entitled "Can Scientists be Trusted?", the conference will be addressed by John Ziman FRS, Professor Emeritus of Physics, Bristol University, as a keynote speaker whose subject will be "What Does Society Need Science For?"
The conference is structured by the following three workshops:
Also, SGR will hold its Annual General Meeting during the conference.
For more, contact SGR at: < >
USA: Position statement on the September 11 events
US INES member Tom Munsey has made available a resolution from the Green Party of Washington State concerning the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. This statement is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
David Krieger articles
Due to limited space, I feel unable to publish the following articles in full here but they are available from me as rtf-formatted email attachments. The Editor
SPECIAL SECTION ON US MISSILE DEFENSE POLICY
ABM Treaty petition
An on-line petition calling on the US President and the Senate to honor the ABM Treaty can be found at:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/abmtrty/petition.html
State Duma Resolution on ABM
This resolution was published in Parlamentskaya Gazeta (No. 17, 2002). Austrian WNII reader Dr Georg Schoefbaenker has made available a translation from RIA Novosti for personal use only, which is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
USA: Space Preservation Act of 2001 legislative initiative
In WNII 44/2001 US Senator Kucinich's legislative initiative to introduce a Congressional Bill to Ban Space-based Weapons had been referred to. Now, this bill has been reintroduced, including some changes as well as under a new bill number HR 3616.
The bill calls on the U.S. to ban all research, development, testing, and deployment of space-based weapons and if passed would require the U.S. to enter negotiations toward a World Treaty to Ban Weapons in Space.
The text of the new HR 3616 is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/
Moratorium on missile development and testing? Petition for a Missile Freeze
US INES member Alice Slater writes:
Dear Friends, Isn't it time for Abolition 2000 to publicly call for a moratorium on missile development and testing, pending negotiations to ban all missiles and their payloads? With the NPT coming up we can highlight the language that calls for the elimination of nuclear weapons AND THEIR DELIVERY SYSTEMS. We are sending out an Abolition 2000 mailing next month to all of our organizations and I think it would be good to include this as a Worldwide Call to Action in light of the conflict between Russia and the US over the ABM withdrawal, the latest Indian missile test, the possible use of missiles by Israel in the Middle East, etc. Let me know what you all think. Many thanks. Alice Slater < >
This statement of concern has caused a highly interesting and lively debate among members of INES, INESAP and others to the effect that Dr Juergen Scheffran, on 1 February, has disseminated the following Draft for a Petition for a Missile Freeze:
Weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery pose an intolerable threat to peace and security. An arms race between ballistic missiles, anti-missile systems and space weapons would move the world closer towards annihilation. The best response to these threats is the establishment of a comprehensive security framework that prohibits weapons of mass destruction, missile and anti-missile systems and the weaponization of space.
To reduce the danger, we call for the following immediate steps:
1. Stop missile and anti-missile testing; and
2. Initiate negotiations for an international treaty banning ballistic missiles and space weapons.
NOTE: I have collected all the contributions to this debate and can make this compilation available as an rtf-formatted email attachment. The Ed.
More on the new US Nuclear Posture Review
Egyptian INESAP member Bahig Nassar has issued a brief memo entitled "The US New Nuclear Posture Demands Updating NGOs Campaigns". it is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
NPT PrepCom 2002: WILPF NPT Alert-2
The second edition of WILF's Monthly Updates concerning the next NPT Review Conference and the corresponding PrepCom Meeting in April this year (see also: WNII 50/2001:B1) covers the following:
1. Invitation to the 2002 NPT PrepCom
2. NGO Registration to the 2002 NPT PrepCom
3. Background Information
4. Recent meeting with Ambassador Salander, chair of the April 8-19, 2002 NPT PrepCom
5. NGO presentations at the PrepCom
6. NGO 2-Page Position Paper
7. Why is the NPT important?
8. What can be achieved at this NPT PrepCom?
9. What can NGOs do?
10. For More Information on the 8-19 April 2002 NPT Conference
You can get this useful information either at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org or from the WNII editor (as an rtf-formatted email attachment or as plain e-mail text message).
NPT PrepCom 2002: WILPF NPT Alert-3
Meanwhile, the third edition has been published, as well. It covers the following:
1. NGO Accreditation Deadline
2. NGO Statement Meeting to discuss themes
3. Hotel list
4. NGO Shadow Report- request for involvement
5. Check out Reaching Critical Will NPT page
6. NPT Talking points
Also available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
David Krieger: Nuclear Disarmament Resolutions at the 2001 UN General Assembly
At its 2001 session, the UN General Assembly voted 12 times on issues related to nuclear disarmament. The US led all nuclear weapons states in voting against the nuclear disarmament position on 10 of the 12 votes, abstained once and only voted in favor of a procedural resolution concerning the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. By contrast, China supported nuclear disarmament measures on 9 of 12 votes and abstained on the other three. Russia had five Yes votes, five abstentions and two No votes. The UK had four Yes votes, two abstentions and six No votes. France had four Yes votes, three abstentions and five No votes.
The US was the only country in the world to vote No on placing a resolution on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty on the agenda of next year's United Nations General Assembly.
In one other important UN Resolution on Preventing an Arms Race in Outer Space, the General Assembly voted 156 in favor with none opposed. Only four countries abstained. Among them were you guessed it the United States. The US seems to have other plans for outer space, as the motto of the US Space Command suggests, "Masters of Space."
Nuclear weapons in South Asia
Egyptian INESAP member Bahig Nassar writes:
"A major step had been taken by the two coalitions of peace movements of India and Pakistan. for nuclear disarmament and peace in the entire Indian sub-continent. On 28 January, both called for the Denuclearisation of South Asia. I urgently request all abolitionist NGOs to kindly send messages of support to both of them an act accordingly."
The statements of the two coalitions are available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
The Sanctification of Nuclear War: Implications of the Draft "Indian" Nuclear Doctrine
This is an extensive 4-parts article by N.D. Jayaprakash of the Delhi Science Forum/Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. It is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
2002 WORLD SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Second WSSD Preparatory Committee (PrepCom II)
Coverage of WSSD PrepCom II, which opened in New York on 28 January, can be found at: http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/2002/pc2/
In addition, I am collecting the daily coverage briefs published by the "Earth Negotiations Bulletin" which I can make available as an rtf-formatted email attachment as soon as they have been finalized. The Ed.
Furthermore, the NGO Major Group has presented two introductory statements as an NGOs' declaration which are also available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
Summary of the Informal Brainstorming Session preceding PrepCom II
An informal brainstorming session preceding the second session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom II) for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) took place from 16-17 January 2002, at UN headquarters in New York. Over 100 participants attended the session, including representatives of governments, intergovernmental organizations, NGOs and other major groups. The results from this session will inform but not prejudge PrepCom II, which takes place from 28 January to 8 February 2002.
A summary of this brainstorming sessions has been published by the "Earth Negotiations Bulletin" (Vol. 22 No. 09, 19 January 02) which is available at: http://www.iisd.ca/linkages/2002/brainstorm/ or from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
Mediterranean NGO Declaration for Johannesburg
A meeting of Mediterranean NGOs, held at Nice, France, on 11 and 12 January 2002, has endorsed this declaration which is available from the WNII Editor as an rtf-formatted email attachment.
Useful IIED papers on WSSD
The London-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) has just added the following WSSD-related papers to their website:
Greenwash + 10: New Report
CorpWatch has just published a new report, "Greenwash + 10 - The UN's Global Compact, Corporate Accountability and the Johannesburg Earth Summit." It is a critique of the operation of the Global Compact over the last 18 months, placing what can be sees as the weaknesses of the Global Compact in the context of corporate influence on the Rio Earth Summit and likely influence on the upcoming Johannesburg Summit.
The report is available as a PDF file from: http://www.corpwatch.org
You can order hard copies from: < >
Save sustainable energy provisions at WSSD
Leslie Seff of the US INES member organisation Global Resource Action Center for the Environment writes:
There is a move at the WSSD PrepCom, in prioritizing the agenda for Johannesburg, to remove sustainable energy initiatives from the chair's report for PrepCom 2. Specifically at risk is that language which exhorts governments to "investigate the establishment of an international fund for sustainable energy," the very entity which A2000 called for in its founding statement at the '95 NPT Conference.
The U.S. and other governments are expected to resist supporting this proposal, especially in its details and definitions. Addressing this issue would necessitate that governments look to re-directing subsidies away from those that support unsustainable forms of energy. Your government should hear that you support inclusion of this language. We urge all members to mobilize and ask them to commit, at a minimum, to not opposing its mention in the current text; it still runs the risk of being deleted during the negotiations which will begin during PrepCom 3.
Leslie Seff < >
Global Ethics and Sustainable Development
On 24 January, Belgian INESnet subscriber Patricia Morales wrote:
"I would like to invite you to participate in a virtual conference from 14-15 February on Global Ethics and Sustainable Development. Your suggestions are very welcome. You can also transmit this invitation to other possible participants."
http://fsw.kub.nl/globus/conference/
For any further questions, contact Patricia Morales at: < >
(A longer explanation has already been distributed through INESnet and INESAPlist which is why I am not going to re-publish it here; however, it is available from me as an rtf-formatted email attachment. The Ed.)
Sustainable development and the UN Financing for Development Conference
Negotiations at the final PrepCom for the UN Financing for Development Conference have been criticised by a number of NGOs working on sustainable development issues. Their comments and recommendations on financing for sustainable development are online at: http://www.weedbonn.org/ffd/WSSD_FFD_190102_version.doc
2002 session of the UN Conference on Disarmament
The first 2002 session of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) in Geneva has begun on January 21, and continues for six weeks.
To aid NGO monitoring and contribution to the Conference on Disarmament, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has created "The Reaching Critical Will Guide to the Conference on Disarmament" which includes:
1. General Information about the CD
2. What NGOs can do to activate the CD
3. Brief Chronology
4. CD Agenda
5. Summary of Major Issues
6. Groupings in the CD
7. CD Secretariat and member government Contact Details
This small copy right-free booklet is online available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/cd/cdbook.pdf
NOTE in addition, that during the sessions of the 2002 CD, WILPF's Reaching Critical Will project will continue to place all speeches and documents on line through their website at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org
All UN Press releases regarding the CD will be posted at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/cd/pressrelease2002.html
When possible, text of speeches given will be placed at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/cd/speeches.html
If you are interested in receiving regular Reaching Critical Will email updates concerning the 2002 CD, please subscribe to "CD list" at:
UNIDIR "disarmament forum" one/2002
"NGOs as Partners: Assessing the Impact, Recognizing the Potential" is the subject of this year's first issue of "disarmament forum" in 2002 which is published by the UN Institute for Disarmament Research.
It is available in English at: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/e-df2-1.html and in French at: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/f-df2-1.html
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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