geneva-paris st report 2012

STUDY TRIP REPORT

of our visit of International Organizations in

Geneva and Paris

21st of April to 28th of April 2012

Bachelor Programme

Export-Oriented Management 2009

Hospitality kindly provided by

DISCLAIMER

This study trip report contains information that is based on minutes taken by

students of IMC FH Krems and is intended as a summary of what has been said

and discussed during the meetings at the International Organizations that were

visited. The reader is cautioned that these minutes may be subject to errors

stemming from misunderstandings or misperceptions on the part of the students.

Therefore, any quotation from this text is discouraged.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

At this point we would like to acknowledge all the people who made this unique

study trip, which no other university in Austria has ever conducted, possible. First

and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Dr. Anis

Bajrektarevic, Chairperson for International Law and Global Political Studies at the

IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems. Besides many in-house visits of

speakers from all over the world, and several visits to all relevant organisations in

Vienna (UN, OSCE, EC) he initiated and organized this special event for the 5th

time. We do deeply appreciate all the time and effort Prof. Bajrektarevic invested

throughout the past months. Without his personal reputation and contacts, none of

us would have had the chance to benefit from such a diverse and highly

informative programme.

Secondly, we are very grateful for the work of the organisation team – Magdalena

Froschauer, and Maximilian Hanke– both prior to and during the study trip. Jakob

Sterlich deserves to be given special credit as well, as he not only generated a

significant amount from the Austrian Students Union, but also brokered access to

the special funds of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research.

Due tribute goes likewise to each and every organizer and speaker of all visited

Geneva and Paris entities and International Organizations.

To conclude with, we would also like to express our gratitude to all the sponsors

for their support, be it financial or in kind.

Thank you all for your kind support!

Table of content

1. Introduction.......................................................................................................1

2. Timetable..........................................................................................................2

3. Our destinations................................................................................................5

3.1. Geneva.......................................................................................................5

3.2. Paris...........................................................................................................6

4. Monday, 23rd of April 2012...............................................................................8

4.1. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).....................8

4.1.1. The Organization.................................................................................8

4.1.2. History..................................................................................................9

4.1.3. Mission...............................................................................................10

4.1.4. Structure............................................................................................11

4.1.5. UNECE Internship Program...............................................................15

4.2. Austrian Mission in Geneva......................................................................15

4.2.1. Introduction........................................................................................16

4.2.2. The Austrian Mission in Geneva........................................................16

4.2.3. Humanitarian Affairs – Mag. Eveline Jamek......................................17

4.2.4. WTO – Dr. Martin Fagerer.................................................................19

4.2.5. Human Rights – Dr. Johannes Strasser,Mag. Thomas Unger and Mag. Guschlbauer...........................................................................................21

4.2.6. Disarmament – Dr. Peter Steiner.......................................................22

5. Tuesday, 24th of April 2012............................................................................24

5.1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)..........................................24

5.1.1. Historical Background........................................................................25

5.1.2. Mission & Main Activities...................................................................25

5.1.3. Legal Framework...............................................................................27

5.1.4. Membership.......................................................................................27

5.1.5. Decision Marking Bodies and Process..............................................28

5.1.6. Presentation and Discussion.............................................................28

5.1.7. Internship Opportunities.....................................................................29

5.1.8. ICT Exploratorium..............................................................................29

5.2. International Labour Organisation (ILO)...................................................30

5.2.1. The Organization...............................................................................31

5.2.2. History................................................................................................31

5.2.3. Structure............................................................................................33

5.2.4. Scope of work....................................................................................34

5.2.5. Question and Answer Session...........................................................35

5.3. World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO.....................................35

5.3.1. Intellectual Property (IP)....................................................................36

5.3.2. Brief History.......................................................................................36

5.3.3. Scope of Work...................................................................................37

5.3.4. Goals.................................................................................................38

5.3.5. Strategies...........................................................................................39

5.3.6. Methods of work.................................................................................39

5.3.7. Core Tasks / Functions......................................................................40

5.3.8. Members............................................................................................41

5.3.9. Decision making bodies.....................................................................41

5.3.10. Governing Bodies...........................................................................42

5.3.11. Standing Committees.....................................................................42

5.3.12. Permanent Committees..................................................................43

5.3.13. Working Groups..............................................................................43

5.3.14. Question and Answer Session........................................................43

6. Wednesday, 25th of April 2012.......................................................................44

6.1. Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)......44

6.1.1. History................................................................................................45

6.1.2. General Overview..............................................................................46

6.1.3. Aims...................................................................................................46

6.1.4. Organizational structure.....................................................................47

6.1.5. Current topics.....................................................................................48

6.1.6. Question and Answer Session...........................................................49


6.2. Permanent Delegation of Austria to the OECD........................................49

6.2.1. Role and Responsibilities of the Austrian Mission....................................50

6.2.2. Question & Answer Session..............................................................50


6.3. International Energy Agency (IEA)...........................................................52

6.3.1. General Information...........................................................................52

6.3.2. Main Topic.........................................................................................53

6.3.3. Questions and Answer Session.........................................................55

7. Thursday, 26th of April 2012...........................................................................55

7.1. The World Bank Group (WB)....................................................................55

7.1.1. Decision Making Bodies.....................................................................57

7.1.2. The Structure.....................................................................................58

7.1.4. The World Bank as a Lender.............................................................62

7.1.5. The World Bank as a Knowledge Broker...........................................62

7.1.6. The World Bank as a Gatekeeper to Development Finance..............63

7.1.7. Lending instruments...........................................................................63

7.2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)..........................................................................................................64

7.2.1. The organization................................................................................65

7.2.2. Historical Overview............................................................................66

7.2.3. International Structure........................................................................66

7.2.4. Field of Activity...................................................................................66

7.2.5. Education...........................................................................................67

7.2.6. Natural Sciences................................................................................68

7.2.7. Social and Human Sciences..............................................................69

7.2.8. Culture...............................................................................................69

7.2.9. Communication..................................................................................70

7.2.10. The Millennium Development Goals...............................................70

7.2.11. Organizational Structure.................................................................71

7.2.12. Financing........................................................................................73

8. Friday, 27th of April 2012................................................................................73

8.1. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)..............................................73

8.2. ICC and the Department of Policy and Business Practice........................75

8.3. Question and Answer Session.................................................................77

8.4. ICC International Court of Arbitration, Secretariat and Arbitration Rules..78

8.5. ADR, Expertise and Dispute Boards........................................................80

8.6. Question and Answer Session.................................................................82

8.7. Internship Opportunities...........................................................................83

9. Not visited International Organizations due to cancellations...........................83

9.1. United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)................................................83

9.2. L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie....................................84

9.2.1. History................................................................................................84

9.2.2. Objectives and Mission......................................................................85

9.2.3. Decision Making Process and Organization......................................86

9.2.4. Admission Criteria..............................................................................88

9.3. International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC).........................................88

9.3.1. History................................................................................................88

9.3.2. Structure of the ICRC.........................................................................89

9.3.3. Mandate and Mission of the ICRC.....................................................90

9.3.4. Activities of the ICRC.........................................................................90

9.3.5. Museum of the ICRC in Geneva........................................................92

9.3.6. Internship/Employment Opportunities................................................92

10. Diaries 21st of April – 27th of April 2012......................................................93

10.1. Saturday, 21st of April 2012..................................................................93

10.2. Sunday, 22nd of April 2012...................................................................93

10.3. Monday, 23rd of April 2012...................................................................94

10.4. Tuesday, 24th of April 2012..................................................................97

10.5. Wednesday, 25th of April 2012.............................................................98

10.6. Thursday, 26th of April 2012...............................................................100

10.7. Friday, 27th of April 2012....................................................................101

11. Conclusion.................................................................................................104

12. Credits.......................................................................................................106

1. Introduction

Gaining knowledge about international organizations is a fundamental part of our

study program “Export-Oriented Management”. However, getting the great chance

of expanding our theoretical knowledge by experiencing the organizations on hand

was definitely something unique.

Thanks, to our International Relations and Law professor Prof. (FH) Dr. Anis

Bajrektarevic, who proposed us the opportunity of visiting the most important

international organizations in Geneva and Paris. He arranged informative

speakers within many different international organizations for us. Many thanks, to

the team of students who organized our study-trip and to those who supported

them through fund-raising programs. Several months of intensive preparations

finally turned out to be a great success, as we could enjoy an interesting program,

with remarkable speeches at a quite reasonable price.

On April 28, we, our group consisting of 53 students (51 Bachelor-students, 1

Exchange-student and 1 Master-student) started our trip at 9:45 pm in the evening

heading Geneva, Switzerland. What followed were 6 days of exciting new

experiences, which not just strengthened our class spirit, but also provided us with

social contacts to successfully enter into the future business world.

This report provides a summary of our study trip to Geneva and Paris. It briefly

reflects the main organizations we visited and provides impressions and pictures

of our unique experiences.

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2. Timetable

Day Place Programme

Saturday,

21st of April

Krems

22:00 departure from Krems

Sunday,

22nd of

April

Geneva

Free day

10:00 arrival in Geneva

Monday,

23rd of April

Geneva

09:30 UNECE (United Nations Economic Commission for

Europe) Topic: UN ECE – Scope and work;

Speaker: Mr. Jean Rodriguez, Senior Public Information

Officer, Office of the Executive Secretary

15:00-16:30 Austrian Mission Briefing

Welcome: Austrian Mission to IOs Geneva

Welcome: Bot. Dr. Christian STROHAL

Humanitarian Affairs: BR Mag. Eveline JAMEK

Human Rights:

BS Mag. Peter GUSCHELBAUER

BS Dr. Johannes STRASSER

Att. Mag. Thomas UNGER

WTO: Dr. Martin FAGERER

Disarmament: ObstdhmfD Dr. Peter STEINER

Tuesday,

24th of April

Geneva

10:00 ITU (Intl. Telecommunication Union);

Speakers: Mr. José Maria Diaz Batanero, Corporate Strategy

Division, Ms. Chelsea Haines, Intern

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Topic: History, structure & activities of the Organization

11:00 ILO Meeting at the Reception of the ILO with Mr.

Martin Hahn

Topic: Sectoral Activities Department & The Mandate of the

ILO and its activities

Speaker: Mr. Martin Hahn (Basic Metal and Mining

Production Specialist)

15:30 - 17:15 WIPO (World Intellectual Property

Organisation);

Topic: General overview of the history, structure and

activities of the Organisation;

Speaker: Ms. Francesca Fusco; Information Assistant WIPO

Customer Service Centre

23:00 – Departure to Paris

Wednesday,

25th of April

Paris

07:00 Arrival at Paris

14:00 OECD (The OECD Auditorium)

Welcome/ Speakers: Mr Andrew Gentry, Public Affairs and

Communications Directorate; Mrs Marion Gratt, Attaché

Austrian Delegation to the OECD

Aprox. 14:15-15:15 OECD – briefing of the Austrian Mission

Topic: OECD and the role of Austrian delegation at the OECD

Speaker: Mrs Marion Gratt, Attaché Austrian Delegation to the OECD

3

17:20-18:30 IEA (International Energy Agency)

Topic: IEA – An Overview

Speaker: Dr. Timur Gül

Thursday,

26th of April

Paris

10:15 the World Bank

14:00 – 16:30 UNESCO (United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organisation)

Métro : Ségur

Welcome: Ms Isabell Ladiges on behalf of the Austrian Delegation

14:30 – 16:00 A film and discussion with a staff Member of UNESCO (in German)

16:00- 16:30 UNESCO-guided tour

Friday, 27th

of April

Paris

10:00 – 12:30 ICC (Intl. Chamber of Commerce)

Speakers: Mr Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac; Ms. Alma Forgo; Ms. Calliope Makedon Sudborough

10.00 – 10.30

Presentation: the ICC and the Department of Policy and Business Practice

10:30 – 11:00

Presentation: the ICC International Court of Arbitration, its Secretariat and the ICC Arbitration Rules

11:00 – 11:30

Presentation: ADR, Expertise and Dispute Boards

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11:30 – 12:00

Presentation: the ICC Events department and of the ICC Institute of World Business Law

12:00 – 12:30

Presentation: the World Chambers Federation (WCF)

respectively Free day

Approx. 22:00 Departure back to Krems

Saturday,

28th of April

Krems

Approx. 17:00 arrival in Krems

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3. Our destinations

3.1. Geneva

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland right after Zürich.

Situated where the Rhône River exits the Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the

Republic and Canton of Geneva. This city has a population of 191,803 and the

suburbs around the city centre extend partly over Switzerland and France. In

general, Geneva is considered to be one of the most qualified global cities in the

world.

Geneva is a worldwide centre for

diplomacy and international

cooperation. Moreover, it is widely

regard as one of the most important

major global cities, mainly due to the

fact that it inhabits numerous

international organizations, including the

headquarters of many of the agencies

of the United Nations (such as WHO,

ILO, ITU, WIPO etc.), the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),

the World Trade Organization (WTO)

and so on. Additionally, the well-known

Geneva Conventions were signed here,

which regulate the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.

Geneva has been described as the world’s sixth most important financial centre by

the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of other financial strongholds such as

Tokyo, Chicago, Frankfurt and Sydney. Besides, it hosts several headquarters of

big multinational companies including HP, Procter& Gamble, Sun Microsystems,

DuPont and many others.

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Geneva is also a famous scenic hotspot with a lot of showplaces including the very

famous Cathédrale St Pierre, Geneva Grand Theatre, University of Geneva, The

Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (one of the first

academic institutions to teach international relations in the world) and CERN, the

world largest particle physics laboratory to which scientist from around the world

travel to in order to conduct research and exploration on fundamental forces and

antimatters that lead to the creation of the universe.

The Jet d‟Eau - a large fountain that jets water up to 140 meters is one of the city’s

most famous landmarks and one of the largest fountains worldwide.

3.2. Paris

Paris, the capital of France and the capital of

Love, is not only one of the most preferred

tourist destinations worldwide, one of the

world's leading business and cultural centres,

but also a major centre of economic activity.

Its influence in politics, education,

entertainment, media, fashion, science and

art, all contribute to its status as one of the

world's major global cities.

Regarding to the International Organizations, the International Energy Agency

(IEA), the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the

7

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Paris Club are all located in

Paris, which once again proves that Paris is one of the most important economical

and political windows to the world.

The Paris Region also hosts 37 of the Fortune Global 500 companies in several

business districts, notably La Défense, the largest purpose-built business district in

Europe. The international importance of Paris and France in this respect is

underlined by the fact that French is the official language of diplomats as well as

one of the working languages in most International Organizations.

Paris is situated on the River Seine with 45 million tourists every year in the Paris

Region, 60% of who are foreign visitors. Paris is proud to offer its famous historic

sites, such as the Notre Dame, the Victory

Gate, La Tour Eiffel, and so on. In addition, as

one of the most famous shopping streets in the

world, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées

attracts tens of millions of tourists from all over

the world. With its long history, great culture

and beautiful environment, Paris is becoming a

more and more charming city for many people

and an important international centre of the

world.

8

4. Monday, 23rd of April 2012

4.1. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

(UNECE)

Date: 23rd of April 2012

Time: 09.30am

Topic: Scope of work of the UNECE

Speaker: Mr. Jean Rodriguez, Senior Public Information Officer, Office of the

Executive Secretary

Moderator: Prof. Anis Bajrektarevic

4.1.1. The Organization

First a short overview concerning history and a brief introduction of the

organization was given. Traces of history go back to the foundation of the

organization in the year 1947. At that time it was one of the five local economic

commissions of the United Nations. The others are Economic Commission for

Africa, Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Economic

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Economic and Social

Commission for Western Asia.

The underlying idea was to generate an organization that supports the

development of trade in the post war area in Europe. The organization played an

essential role at that time and therefore Mr. Rodriguez pointed out the

organization’s crucial role in the past. The organization’s aim is to encourage

economic cooperation among its member states. The United Nations Economic

Commission for Europe has 56 member states and reports to the UN Economic

and Social Council. A major aim of the organization is to promote pan-European

economic integration. The member countries of the UNECE cooperate under aegis

of UNECE on economic issues. All in all more than 70 international professional

organizations and non-governmental organizations take part in UNECE activities.

Study Trip Geneva and Paris 2012

4.1.2. History

The General Assembly of the United Nations advocated that the Economic and

Social Council (ECOSOC) create an Economic Commission for Europe with the

purpose of giving effective aid to the countries which suffered by World War II.

That was the start point for the creation of the United Nations Economic

Commission for Europe. The UNECE was in fact a parallel entity to the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) set up with the

objective to reconstruct Europe after World War II and to promote long-run pan-

European economic integration.

During the first years the organizations functions have been on a provisional level.

The Council provided a review of the Commission’s work to be undertaken not

later than to the year 1951. That had the reason to determine whether the

Commission should be terminated or continued and if it continues what

modification should be undertaken and which should be made in its term of

references. According to Article 1 the major objective of the organization is to

initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the

economic reconstruction for Europe in order to raise the level of European

economic activity and for maintaining and strengthening the economic relations of

the European countries, both among themselves and with other countries of the

world. In 1947 sponsoring investigations and studies of economic technological

problems and developments as well as the collection, evaluation and

dissemination of economic, technological and statistical information was added to

Article 1. In addition special consideration during its initial states in order to

measures facilitating to economic reconstruction of devastated countries of Europe

which are member of the United Nations. The Commission is empowered to issue

recommendations on any matter within its competence directly to the participating

governments. Those recommendations are subject to different qualifications: First

referring to the activity of the Commission, which functions within the framework of

the policies of the United Nations and under the general supervision of the Council

which is subject to the provision that the Commission takes no action in respect to

10


any country without the agreement of the government of that country. Second the

Commission is required to submit for the Council’s prior consideration any of its

proposals for activities that would have important influence on the economy of the

world as a whole.

The Commission unanimously adopted resolution 1(VI) on its future in June 1951.

This considers that constructive economic co-operation was essential to maintain

peace, reaffirmed its faith in the possibility of such co-operation within the

framework of the Commission and recommends that it should continue its work in

this direction. Finally the Committee’s recommendations the Council in its

resolution 414 C (XIII) expressed unanimous appreciation of the work of the

regional commission and therefore decided to continue them indefinitely. Due to

this decision the ECE became a permanent body of the United Nations.

During the Post Cold War period the commission’s main concern was to integrate

of countries in transaction in the global economy while using its experience of the

harmonization to facilitate the integration of Central and Eastern European

countries. The number of members was increased from 34 to 56 members. This

resulted from the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslav Federation as well

as Czech and Slovak Republics.

At the end of the Cold War ECE expanded the activities to Central and Eastern

European countries and to central Asian republic. These republics desired to be

members of ECE as well as the ESACAP. The ECE has continued and to adapt to

changing geopolitical background of Europe. The ECE has gone through two

major reforms, one in 1997 and one in 2005.

4.1.3. Mission

The UNECE acts as a multilateral platform and smooth the progress of greater

economic integration and collaboration among its member countries and wants to

promote sustainable development and economic prosperity through the following

tools:

11


Policy dialogue

Cooperation of international legal instruments

Development of regulations and standards

Exchange and application of best practices as well as economic and

technical expertise

Technical cooperation for countries with economies in transition

UNECE’s terms of reference have been defined by ECOSOC. In addition UNECE

contributes to enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations through the

provincial implementation of the outcomes of global United Nations Conferences

and Summits.

4.1.4. Structure

The governing bodies of the UNECE are the Chair, the Executive Committee as

well as six Sectoral Committees addressed to each of the six divisions. At the

moment Mr. Uglješa Zvekić is the Chairperson of the UNECE supported by the

Vice Chairpersons Mr. Aharon LESHNO-YAAR and Mrs. Maria CIOBANU. The

work is divided into the following six main departments: environment, housing and

land management division, the transport division, the statistic division, the division

for economic cooperation and integration, the division of sustainable energy as

well as the trade and timber division.

12


4.1.4.1. Environmental Policy

It is one of the most important objectives of the UNECE to protect the environment

as well as human health and to promote sustainable development in its member

states. The strategy used by the UNECE is based on a four-pillar approach,

including the cooperation of governments to formulate an environmental policy and

support its implementation, the assumption of an active role in certain regional and

cross-regional sectoral processes, the conduction of performance reviews of

countries and the negotiation of environmental treaties.

4.1.4.2. Housing and Land Management

The condition of better housing and security is another goal of this committee. Mr.

Rodriguez pointed out that there is an urgent need to establish higher standards

13


with regards to housing as currently more than 50 million inhabitants within Europe

live under very poor conditions in informal settlements.

4.1.4.3. Statistics

The focus is to develop statistical standards and guidelines in order to enable

statistical offices to exchange experiences, supporting countries in the

development of their national statistical systems and the establishment of an

online database of economics and gender statistics.

4.1.4.4. Sustainable Energy

The goal of this program is to promote a sustainable energy development strategy.

Mr. Rodriguez mentioned two major challenges in this area: Firstly, the fact that

sustainable energy shall be used and secondly, the establishment of links between

the member states. Core objectives include the assurance of access to high

quality energy for all inhabitants of the UNECE’s region, the security of energy

supplies, and a development towards a more sustainable energy use as well as to

establish energy networks across the region and energy efficiency. Therefore the

Commission promotes the usage of cleaner sources in more efficient ways.

4.1.4.5. Population

This unit is promoting policy dialogues among the UNECE member states based

on demographic changes in Europe and North America. It supports the

implementation of the final document of intergovernmental conferences on

population issues and contribution towards better informed policy making by

organizing programs concerning data collection and research.

14


4.1.4.6. Technical Cooperation

UNECE also provide technical cooperation in English and Russian to South-East

European, Eastern European, Caucasus and Central Asian countries. the aim is to

meet the needs of the countries by offering tailor-made support in a fast and

flexible way. These activities are coordinated by the Regional Advisor and carried

out by the UNECE Statistical Division, in collaboration with national and

international statistical organizations to ensure the best expertise and avoid

duplication of work.

Additionally, they promote international standards in official statistics with a view to

providing relevant, reliable and comparable data to policymakers and users of

statistics. The most recent technical cooperation activities are:

- Promotion of the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official

Statistics

- Technical support for population and housing censuses

- Development of gender statistics

- Development of statistics on international migration

- Improvement of the production and dissemination of short-term economic

statistics

- Improvement of Millenium Development Goal (MDG) indicators

4.1.4.7. Trade

The UNECE's trade programme is focus on the following areas of work:

Developing and maintaining effective international trade-related instruments,

norms, standards and recommendations, in response to the needs of the global

economy.

15

http://www.unece.org/stats/archive/02.08.e.html

http://www.unece.org/stats/archive/02.08.e.html


Reducing barriers to trade in goods and services in all countries, and UNECE

member States in particular, through greater implementation of international and

UNECE norms, standards, instruments and recommendations, especially in trade

facilitation.

Facilitating trade policy development through the provision of an international

platform for the exchange of views, particularly for the benefit of countries with

economies in transition. Examples include trade security, European integration

and sustainable development.

4.1.5. UNECE Internship Program

In accordance with UN rules, The United Nations Economic Commission for

Europe on an ad hoc basis assigns the internships to graduate or post-graduate

students, who have specialized in a field related to UNECE programs.

The Internships are offered free-of-charge and without financial remuneration

that’s mean that all costs connected with the internship, including travel,

accommodation and insurance, are borne by the intern or his/her sponsor.

Additionally the United Nations accepts no legal or administrative liability for

interns who are not accorded the status of a United Nations staff member.

Applicants have to complete an internship application form which is indicated the

field of activity the candidate wishes to work and the available dates. Also Interns

are required to submit a certificate of good health and, wherever applicable, to

obtain themselves the appropriate visa. All this information has to be sent via mail:

([email protected]). Mr. Rodriguez also mentioned that additional information on

the internship program of the UNECE can be found on the homepage of the

institution and the procedure described should be followed

(www.unece.org/oes/internships/internship_prog.htm).

4.2. Austrian Mission in Geneva

16

http://www.unece.org/oes/internships/internship_prog.htm

mailto:[email protected]


Date: Monday, 23rd of April 2012

Time: 3 pm – 4:30 pm

Topic: Austrian Mission to International Organizations in Geneva

Speakers: Bot. Dr. Christian Strohal, BR Mag. Eveline Jamek, BS Mag. Peter

Guschelbauer, BS Dr. Johannes Strasser, Att. Mag. Thomas Unger, Dr. Martin

Fagerer, ObstdhmfD Dr. Peter Steiner


4.2.1. Introduction

The Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations and Specialized Agencies

in Geneva invited us to participate in a mission briefing on our first afternoon in

Geneva. The briefing was held at the premises of the council of the European

Union (the “Blue Box”). It comprehended very interesting speeches on a variety of

topics.

The ambassador, Dr. Christian Strohal, opened the briefing with a highly

interesting and concise presentation of the office in Geneva and its purpose. BR

Mag. Eveline Jamek followed with her presentation of her field of work, which was

Humanitarian Affairs. Furthermore, Mag. Peter Guschelbauer, Dr. Johannes

Strasser and Mag. Thomas Unger talked about Human Rights. Dr. Martin Fagerer

and Dr. Peter Steiner closed the briefing with their presentation of the WTO,

respectively Disarmament.

4.2.2. The Austrian Mission in Geneva

The first part of the presentation, held by Dr. Strohal, was dedicated to the work

tasks of the Austrian Mission in Geneva, as well as the reason for its location in

Geneva. The permanent Mission of Austria to the UN and Specialized Agencies

17


based in Geneva acts as an intermediary and representative between the Austrian

government and the institutions in Geneva.

A permanent mission generally performs multilateral relations between a state and

International Organizations or other representations as opposed to an embassy

that executes bilateral relations between two states. The importance of the

communication between the organizations and the Federal Governments in form

of the Mission is crucial to uphold constructive relationships on a multilateral basis.

In a nutshell, the Austrian Mission enables the UN to broaden its area of impact.

Major fields of concern include the UN specialized agencies – especially Health,

Human Rights, Humanitarian Affairs, Economic and Development affairs,

Disarmament as well as the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Main issues and

responsibilities of the Austrian mission are, among others, the maintenance of the

relations between Austria and the various organizations in Geneva, the promotion

and representation of Austrian interests, active participation in negotiation and

decision making processes and finally the reporting on activities to the Austrian

Federal government.

Furthermore, Dr. Strohal stressed the strategic importance of the location in

Geneva.

Geneva is small, which enables the Austrian Mission to easily communicate with

other representatives. Furthermore, there is no other city where more global

issues are dealt with, as it is the largest UN city in the world – New York has a

more political focus, Vienna and Nairobi are more specialized in certain branches

of the UN.

4.2.3. Humanitarian Affairs – Mag. Eveline Jamek

After this very interesting introduction of the Austrian Mission and its presence in

Geneva we had the pleasure to listen to the presentation of humanitarian affairs,

held by First Secretary Mag. Eveline Jamek. Geneva has a longstanding tradition

as center of international humanitarian law, refugee protection and humanitarian

assistance. Ms. Jamek is the person responsible for communication and the

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representation of Austria to several international institutions dealing with

humanitarian affairs and development plans for aid-seeking countries. The

Austrian mission is monitoring the developments in the humanitarian field and

linking government assistance/support with the different organizations.

After the short introduction she continued her speech with the presentation of the

most important international organizations and the explanation of their tasks in the

area of humanitarian aid:

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): It is the most important

organization in the area of humanitarian affairs. It is an independent neutral

organization ensuring humanitarian protection. Its main commitment is

responding rapidly and efficiently to the humanitarian needs of people

affected by armed conflict or by natural disaster. Other important areas of

commitment activities are the protecting civilians, improving access to

health care and building respect for International Humanitarian Law (IHL)

Office of the United Nationals High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR):

It is the world’s leading refugee organization and it leads international action

to protect refugees and other persons displaced by conflict.

International Organization for Migration (IOM): It is the world’s leading

migration organization. In close cooperation with its Member States such as

Austria IOM carries out projects for the benefit of migrants, based on the

principle of humane and orderly migration.

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): is the arm of

the UN Secretariat responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to

ensure coherent response to emergencies. OCHA's mission is to mobilize

and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership

with national and international actors,

The humanitarian organization play an important role in providing help and

assistance in recent crisis, such as the earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan

and and food shortages in Africa. The organizations and their activities are mainly

financed by voluntary donations. The Austrian Mission liaises closely with all these

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organizations and participates actively in their proceedings. Austria supports a

range of specific projects carried out by these organizations across the world.

4.2.4. WTO – Dr. Martin Fagerer

After the general introduction by Dr. Strohal, Dr. Fagerer commenced with his

presentation of the World Trade Organization. His highly interesting speech was

structured in five parts.

4.2.4.1. History

The WTO was founded in 1995 in Doha, as successor of the General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It is one of the youngest international organizations

and today governs the GATT, the GATS (General Agreement on Trade and

Services) and the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights).

Today, the WTO consists of 157 member states, with the last enlargement round

having taken place around Christmas 2011, where, amongst other, Russia and

Monaco joined the organization.

4.2.4.2. Structure

Being the highest authority, the ministerial conference takes place every year,

whereas the General Council, which acts as the central operative body, meets

three or four times a year. The budget is provided by its member states, who

contribute an amount corresponding to their amount of trade – Austria ranks

among the top 20 of contributors to the budget.

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4.2.4.3. Goals

The main responsibilities of the WTO are the reduction and elimination of tariffs

and other trade barriers. Furthermore, it deals with the integration of developing

countries into the multilateral trading systems. In order to achieve the mentioned

objectives, the WTO administrates existing agreements, acts as a negotiating

forum for further liberalization of current trade rules and for new agreements, and

enforces trade rules through dispute settlement.

4.2.4.4. Principals

The functioning of the WTO is based on the most-favored nation treatment,

national treatment and legal certainty. The WTO is a member-driven organization.

This approach is pointed out by its organization principles. Proposals are

submitted by the member states and all decisions are taken by consensus.

Thereafter, the results of a negotiation have to be ratified by the parliaments of the

member states.

4.2.4.5. Critics

Concluding this very interesting presentation, Dr.Fagerer openly addressed the

public criticism on the WTO. One of the main points is the “lack” of democracy –

some organizations claim that the WTO is not open for everyone, but only the big,

rich trading countries. This, however, is not true because you have to get elected

to join the WTO. Furthermore, there is the principle of consensus, which means

that every country has a vote equal to the next country, thus granting complete

democracy. However, there sometimes are decisions that are not directly made

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within the WTO. The next area of criticism concerns the development dimension.

Dr. Fagerer stated, that there is a program in place to help developing contries

directly while also helping developed countries – e.g. via infrastructure projects,

which not only help the local population, but also the possible future business

partners because some areas are easier to access. Last, but not least, the third

issue addressed was concerning the environment and fair trade. The WTO deals

with trade, and not production itself, and therefore is not responsible for fair trade.

4.2.5. Human Rights – Dr. Johannes Strasser,Mag. Thomas Unger and

Mag. Guschlbauer

This second presentation about Human Rights dealt with the protection of Human

Rights started with an explanation of its three layers:

The international level in Geneva, with the HR Council on an

intergovernmental level,

The regional level in Strasbourg and

The national level with Courts etc.

The main part of the presentation focused on the UN’s activities concerning

Human Rights and the various conventional („Treaty-based‟) and extra

conventional („Charter-based‟) mechanisms within the system. The Treaty-based

bodies check the implementations of different conventions.

Furthermore, the presenters stressed the role of the Human Rights Council (HRC),

which is the main organ within the UN dealing specifically with Human Rights. It

consists of 47 elected member states for a period of 3 years each. The

composition of these countries is structured with a quota, so that each region of

the world is adequately represented. Austria is currently a member state, with its

mandate lasting from 2011 to 2014. The Council has 3 sessions per year, where

representatives meet for four, respectively three weeks

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Furthermore, there was an emphasis on the instruments of the Council and the

importance of independent experts and working groups that are established by the

HRC.

Dr. Strasser and Mag. Unger explained the instrument of the universal periodic

review, where representatives from each country of the world meet and evaluate

each other. This review takes place every 4 years. Austria was subject to

evaluation in 2011 and received 166 recommendations from other countries.

Another focus was the Human Rights and the United Nations Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which is the main UN organ in Human

Rights promotion and protection and which has its office in Palais Wilson in

Geneva.

The last part of the presentation concerned Austria’s thematic focus and the

country’s representation within the international system of Human Rights. Human

Rights are very important within the EU. The topic Human Rights is part of the

second pillar of the EU (common foreign and security policy) and the Commission

represents the 27 EU member states in the UN Human Rights meetings.

Furthermore, the role of non-governmental organizations with regard to Human

Rights was mentioned. There are numerous NGOs present in Geneva, e.g.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others. They participate as well

in the UN activities, which is widely supported by Austria and the EU.

After this final part of the presentation, we were given the opportunity to raise

questions.

4.2.6. Disarmament – Dr. Peter Steiner

Dr. Peter Steiner started his presentation with explaining the importance of

disarmament and UN specialized agencies in this area. Disarmament and non-

proliferation remain indispensable tools to help create a security environment

favorable to ensuring human development, as enshrined in the letter and the spirit

of the Charter of the United Nations. The United Nations office at Geneva (UNOG)

is a center venue for international diplomacy in this field. It is home to the

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Conference on Disarmament - the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body -

and provides, through the Geneva Branch of the Office for Disarmament Affairs,

substantive and organizational support to a wide range of multilateral disarmament

agreements. In addition, UNOG hosts a large number of disarmament-related

conferences.

Dr. Steiner explained us the components of disarmament and what its objectives

are. Disarmament in general is the elimination/reduction of military capacity.

During the last decade global military spending has been increasing steadily. 2011

military spending was stagnant for the first time in 13 years. Although this is

positive, there are also countries where spending has sharply increased. Real

military spending often varies from official data because countries tend to hide

budgets because of strategic reasons. Dr. Steiner also explained that, that

proliferation of weapon systems, especially of nuclear weapon systems is a

political game. Considering that the atomic bomb has only been used twice it is

clear, that nuclear weapons are political weapons. In some developing countries,

such as Brazil, India or Turkey, we see a nuclear arms race. The problem is that

political importance cannot be reduced. Hence, building confidence through

transparent agreements and international relations is very important.

Beside the efforts in reduction of military capacity, arms control is another

important area of interest. Commitments in arms control include limits to

destructive capacity and the ban of weapon systems, such as unmanned vehicles,

personnel landmines and cluster munitions.

The annual Conference on Disarmament is a multilateral disarmament-negotiating

forum of the international community held in Geneva. The terms of reference

include practically all multilateral arms control and disarmament problems.

Currently the conference primarily focuses its attention on the following issues:

cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of

nuclear war, including all related matters; prevention of an arms race in outer

space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States

against the use or threat of use of n nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of

mass destruction and new systems of such weapons including radiological

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weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament and transparency in

armaments.

At the end of the interesting presentation we were again given the opportunity to

raise questions.

5. Tuesday, 24th of April 2012

5.1. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Date: Tuesday, 24th of April 2012

Time: 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Topic: History, Structure & Activities of the ITU

Speakers: Mr. José Maria Diaz Batanero, Corporate Strategy Division, Ms.

Chelsea Haines, Intern


Our first visit on Tuesday, April 24th 2012, brought us to the International

Telecommunication Union (ITU). We had the unique opportunity to meet Mr. José

Maria Diaz Batanero, member of the Corporate Strategy Division. Mr. Diaz, with

the help of Ms. Haines, gave us an overview of the organization and its fields of

activity. Subsequently to the introduction we were given an overall view on the

structure and decision making bodies of the organization. Mr. Diaz’ presentation

was followed by an interactive discussion and Question & Answer session on

interesting topics, ranging from cyber security and cloud computing to internship

opportunities with the ITU. Following the very interesting and comprehensive

presentation by Mr. Diaz and Ms. Haines, we got the chance to get a guided tour

through the newly founded ICT exhibition even before it was officially opened to

the public. All of us were really impressed and found it extremely interesting to see

the development of information and communication technologies throughout the

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history. The ITU is a specialized agency of the United Nations and a leader in

information and communication technologies.

5.1.1. Historical Background

During the 19th century the numerous innovations in communication demanded

the cooperation on an international level. Therefore, in 1865 the International

Telegraph Union was created and soon thereafter it was followed by the first

regulations on radio broadcasting. Its scope of activities grew due to technologic

advancements and in 1932 the organization’s name was changed to ITU. In 1947

it was declared a UN specialized agency and its headquarters were moved from

Berne to Geneva.

5.1.2. Mission & Main Activities

The ITU is a norm-setting organization with the vision to „connect the

unconnected‟ that is to enable access to telecommunication worldwide. It aims to

develop interlinked systems through collaborative efforts of both the private and

the public sectors. Its objectives include the active integration of developing

countries into the global telecommunication network. The work of the ITU is

divided into three core areas of activity:

Radio Communication (ITU-R)

The radio frequency spectrum is a limited resource and faces the challenge

of accommodating the large number of telecommunication services

available. The Radio Communication division of the ITU manages the

spectrum by assigning frequencies to defined regions. Furthermore, it is

responsible for the allocation of television and broadcasting frequencies.

The registration of satellite orbital positions and development of services

also lay within the scope of the ITU-R.

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Telecommunication Standardization (ITU-T)

Within the second sector of the ITU, technical specifications for international

communication services are developed in order to facilitate operations

worldwide. Examples of standardizations provided by the ITU-T include

universal telephone codes and numbering plans.

Development (ITU-D)

The third sector of the ITU addresses the “missing link” of developing

countries. The Development sector of the ITU was established in 1992 in

order to address the lack of inter-linkage and to promote access to

telecommunication networks in the developing world. In 2006 the ITU

launched a project based on the objective to bridge the “Digital Divide”. The

Development sector of the ITU aims to support developing nations in

overcoming their lack of technical or financial resources and offers

assistance and training for capacity building.

In addition, the ITU plays an essential role in disaster management. The

organization improves telecommunication systems to ensure communication for

disaster prevention and in case of emergencies. Furthermore, the organization

collaborates and exchanges information with other UN agencies, such as the

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It organizes workshops and

forums on issues associated with telecommunication services. Among the topics

of discussion are safety and consumer protection in internet governance.

Finally, another major activity of the ITU is to provide information on the process

and evolution of telecommunication services. The analysis and findings are

comprised in the World Telecommunications Development Report, which is

published on an annual basis. Hence, the ITU serves as a kind of platform for the

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research, analysis and exchange of data and statistics on trends in international

telecommunication services.

5.1.3. Legal Framework

The legal framework of the ITU is based on the Constitution and Convention,

Administrative Regulations, including Radio and International Telecommunication

Regulations, as well as further basic texts. While the Constitution deals with basic

provisions, the purpose, structure and responsibilities of the Union and the

respective sectors, the Convention focuses on the functioning of the bodies and

additional provisions for conferences and assemblies or telecommunication

services. Regulations concerning the radio frequency spectrum are discussed and

adopted during World Radio communication Conferences held twice a year. These

regulations eventually obtain treaty status and are in principal binding for member

states. Furthermore, International Telecommunication Regulations exist with the

aim of facilitating and improving telecommunication services.

5.1.4. Membership

The ITU is an organization that is based primarily on public-private partnership

since its inception. The ITU membership is basically split upon three different

categories. Currently the organization has a membership of 193 countries and

over 700 private-sector entities, such as Microsoft and Google, as well as

academic institutions. States that want to become member simply have to formally

apply at the ITU to be accepted. ITU membership represents a cross-section of

the global ICT sector, from the world's largest manufacturers and carriers to small,

innovative players working with new and emerging technologies, along with

leading R&D institutions and academia. Sector members are active in a variety of

fields including manufacturing, research and development or services and funding.

The ITU has been founded on the basis of the principle of International

28


cooperation between governments (Member States) and the private sector (Sector

Members, Associates and Academia). Hence the ITU is the premier global forum

for its members which are working towards consensus when it comes to issues

which might affect the future operating direction of the ICT industry.

5.1.5. Decision Marking Bodies and Process

The Plenipotentiary Conference disposes over supreme authority and the member

states that meet every four years to set forth the overall strategy of the Union also

revise the Constitution and Convention. Furthermore, this Conference elects the

Secretary General as well as the 46 members equally distributed amongst the

region that constitute the Council, which is the executive body. This respective

body is responsible for implementing its policies and regulations and for the

coordination of activities of the three sectors. The main responsibilities of the

Secretary-General, Dr. Hamadou I. Touré, lie within the administrative and

financial scope. He also supervises the three directors, each heading a bureau of

the three sectors.

Since the ITU is a United Nations Specialized Agency, only its member states are

granted rights to vote. However, agreement of Sector Members is important for the

approval of technical-related recommendations. Most decisions are consenus-

based as already mentioned earlier.

5.1.6. Presentation and Discussion

After an introduction of the organization and its structure, Mr. Diaz explained the

core areas of activity of the specialized agency. He also underlined how important

the ITU’s standards and norms were for our everyday life even though most of us

had a very limited knowledge about the ITU before our visit.

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Mr. Diaz was very open to answer any questions on the work of the ITU. Due to

his enthusiastic personality and friendly attitude, the students were actively

participating in the discussion. Questions raised included, amongst others, the

issue of cloud computing. The discussion continued with security issues and the

ITU’s efforts to combat this serious threat to the information society.

Our visit to the ITU and the presentation by Mr. Diaz were highly informative,

because the topics discussed affect our daily lives. Almost everyone is a member

of social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and Skype, however, one is often

not aware of the underlying threats. Also the interoperability of certain

technologies we use every day, such as smart phones, are enabled and promoted

by the open standards provided by the ITU.

5.1.7. Internship Opportunities

As the very last point of ITU’s presentation, Mr. Diaz Botanero elaborated on ITU’s

attractive internship program, which offers undergraduate and graduate students

the possibility to gain work experience in a truly dynamic environment. Prospective

interns can apply directly online (https://erecruit.itu.int/public/). Applicants are

strongly encouraged to express and specify their area of interest. As for most of

UN agencies, the ITU is also not offering any monetary compensation and hence

costs have to be borne by the students themselves. Nevertheless, Mr. Diaz

Botanero emphasized several times that this is an unique opportunity to gain

valuable insights into the rapidly changing field of telecommunications.

5.1.8. ICT Exploratorium

After the official presentation on the International Telecommunication Union

ended, the students of the IMC were granted an exclusive sneak preview of the

new museum, the so-called “ICT Exploratorium”. This ICT exhibition was definitely

one of the highlights throughout our stay in Geneva. After the presentation, we

30


were able to get an advanced tour before it was actually officially opened for the

public. The students were guided in groups and we were shown the developments

of ICTs beginning with telegraphs and ending with the newest technologies that

are available today. All of us really enjoyed the tour and would have liked to stay

much longer to discover all the details of the interactive exhibitions.

5.2. International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Date: Tuesday, April 24th 2012

Time: 11:00 am

Topic: Sectorial Activities Department & the Mandate of the ILO and its activities

Speaker: Mr. Martin Hahn (Basic Metal and Mining Production Specialist)


The second organization we visited on Tuesday 24th of April 2012 was the United

Nations specialized agency, International Labour Organization. The ILO, which is

perceived as the one and only agency of the United Nations that successfully

implemented the so called tripartite structure that ensures fair representation of

employers, workers and the government, primarily focuses on the creation and

execution of Decent work.

At the International Labour Office in Geneva, the group was warmly welcomed by

Mr Martin Hahn, who is working as lawyer for the Basic Metal and Mining

Production field within this specialized body. At the beginning, Mr Hahn provided

an extensive overview of the organization itself, its basic mission and how it came

into existence dating back until the treaty of Versailles. Based on this foundation,

Hahn elaborated in detail on how the organization is structured, what are the

objectives and how are they implemented. Moreover, Hahn put special focus on

the International Labour Conference, which takes place every June, and upon the

size of the ILO’s labour force in Geneva and on site with 30 field offices.

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5.2.1. The Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO), based in the International Labour

Office in Geneva, is a specialized Organization of the United Nations

accommodating 183 member states from all continents. Main responsibilities

include the development and supervision of international Labour standards.

According to Mr. Hahn, currently about 1300 people are working for the ILO in

Geneva, and in 30 different field offices. Additionally the organization has several

communication offices to remain in touch with the respective region, in cities like:

London and Tokyo.

With its unique tripartite structure, the ILO brings together governments,

employers and workers at the annual International Labour Conference in order to

set Labour standards, supervise their implementation, raise awareness, develop

policies and devise programs. These are realized by the establishment of

Conventions, Recommendations and Codes of Practices.

According to the ILO Constitution (1919) “Universal and lasting peace can be

established only if it is based upon social justice”. According to this Preamble, one

can easily determine that decent work is key to eliminate of poverty and therefore

the ILO identifies four primary strategic objectives:

Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at

work.

Create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent

employment.

Enhance coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all.

Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.

5.2.2. History

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The ILO was created in 1919 as part of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World

War I to reflect the belief that universal and lasting peace can be accomplished

only if it is based on social justice. The tripartite organization initially originated

from a decision made by a commission composed of representatives from nine

countries: Belgium Cuba, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Japan, Poland, the United

Kingdom and the United States.

The ILO at that time was and is until now the only organization that brings together

representatives of governments, employers and workers in its executive bodies.

Profound motivations have been the reason for the formation of the ILO including

driving forces in a political, social and economic sense. The most important

political stimulus for the creation of the ILO was the fear of a revolution (like the

Russian Revolution in 1917) hitting the world once again. Social driving forces

included the aim to abolish child labour that was recognized in industrialized

countries. Harmonized international labour legislation and the elimination of

national protectionism or decreasing competitiveness due to single-state

regulations were among the economic grounds of the ILO.

The ILO has made paramount contributions to the world of work from its early

days. The first International Labour Conference, held in Washington in October

1919, adopted six International Labour Conventions, which basically dealt with

working hours in industry, unemployment, and maternity protection, night work for

women, minimum age and night work for young persons in industry.

In the summer of 1920, the ILO was firstly located in Geneva where its

headquarters is located until today. During the Great Depression of the 1920s with

its resulting massive unemployment, the ILO realized that handling labour issues

also requires international cooperation. This resulted in the United States

becoming a Member of the ILO in 1934. Later, as the Second World War became

imminent, the headquarters of the ILO temporarily moved to Montreal, Canada, in

may 1940 for reasons of safety. In 1946, the ILO became a specialized agency of

the newly formed United Nations. During the post-war years between1948-1970,

the number of Member states doubled, the Organization took on its universal

character, industrialized countries became a minority among developing countries,

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the budget grew five-fold and the number of officials quadrupled. In 1969 on its

50th anniversary the ILO even was granted the Nobel Peace Prize: From the post-

cold War period on, the importance of placing social justice at the heart of

international economic and social policies was emphasized by the ILO. Also a

course of decentralization of activities and resources away from the Geneva

headquarters was set forth.

On 4th of March 1999, Juan Somavia of Chile took over as Director General.

Somavia especially emphasizes on the importance of making decent work a

strategic international goal and promoting a fair globalization. Moreover, he

underpins work as an instrument of poverty alleviation and ILO's role in helping to

achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including cutting world poverty in half

by 2015.

5.2.3. Structure

The ILO is the World’s only tripartite multilateral agency that makes employers,

workers and governments have equal voices and jointly shape policies and

programmes. Each country is represented by two government delegates and one

employer and worker delegate. These meet in the annual International labour

Conference in Geneva, where Conventions and Recommendations are adopted

by means of two-thirds majority votes to set international standards. Through the

ratification by member states, Conventions create binding obligations to implement

the provisions. Recommendations provide the country with guidance on policy,

legislation and practical issues. The Conference also approves the ILO work plan,

the budget, which is contributed by the member states, and elects the Governing

Body.

The Governing Body, which is the executive council, meets between the sessions

of the Conference and consists of 28 government members, 14 employer and 14

worker members. It usually meets three times a year to draft the programme, the

budget and prepare pre-works for the Conference.

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In addition to the International Labour Office in Geneva, the ILO’s Secretariat has

field offices in more than 40 countries. The Office is headed by the Director-

General and works under the scrutiny of the Governing Body, who appoints the

head of the Office. The Director-General is elected for a five-year renewable term.

This year, on May 28th the new Director is going to be elected, which is a very

relevant event regarding future policies of the ILO.

5.2.4. Scope of work

Underlying the ILO’s work is the importance of cooperation between governments

and employers’ and workers’ organizations in fostering social and economic

progress. The ILO aims to ensure that it serves the needs of working women and

men by bringing together governments, employers and workers to set labour

standards develop policies and devise programmes. The very structure of the ILO,

where workers and employers together have an equal voice with governments in

its deliberations, shows social dialogue in action. It ensures that the views of the

social partners are closely reflected in ILO labour standards, policies and

programmes. The ILO encourages this tripartism within its constituents and

member States by promoting a social dialogue between trade unions and

employers in formulating, and where appropriate, implementing national policy on

social, economic, and many other issues. The ILO accomplishes its work through

three main bodies (The International labour Conference, the Governing body and

the Office) which comprise governments', employers' and workers'

representatives.

The work of the Governing Body and of the Office is aided by tripartite committees

covering major industries. It is also supported by committees of experts on such

matters as vocational training, management development, occupational safety and

health, industrial relations, workers’ education, and special problems of women

and young workers.

On this matter, Mr Hahn elaborated on the Social Justice Declaration that was

published by the ILO in 2008, which puts special focus on the following:

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The importance of pursuing an integrated approach

The aspect of decent work - “Menschenwürdige Arbeit”

5.2.5. Question and Answer Session

The presentation was followed by a lively question and answer session. An

example for this, out of numerous questions and answers, can be listed as

followed:

Question: How important are Labour Unions and how are they affecting employers

and the ILO?

Mr Hahn answered that, in general it is easy to negotiate on a top level; however it

is challenging to actually implement respective policies. Moreover, he elaborated

on the fact that Labour Unions are of paramount use for employers, therefore

Labour Unions have to improve the prevailing level of mutual engagement.

5.3. World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO

Date: Tuesday, 24th of April 2012

Time: 3:30 – 5:15 pm

Topic: Intellectual Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization

Speaker: Ms. Francesca Fusco; Information Assistant WIPO Customer Service

Centre


The World Intellectual Property Organization is a United Nations Agency, which

has been established in 1967 to encourage creativity and innovation. Respective

outcomes thereof have to be protected on a global basis and hence, the WIPO is

concerned with the promotion of the development and use of intellectual property.

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5.3.1. Intellectual Property (IP)

According to Ms. Fusco, intellectual property is defined as creations of the mind.

Furthermore it can be distinguished between two subcategories:

Industrial Property

Industrial property can be easily reproduced and comprises patents,

trademarks, industrial design and geographical indications such as

certificates of origin.

Copyright and Related Rights

Copyright are related to literary and artistic works, including novels, films,

songs, photographs, architectural designs and many more. Whereas

related rights are concerned with the actual performance of artists,

recordings, broadcasts in the radio etc.

Furthermore, Ms. Fusco mentioned another type of IP which is dealing with the

indigenous cultures, local communities and customs. However, the protection of

innovations and creative expressions with a cultural background is not yet

regulated properly. Hence, the WIPO is currently working on establishing

normative and capacity-building programs in order to draw up legal regulations

concerned with this issue.

5.3.2. Brief History

The Paris Convention in 1883 was the first multilateral forum to discuss the

importance of the protection of intellectual property rights. This was due to the fact

that international exhibitors refused to present their innovations at the International

Exhibition of Inventions in Vienna (1873). As a result of the Paris Convention the

37


first international treaty on the protection of industrial property was drawn up.

Furthermore, the Berne Convention in 1886 addressed the problem of the

protection of artistic works, such as copyrights and related issues. Another result

of those talks was the establishment of the United International Bureaux for the

Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI) based in Berne, Switzerland.

In the course of time, the importance of intellectual property grew significantly and

in turn also the structure of the organization changed, which consequently led to

the relocation of the BIRPI to Geneva and finally the creation of the World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1974 as a specialized agency of the

United Nations system of organizations.

5.3.3. Scope of Work

The WIPO counts currently 185 member states and is concerned with a broad field

of work. Its mandate is to promote the protection of IP throughout the world

through cooperation among states and in collaboration with other international

organizations. Thus, its main activities are basically concerned with:

The harmonization of national intellectual property legislation and

procedures,

The provision of services for international applications for industrial property

rights,

The exchange of intellectual property information,

The provision of legal and technical assistance to developing and other

countries,

The facilitation the resolution of private intellectual property disputes, and

The allocation of information technology as a tool for storing, accessing,

and using valuable intellectual property information.

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Therefore, the World Intellectual Property Organization is focusing on three main

clusters in order to conform to its mandate. Thus, its service to industries, norm

setting services and economic development programs help to foster the protection

of IP on an international level and enhance the development of IP systems in its

member states.

Effective protection of IP rights does also require the organization to engage in

raising awareness and addressing the public. In order to prevent counterfeiting

and product or service piracy the WIPO works closely with:

Public sector & Policy-makers

Intellectual Property offices (in each member state)

General Public and the Civil Society

5.3.4. Goals

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a United Nations (UN)

specialized agency and the leading intergovernmental organization dedicated to

the promotion and use of intellectual property. The Organization seeks to develop

a balanced and effective international IP system that rewards creativity, stimulates

innovation and contributes to the economic, social and cultural development of all

countries, while safeguarding the public interest. WIPO’s mandate is to promote

the protection of IP throughout the world through cooperation among states and in

collaboration with other international organizations.

Additionally, the WIPO has nine strategic goals such as the balanced evolution of

the international normative framework for IP, international cooperation on building

respect for IP and addressing IP in relation to global policy issues. Further, a

provision of premier global IP services, the facilitation of the use of IP for

development and the coordination and improvement of global IP Infrastructure

plays a major role. Other goals state that WIPO wants to develop a world

39


reference source for IP information and analysis, a responsive communications

interface between WIPO, its member states and other stakeholders and an

efficient administrative and financial support structure to enable the organization to

deliver its programs.

5.3.5. Strategies

Regarding its strategy the WIPO mainly follows its nine strategic goals as

described above. However, the WIPO has launched the Strategic Realignment

Problem in order to equip the Organization to address today’s challenges such as

the stress on patent and copyright systems as a result of rapid technological

change, globalization and increased demand and reducing the knowledge gap

between developed and developing countries.

WIPO’s member states determine the strategic direction and approve the activities

of the Organization. Delegates from member states meet in assemblies,

committees and working groups.

5.3.6. Methods of work

The main policy and decision making bodies of WIPO are the General Assembly

and the Coordination Committee. Nineteen assemblies and other bodies of the

Member States of WIPO and of the Unions administered by WIPO, traditionally

meet in ordinary or extraordinary session at the end of September. These

meetings bring together WIPO’s 184 Member States, allowing them to take stock

of the progress in the Organization’s work and to discuss future policy directions.

In the General Assembly every government is represented by one delegate and

meetings are usually held every two years. The Coordination Committee consists

of the States which are members of the Executive Committee of the Paris Union,

40


or the Executive Committee of the Berne Union and gives advice to the organs of

the Unions, the General Assembly, the Conference and the Director General. Also,

Standing Committees are established by a decision of the General Assembly for a

given purpose. When a Standing Committee determines that sufficient progress

has been made in order to move towards treaty adoption, the General Assembly

can decide to convene a Diplomatic Conference. This is a high level meeting of

Member States, convened purely to finalize negotiations on a new treaty. In

addition to Standing Committees, there are Permanent Committees which are

established by International Classification treaties and which revise and update the

classification systems. A Standing Committee or other body can decide to

establish a working group to examine a particular question in more detail.

5.3.7. Core Tasks / Functions

WIPO is the lead intergovernmental organization dedicated to the promotion and

use of Intellectual Property. Its diverse activities are driven by demand from

Member States. They fall broadly into the areas “Developing international IP laws

and standards” and “Delivering global IP protection services” and include the

following core activities:

Administering 24 multilateral treaties and working with member states to

build agreement on and to support the evolution of the international legal

framework for IP

Providing global IP services that make it easier and more cost-effective to

obtain protection internationally for new inventions, brands, designs and

appellations of origin ; and providing arbitration, mediation and other

alternative dispute resolution services

o Assisting governments and organizations in establishing national and

regional IP and innovation strategies, developing appropriate

41


regulatory frameworks for IP and building the infrastructure and

human capacity needed to harness the potential of IP for economic

development

o Providing technical infrastructure that includes : facilitating access to

WIPO’s world-standard databases of IP information; developing

technical platforms to facilitate exchange of information among IP

offices ; training and tools for using IP information

o Building awareness, understanding and respect for IP – including

playing a leading role in encouraging and facilitating international

dialogue on enforcement related issues, as well as providing training

and education programs

o Working in partnership with the UN and other organizations to

identify and promote IP-based solutions to climate change, food

security, public health and other global challenges

5.3.8. Members

WIPO's strategic direction, budget and activities are determined by its Member

States, who meet in the Assemblies, Committees and other decision making

bodies WIPO currently has 184 member states – a list of these member states can

be found in Annex III.

5.3.9. Decision making bodies

All decisions governing WIPO’s strategic direction and activities are made by the

Member States. The WIPO Secretariat coordinates formal and informal meetings

42


of the Member State bodies throughout the year. The principal committees and

decision-making bodies are listed below.

5.3.10. Governing Bodies

The following constituent organs, established by the WIPO Convention, are

WIPO’s highest decision-making bodies. They meet in September/October in

Geneva in ordinary session every two years, and in extraordinary session in

alternate years.

The WIPO General Assembly

The WIPO Conference

The WIPO Coordination Committee

In addition the Assemblies of the member states of each of the Unions, (e.g. the

PCT Union Assembly; the Madrid Union Assembly etc.) were established by the

respective WIPO-administered treaties.

5.3.11. Standing Committees

These are ad hoc committees of experts. Standing committees are established by

a decision of the General Assembly for a given purpose, e.g. to determine the

need or otherwise for new treaty provisions. Examples may be the Standing

Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP), the Standing Committee on the Law of

Trademarks, Industrial Designs and Geographical Indications (SCT), or the

Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR).

When a Standing Committee determines that sufficient progress has been made in

order to move towards treaty adoption, the General Assembly can decide to

43


convene a Diplomatic Conference. This is a high level meeting of Member States,

convened purely to finalize negotiations on a new treaty.

5.3.12. Permanent Committees

The International Classification treaties (i.e. the Locarno, Nice, Strasbourg and

Vienna Agreements) established permanent Committees of Experts with a

mandate periodically to revise and update the classification systems.

Any of the Governing Bodies can constitute committees as required. For example

the Program and Budget Committee, the Committee on Development and

Intellectual Property (CDIP) or the Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE).

5.3.13. Working Groups

A Standing Committee or other body can decide to establish a working group to

examine a particular question in more detail.


Why was the World Intellectual Property Organization neither involved in the

discussion about Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) nor consulted with

respect to this issue?

The WIPO is a neutral agency of the United Nations and does not have to be

consulted concerning changes in the legislation on IP. The organization’s mandate

is to promote and facilitate the protection of IP, but it cannot set enforcement

legislation thereof.

44


Are there any new forms of IP for which appropriate protection has not yet been

regulated accordingly?

New forms of IP include the protection of creations and inventions deriving from

indigenous or cultural background, such as traditional knowledge, access to

generic resources, folklore etc. Currently the WIPO is trying to create a framework

for effective protection related subjects.

Furthermore, another emerging field with the need of IP rights is cyber-sporting.

This includes the illegal use of protected brands and names to sell items via the

internet.

How does the WIPO finance its operations?

90 % of the organization’s budget derives from the registration of IP. Mainly

industrial property is registered by participants of the private sector. Hence, only

10 % of the WIPO’s budget is paid by its member states, which is rather

exceptional for the UN system.

6. Wednesday, 25th of April 2012

6.1. Organization for Economic Co-Operation and

Development (OECD)

Date: Wednesday, 25th of April 2012

Time: 02:00 pm – 02:15 pm

Topic: Welcome and Introduction

Speaker: Mr Andrew Gentry, Public Affairs and Communications Directorate

Time: 02:15 pm – 02:45 pm

Topic: History, Structure, Scope of Work and Membership


45



The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based in

Paris, is one of the world’s major and most reliable providers of comparable

statistics and economic and social data. Due to numerous researches in the field

of economics and public policy, the OECD is one of the world’s leading publishers

of reports and forecasts in that area. Mrs Marion Gratt, Attaché of the Austrian

Delegation to the OECD, gave us a brief insight into the organization’s mission,

goals, structure, members, areas of work and achievements, followed by an

overview of the role of the Austrian Delegation and a discussion at the end.

6.1.1. History

Historically, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

(OECD) developed out of the Organization for European Economic Co-operation

(OEEC) that was set up in 1948 to assist the European economy to recover from

the disturbances and impacts of World War II.

Its primary purpose was to execute the “European Recovery Programme”, also

known as the “Marshall Plan” by distributing about 13 billion USD which had been

provided by the United States under the presidency of Harry Truman.

In September 1961, the OECD became the official successor of the OEEC with 19

foundation members, among them, the United States and Canada as non-

European members.

With the scope of work becoming more global, several countries, such as Finland,

Japan, Australia and New Zealand joined the organization between 1964 and

1970. This expansion was followed by Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary,

Poland, Korea and the Slovak Republic.

Today, the OECD consists of 34 member countries (namely: Australia, Austria,

Belgium, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,

Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea,

Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal,

46


Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom,

United States), and has close work relations with more than 70 countries as well

as co-operations with major international partners such as the World Trade

Organization (WTO) and the European Union (EU). In 2010 Chile, Estonia, Israel

and Slovenia joined the OECD as full members and also Russia was invited for

negotiations of a membership. Furthermore, it offered enhanced engagement, with

a view to possible membership, to Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa

because those countries are key partners.

6.1.2. General Overview

As mentioned above, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and

Development (OECD) was officially founded in 1960, and came into force on 30th

of September 1961 as an intergovernmental economic organization composed of

currently 34 member countries, representing 80 % of the world’s GDP. The

headquarters of the OECD is situated in Paris, at the Châteu de la Muette. The

OECD’s credo is to stand for democracy and market economy. Further areas of

activity include providing information and guidance on the topics of trade and

structural adjustment, as well as reducing poverty in developing countries.

One way to achieve its goals is to help governments to respond quickly to new

developments, by providing a forum for the exchange of experiences and methods

of resolution, including the coordination of domestic and international policies.

Another field of activity is the allocation of data concerning more than one hundred

developing countries and emerging market economies like China, South Africa,

India, Brazil and Mexico.

6.1.3. Aims

47


The OECD has defined its core principles in the “Convention on the

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development”, which has been

signed by every member state. They include the intent to:

Maintain financial stability

Raise living standards

Contribute to growth in world trade

Support governments to sustainable economic growth (e.g. in

Morocco)

Boost employment

Assist other countries’ economic development

6.1.4. Organizational structure

6.1.4.1. The Council

The decision making power lies within the OECD Council. It is made up of one

representative per member country, plus a representative of the European

Commission. These decisions are achieved via regular council meetings at the

level of permanent representatives to the OECD and are taken by consensus. The

Council meets at a ministerial level once a year to discuss key issues and set

priorities for OECD work.

6.1.4.2. Committees

In order to progress ideas and cooperate on areas, such as economics, trade,

science, employment, education or financial markets the comities provide a forum

for discussion and co-operation.

48


There are about 200 committees, working groups and expert groups, equipped

with a total of 40,000 senior officials. These officials are dispatched by the national

administrations.

6.1.4.3. The Secretariat

The Secretariat in Paris is made up of about 2,700 staff members, who support the

activities of the committees. These employees, which include economists, lawyers,

scientists and other professionals, carry out the work in response to priorities

decided by the OECD Council.

Currently the OECD Secretariat is headed by Mr Angel Gurría, who is assisted by

four Deputy Secretaries-General.

6.1.5. Current topics

Current topics of the OECD that have been addressed during the OECD Forum

2011 were Green Growth, Skills Strategy, New Paradigms for Development,

Narrowing the Gender Gap and Reducing Inequality, Better Life Initiative and

Restoring Trust.

Mr Schekulin, our professor from the first semester, dropped by during the

presentation because he had a meeting at the OECD. He is chairing the

investment committee of the OECD since 2004 and gave us an update about his

work. Within this meeting current issues were discussed with other countries and

with the assistance of the technical expertise from the OECD Secretary. It brings

experts from different fields together to discuss follow-ups of the financial crisis.

There will also be a seminar to convince more countries like China to become

member of the OECD. Additionally, the issue of liberalizing or restricting capital

movements and related set of rules will be addressed to discuss the needs to

prevent weaker developing frameworks from the “big Wall-Street sharks”.

49



The presentation was followed by a lively discussion. The focus of the questions

raised was primarily on issues concerning the OECD itself. Mrs Gratt and Mr

Gentry answered the questions regarding the OECD’s control of the

implementation of measures and explained the unique peer pressure system

which exists in the OECD. They highlighted that the OECD always tries to assess

the highest possible standards and to find a common ground for the

recommendations, policies and reforms they propose. Mr Gentry mentioned that

small countries like Austria for example can benefit even more from the OECD

membership.


At the end, our professor Dr. Anis Bajrektarevic raised a question regarding

employment and internship possibilities at the OECD. Mr Gentry encouraged the

students to join the OECD, as the organization is always seeking for ambitious

young people. He referred to the OECD homepage, which provides all relevant

information in the career section. Furthermore, one can apply directly or an

internship by contacting the department of interest. Internships vary in duration

and payment, however, the usual duration is six months. In this context it is to be

noted that applicants only qualify for an internship position if they are citizens of

one of the OECD countries.

6.2. Permanent Delegation of Austria to the OECD

50


Date: Wednesday, 25th of April 2012

Time: 02:45 pm – 03:15 pm

Topic: Role and Function of the Austrian Delegation



The general overview of the OECD was followed by a definition of the role of the

Permanent Delegation of Austria to the OECD (hereafter referred to as Austrian

Mission). In her presentation, Mrs Marion Gratt outlined the structure and the role

of the Austrian Mission.

6.2.1. Role and Responsibilities of the Austrian Mission

Each of the 34 OECD-member states is represented at the organization in Paris

by several representatives and delegates. The fundamental role of the Austrian

Mission is to act as a linkage between the OECD Secretariat and national

authorities.

Furthermore, the Austrian Mission promotes Austria’s national interests in

multilateral negotiations. It basically aims at ensuring a good fit between the

OECD’s work and their country’s interests. As a further point, it informs about

current developments of the OECD-programmes of work.

The Austrian Mission is composed of one ambassador and several diplomats. At

present, Mr Wolfgang Petritsch is Austria’s ambassador. He was appointed by the

Austrian Federal Chancellery on March 4, 2008. Mr Petritsch, in consultation with

his peers, has the responsibility to agree on the programme of work, validate

strategic work and establish the volume of the annual budget.

6.2.2. Question & Answer Session

51


At the beginning of the discussion Mrs Gratt emphasized on the importance to

coordinate opinions between ministries and that OECD statistics can serve as a

basis for political decision making. She mentioned the “Best Practices” system that

allows for knowledge-sharing in the service of all countries. The current

discussions on education in Austria, such as the new secondary school (Neue

Mittelschule) and centralized school leaving examination (Zentralmatura), originate

from OECD “Best Practices”. Furthermore, Mrs Gratt spoke about the

collaboration and cooperation between the OECD and the G20 and referred to the

OECD as being a platform of integration and voice for smaller countries, such as

Austria, which would normally not influence G20 decisions.

Subsequently, questions concerning Austria’s contribution to the OECD budget

and priority topics were raised. Traditionally, the US accounts for 22 % of the

budget, thus the biggest contributor, followed by 12 % of Japan and 9 % of

Germany. In comparison, as Austria is a rather small country, it contributes 1,25 %

of the total budget. Priority topics for Austria, according to Mrs Gratt, are: a) the

improvement and optimization of the education sector, b) the reduction of

inequalities in the society, c) sustainable growth, and d) energy politics


With regards to the Austrian Mission, Mrs Gratt talked about employment

possibilities directly at the Permanent Delegation of Austria to the OECD. The

Austrian Mission offers internships with a length of 3 months and more, which are

paid. Applications for internships can be forwarded directly to the Austrian Mission.

Furthermore, a Professional Program exists which is like a traineeship. The

required language is English, French is not necessary. Students can already join

this program after finishing their Bachelor studies.

52


6.3. International Energy Agency (IEA)

Date: 25th of April 2012

Time: 5:20 pm

Topic: IEA – An Overview (including Questions and Answers Session)

Speaker: Dr. Timur Gül


6.3.1. General Information

The International Energy Agency (IEA) consists of 28 member states and 190

employees promoting reliable and reasonably-priced clean energy. With its

headquarters in Paris, it is a semi-autonomous body of the Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and linked to G-8. Although only

OECD members can apply to the IEA, it also closely cooperates with non-

members. It was founded after the 1973/74 oil shock in order to assist countries to

overcome the immediate impact of the crisis. Apart from this aspect, the IEA has

included additional tasks in their spectrum. Therefore, their staff not only provides

a broad range of well researched statistics, data bases and publications, but is

also active in the following four areas: The agency promotes energy security

through product diversification and increased flexibility; it is an advocate of

economic development of its member countries with the help of sustainable

energy supply and free markets; it tries to increase international education

concerning environmental energy issues and also works closely together with non-

members to increase overall welfare. At a later stage, the agency has started to

fight climate change by developing alternatives and rational energy policies.

6.3.2. Main Topic

53


After introducing the organization’s structure, Dr. Gül proceeded his presentation

with talking about the biannual ministerial meetings, the IEA hosts. The main issue

discussed during this conference are future trends on the energy markets. The IEA

stresses the crucial importance of government’s preparing for energy

emergencies. Additionally, the oil market is analyzed and long-term energy market

trends are discussed at the for a. Moreover, country studies are presented and the

relationship between member states and non-member states are discussed.

Fostering the relationship between member states and non-member states is in

the IEA’s case extremely important, since China, a country that ranks in the top

ten of energy consumers, is not a member country.

The IEA publishes every year the World Energy Outlook. This is the most

important publication in the energy area providing massive amounts of statistics

and data on the current state of the energy market and the future of it.

The energy trends shown in this publication are compiled with the help of

automatic models that analyze existing technologies and assess their

development potential.

An important section of the book is dedicated to energy consumption, how energy

is used and who is using it. This analysis shows that the growth of energy

consumption is highest in emerging markets. China and India are responsible for

50% of the growth in energy consumption. Additionally, the IEA estimates that

from 2010 to 2035 the energy consumption of the planet will grow by one third,

with the biggest part of the growth being realized in non-OECD countries. This

again, stresses the importance of co-operation between member and non-member

states.

Furthermore, the renewable energy market was discussed. Dr. Gül pointed out

that especially in the renewable energy sector governments had considerable

power over the industry. The subsidies that were being paid in the area amounted

to some $66 billion obstructing the price up until now. Currently many countries

start to phase out their subsidies in this area causing an increase in prices that will

reach its peak in 2020. Currently, Germany sees considerable consequences from

their high subsidies since many of the companies in the renewable energy sector

are not competitive enough to survive without the subsidies, many businesses are

54


closing. Nevertheless the subsidies, made it possible to realize the biggest growth

of energy production in the renewable energy sector in the last years.

Even though the $66 billion spent on renewable energy seems a considerable

amount it is not even close to the sum spent on fossils. The fossil market is

subsidies with some $405 billion each and every year. This difference shows how

much potential there is for change in the governance of the energy production

sector.

Coal is considered of tremendous importance, notably for the emerging markets.

China is producing most of its energy via coal, making CO2 emissions an important

topic. The IEA tries to advise governments on how to reduce their CO2 emissions,

anyhow the IEA is no normative body, and thus it cannot formulate any

international regulations that are binding for governments. It can merely inform the

states on how they could improve and hope that the peer-pressure of other

member states pushes the countries to initiate change.

Since coal is also in the future going to be the most important energy provider,

CO2 emissions are an important issue. Hence, the IEA provides different CO2

scenarios that allow the countries to see how their CO2 emissions will develop.

Concerning nuclear power, Dr. Gül provided an interesting insight. If 50% of the

nuclear energy plants that are operated nowadays were to be switched off it would

cause a tremendous increase in CO2 emissions. Additionally, energy supply would

get scarcer. This was especially interesting to hear in the light of Germany and

Japan currently phasing out their nuclear energy plants.

Obviously the topics of energy and climate are no longer separable. Especially,

coal and the CO2 emissions are a treat to the climate. Therefore the IEA publishes

every year statistics on which country produces the most CO2. Historically, the

OECD-countries emitted the biggest proportion of CO2 emissions, anyhow within

the next 25 years China will have taken over the European Union, not only in

current emission but also on a historical basis.

The CO2 emissions scenario the IEA presented shows that by 2015 80% of CO2

emissions that allow us to stay within the Kyoto protocol regulations will be locked

in. Meaning that there is extremely little that can be done about them.

55


6.3.3. Questions and Answer Session

Following Dr. Gül’s presentation a lively Question and Answer session was held.

The topics covered were very diverse, from the CO2 emissions trade over energy

sufficiency without nuclear power.

7. Thursday, 26th of April 2012

7.1. The World Bank Group (WB)


Time: 10:00 am

Topic: WB Group – An Overview


On Thursday, April 4, 2012, die group was invited to visit the World Bank Group

(WB) in their Paris office. Currently there are 30 people working permanently in

Paris, the entire WB, however, comprises 131 offices around the globe.

The World Bank Group was founded in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods

Conference in New Hampshire, by 43 participating countries. Its original purpose

was to finance the reconstruction of war-torn Europe. Nowadays the World Bank

Group has become the primary financier of development projects in the third world

having its headquarters in Washington D.C. It is not a bank in the common sense,

but more a specialized agency of the United Nations with 187 member countries

56


helping emerging countries to escape poverty by building an investment friendly

environment, creating jobs and fostering sustainable growth.

As it is the world’s leading development agency, it provides help to rebuild

economies that were heavily devastated through wars and social and economic

crisis. The World Bank Group also promotes international economic cooperation.

All its operations are conducted under the so called Millennium Development

Goals which refer to the elimination of poverty and hunger, universal primary

education for each and everybody, the promotion of gender equality, the reduction

of child mortality, the improvement of maternal health, the fight against HIV/Aids,

malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and the development of a

global partnership for development.

In order to achieve these objectives, the developing countries determine

themselves that they have to build the capacity and the infrastructure to grow, to

develop a robust financial system and to combat corruption.

The World Bank Group employs around 10,000 people and is therefore the third

largest employer in Washington. It is a public institution that is owned by its 187

member countries. These countries can be described as the shareholders of the

institution, each having a different amount of shares that is linked to their

respective economic power and influence. The USA is the largest shareholder with

slightly above 15% voting shares, followed by Japan, Germany, the UK and other

countries.

7.1.1. Decision Making Bodies

7.1.1.1. President

The current president of the World Bank Group is Robert Zoellick, who is also the

chairman of the board of the Executive Directors (ED). The president is not elected

57


democratically, but rather appointed by the US for a period of five years. He is in

charge of the overall management of the Bank. The directors have no rights to

intervene in the selection. They can only give some suggestions. Besides the

president, there are nine vice presidents in charge of regions, sectors, networks

and functions. This year (2012) a new president will be appointed, namely Jim

Yong Kim.

7.1.1.2. Board of Executive Directors

The board of the Executive Directors consists out of the representatives of each

member country, amounting for 25 in total. There are two different types of votes

within the decision making body, the basic votes and the additional ones that are

based on their financial contribution. The basic votes are in general votes that are

allocated equally to each member state.

The Executive Directors’ responsibilities and duties are to decide on IBRD loans

and IDA credits as well as to decide on policies that are linked to the Bank’s

general operations‟. In addition they have to present to the board of governors an

audit of accounts, an administrative budget and an annual report on the Bank’s

operations and policies at every annual meeting. They are furthermore responsible

for the day-to-day operations and revising operations evaluations and

development rends, having normally a meeting twice a week.

7.1.1.3. Board of Governors

Each member country has to appoint one governor as its representative, which

normally is directed to the finance minister of the respective country. Their key

responsibilities and duties are to make key decisions regarding strategic

directions, membership questions, capital stock, budgets and distribution of

income.

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7.1.2. The Structure

The World Bank Group can mainly be divided into two institutions, namely the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the

International Development Association (IDA). Furthermore the International

Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) form

parts of the Group.

In principal the IBRD and IDA share the same goals and objectives called

Millennium Development Goals which refer to the elimination of poverty and

hunger, universal primary education for each and everybody, the promotion of

gender equality, the reduction of child mortality, the improvement of maternal

health, the fight against HIV/Aids, malaria and other diseases, environmental

sustainability and the development of a global partnership for development.

Nevertheless the IBRD and the IDA are two financially independent legal entities,

although they are administered by the same staff and share the same headquarter

in Washington DC.

7.1.2.1. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The IBRD was originally established to provide financial support for the

reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Nowadays its mission has

expanded to fight poverty in developing states all over the world. Thereby the

IBRD provides assistance under three main headings: Strategy and coordination

services, financial services including loans and development assistance to middle

and low-income countries with a stated aim of reducing poverty, and knowledge

59


services. Loans generally have a five-year grace period and must be repaid over a

period of 15-20 years.

In large part the IBRD is financed by selling bonds to private investors. Besides it

can also count on the help of its member governments. Their loans are always

given to member states and if it comes to a failure of repayment of a specific

country the IBRD can freeze the capital streams immediately.

7.1.2.2. International Development Association

Created in 1960 the IDA offers assistance to the poorest countries, providing them

with interest-free loans (primarily aimed at basic social services provision and

increasingly direct budget support), technical assistance and policy advice. The

IDA is funded by wealthier nations, lending only to those countries that have a per

capita income of less than $1,095 and lack the financial ability to borrow from the

IBRD. IDA credits have a 20, 35 or 40 year repayment period. To survive the IDA

is funded through three different sources: First of all be the re-flows from previous

loans, secondly by transfers from IBRD net income and last but not least from IDA

donors.

7.1.2.3. International Finance Corporation (IFC)

The IFC is a legally and financially independent body of the World Bank Group.

The institution is owned by the member states which also provide the authorized

share capital and fix the policies. Its guiding principle is „Reducing Poverty,

Improving Lives‟ and it was established in 1956. Today, the IFC supports

developing countries in terms of sustainable economic growth by providing capital

for the private sector, encouraging investment into poor countries and advising

businesses and governments. Therefore the IFC mainly works in developing

60


regions in Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia & the Pacific, South Asia, Europe &

Central Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Middle East & North Africa.

The two IFC core tasks are to provide advisory and investment services, include

loans and intermediary services, equity (IFC holds shares in several companies

from poor countries), special structured finance products, risk management

products (like hedging foreign exchange spending), and others.

7.1.2.4. Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

The MIGA, founded in 1988, has the aim to increase foreign direct investment into

countries of the developing world. Foreign Direct investment (FDI) is a critical

issue for those countries when it comes to reduce poverty, including availability of

clean water, electricity and above all work. With the help of money from abroad,

they can invest in the private sector and increase economic wellbeing and the

wellbeing of individuals.

Thereby is important to note that MIGA is an insurer and not a lender itself.

(Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency) Obviously, most investors tend to

invest in secure countries because they fear political risk in poor countries.

Therefore, MIGA is providing the following three important services. Firstly, they

insure investors against political risk for foreign investments in developing

countries. Secondly, they provide technical assistance in order to further develop

investment climates and promote investment opportunities. Thirdly, they try to

remove possible obstacles to future investment. MIGA mainly tries to attract

investment for the area of infrastructure and this is especially a challenge in case

of countries with very high risks combined with low income and those which are

victims of wars and other conflicts.

Over the last decades the relationship between the World Bank and MIGA has

been reduced. Nowadays, it is only a minimized organizational link. Furthermore

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the Independent Evaluation Group for MIGA (IEG-MIGA) is evaluating the

effectiveness of the whole organization and its operating on a regular basis since

July 2002.

7.1.2.5. International Centre for Settlement for Investment Disputes

(ICSID)

ICSID is an international institution that provides facilities to settle international

investment problems. The centre has been formed by the Executive Directors of

the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) and

came into being in 1966. Its main purpose is to interfere in case there are any

legal disputes that are of non-commercial nature. Nowadays, ICSID is a main

player when it comes to international investment and economic development.

(International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes)

7.1.3. Roles

The World Bank in general can be assumed as the largest public development

institution, annually lending a sum of approximately 25 billion dollars to their

member states. Providing help for the reconstruction and development of

territories of member states by facilitating the investment of capital for productive

purposes is equally a role the World Bank assumes as is the promotion of the

balanced growth of international trade and the maintenance of equilibrium in

balances of payments by encouraging international investment. A further objective

of the World Bank is to assist in raising the productivity, the standard of living and

conditions of labor in their territories.

7.1.4. The World Bank as a Lender

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The World Bank lends its money to middle and low-income governments to

facilitate policy reforms and to promote investment projects. In certain cases the

bank´s facilities can provide financial aid to private businesses and to non-profit

organizations through special bank guarantees. Money that will support the

improvement of institutional, economic and other policy reforms is known as

“structural adjustments or development policy’ lending. The World Bank requests

guarantees in advance or sets up certain “conditions” before approving a loan or a

grant. Such conditions can for example be the guarantee of the borrowing country

to privatize some of their state-owned companies or to lower trade tariffs.

7.1.5. The World Bank as a Knowledge Broker

The World Bank also enriches the market with knowledge about development

issues. Especially publications and research findings are of special interest. Every

country can use these in the absence of alternative sources. Therefore the World

Bank founded its own training and research group known as the World Bank

Institute to directly participate in the training of government officials such as

parliamentarians and civil society representatives.

7.1.6. The World Bank as a Gatekeeper to Development Finance

Last but not least the World Bank assumes one final role regarding the capital

market. Through their research work and the assessment of a respective country

the World Bank acts as a source for other institutions. With the World Bank’s

Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA) and Investment Climate

Assessments (ICA) countries can obtain a rating taking their economic policies

and friendliness to foreign investment into account.

7.1.7. Lending instruments

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The World Bank has two main lending instruments basically known as investment

and adjustment loans. Investment loans have a long-term focus (5-10 years) and

are used for financing goods and services in support of economic and social

development projects in a broad range of sectors. Adjustment loans on the other

side have a short-term focus (1-3 years) and are providing external financing to

support institutional and policy reforms. Frequently both types are joined in hybrid

operations due to their flexible usage.

7.1.7.1. Investment Loans

Investment loans can be used for a wide range of different projects normally

providing funds for physical and social infrastructure. These funds are only

supplied against specific foreign or local expenditures related to the project such

as equipment, studies, technical or consulting services or materials. To ensure a

satisfactory performance these terms are normally settled before in a loan

agreement. Investment loans are generally tailored to the specific needs of the

borrower.

7.1.7.2. Adjustment Lending and other Non-Project Lending

Adjustment lending programs provide quick financing solutions and assistance for

countries to support structural reforms in a sector or in the economy as a whole.

They are building up structures to foster political and institutional changes to

create an environment for sustainable growth. Like investment loans, adjustment

loans also changed their nature over the years due to changing needs by the

borrowing countries. Adjustment loans were originally created for macroeconomic

reforms, including trade policies and agricultural reforms. Now their focus changed

and moved towards the structural and financial sector aiming at improving public

resource management and promoting competitive market structures.

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7.1.7.3. World Bank Guarantees

Loans are normally used as public financing instruments whereas bank

guarantees issued by the World Bank are directed to the private sector helping the

borrowers to cover risks that they normally could not absorb without help. The

Bank’s project based guarantees try to foster private sector financing.

7.2. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO)


Time: 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm

Topic: UNESCO – An Overview (including Questions and Answers Session)

Speaker: Ms. Isabell Ladiges


On Thursday, April 26th, our group had the great pleasure of visiting UNESCO

(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Following the

long security check we were warmly welcomed by a UNESCO official responsible

for the guided tours. She gave us a brief historical overview and led us through the

wonderful UNESCO garden where artists from all over the world left their mark.

We also watched a very inspiring video related to UNESCO’s main activities.

Following the tour we were greeted by Ms. Isabell Ladiges on behalf of the

Austrian mission to the UNESCO. The Austrian Delegation represents the Austrian

government at the UNESCO Headquarters and is a permanent link for Austria in

the framework of the different forums and Bodies of the UNESCO. Concerning the

administration it is linked to the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and

International Affairs. Question and answer session followed this very brief

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overview. Questions were mostly related to Ms. Isabel’s role in the Austrian

mission and potential internship opportunities.

7.2.1. The organization

UNESCO is an abbreviation for “United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization” and it is a specialized agency of the United Nations and its

headquarters are located in Paris. The aim of the UNESCO is to build peace in the

minds of all people around the world. The main vision of the UNESCO is “to create

the conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon

respect for commonly shared values. It is through this dialogue that the world can

achieve global visions of sustainable development encompassing human rights,

mutual respect and the alleviation of poverty, [...]”. (www.unesco.org. 5th October

2011. Introducing UNESCO.)

7.2.2. Historical Overview

The early origins of the UNESCO lie in the predecessors that were called

“International Committee of Intellectual Co-operation” and the “International

Bureau of Education”, that were both located in Geneva. However, the real idea

for the UNESCO started during the Second World War when people had the wish

of living a life in peace and harmony. In 1942 several European Countries that

encountered the Nazi regime met for the “Conference of Allied Ministers of

Education” (CAME) in the UK. Those countries started to look for ways to re-

establish an education system as soon as peace was maintained again. Several

countries joint over time and in 1945 they decided to create a peace-building

organisation to prevent another world war. The Constitution of UNESCO was

ratified by 20 countries and entered into force in November 1946.

(www.unesco.org. 5th October 2011. The Organization’s History.)

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http://www.unesco.org/



7.2.3. International Structure

The UNESCO has 193 Member States and seven Associate Members. Its work is

organized around five different regions, namely Africa, the Arab States, Asia and

the Pacific, Europe and North America and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Several field offices are located in the various regions to ensure smooth

operations. (portal.unesco.org. 5th October 2011. Communities.)

7.2.4. Field of Activity

The UNESCO has a relatively wide scope of work and covers several functions in

the area of education, sciences and culture and several topics related to those

issues. It is a specialized agency of the UN and is coordinating mostly with the

Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The objectives and expected results of UNESCO’s work are laid down in a

Medium-Term Strategy that is renewed every six years. The current strategy and

therefore all the UNESCO activities are guided by a mission statement:

"As a specialized agency of the UN system, UNESCO contributes to the building

of peace, the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural

dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and

information." (UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013. P.5.)

The subsequent information gives more detailed information of the most important

sectors of UNESCO’s work.

7.2.5. Education

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UNESCO considers education as a key to social and economic development and

therefore it has been a priority of this organization since its establishment. The

overall goal is to create a peaceful society in a sustainable world through

education. UNESCO is closely collaborating with education ministries and other

partners. Through this collaboration, it tries to mobilize political will and direct

efforts into the right direction. The leading mission in this area is “Education for All”

(EFA) that should be reached by 2015. Furthermore the education sector of the

UNESCO is guided by several other UN principles such as the MDGs. In 2000, the

World Education Forum decided to establish six goals for 2015: (UNESCO at a

glance. 2010. p. 10ff)

“Expand early childhood care and education

Ensure that all children are able to access and receive free and compulsory

education of good quality

Increase access to learning and life skills programs for youth and adults

Improve adult literacy rate by 50 %

Eliminate gender disparities in education

Improve all aspects of education quality “ (UNESCO at a glance. 2010. p.

10)

In addition to that, UNESCO is focusing on three main initiatives in order to reach

EFA, namely Literacy, Teacher Training and Global Fight against HIV/AIDS.

(UNESCO at a glance. 2010. p. 10ff)

7.2.6. Natural Sciences

The UNESCO is, among the UN specialized agencies, the only organization that is

dealing with the promotion of science in particular. In this context, UNESCO

managed to establish several scientific unions and bodies since its foundation.

The need for sustainable development is the guiding principle of this division of the

UN. Additionally, it addresses the need to question the exploitation of nature and

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consequently the management of natural resources is one key responsibility.

UNESCO helps to advocate for science by providing advice, technical assistance

and data. At the same time it tries to promote the dialogue between scientists and

policy makers, to strengthen research capacities and to improve the development

and implementation of science, technology and innovation policies. Especially

developing countries (particularly African countries) need guidance and help in the

reinforcement of capacities. Another emphasis is given to natural disaster

prevention and preparedness: It tries to mitigate the effects of all sorts of natural

hazards (e.g. earthquakes, floods, landslides) in special programs that are

combined in the “UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction”. In addition to

that, renewable energy is a priority in the work of this division. UNESCO tries to

raise awareness of the efficiency of renewable energy such as solar energy.

Additionally, it implements programs to introduce alternative forms of energy.

(UNESCO at a glance. 2010. P. 14ff)

7.2.7. Social and Human Sciences

This division is mainly dealing with the issues of Ethics, Human Rights and Social

and Human Sciences. The mission of this sector is to improve knowledge,

standards and intellectual cooperation to facilitate social transformations. It tries to

determine what is and what should be and reduces this gap. Ethics of Science has

been a main topic for some time as scientific and technological advances lead to

the question whether all the developments are ethically acceptable or not. As a

result scientific progress should always be critically and ethically reflected. In this

field, the division of Social and Human Sciences develops standards, introduces

legal instruments, gives advice to governments and other partners and

coordinates the work in this field.

In addition to that, UNESCO focuses on new ethical challenges such as

biometrics, biosecurity or nanotechnologies. In this context they established an

instrument on bioethics called “The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human

Rights”. This declaration provides a critical and legal basis on issues such as

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human cloning. Several additional programs of this department address issues

such as Racism, Management of Social Transformation (deals with gender, youth

empowerment, migration etc.) or Doping in Sport. (UNESCO at a glance. 2010. P.

18ff)

7.2.8. Culture

A major priority of UNESCO is to promote cultural diversity by protecting the

tangible and intangible heritage of our multicultural and diverse world.

Furthermore, it is of key interest to UNESCO to foster intercultural dialogue and to

ensure the diversity of different cultures while fostering peace among them.

Several Conventions were adopted in various fields of multiculturalism as for

example the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and

Natural Heritage (1972), the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater

Cultural Heritage (2001), the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible

Cultural Heritage (2003) and many more. (UNESCO at a glance. 2010. P. 22ff)

7.2.9. Communication

The key ideas of the Communication and Information Sector (CI) are the

promotion of freedom of expression and information, the promotion of

multiculturalism in the news and to ensure access to knowledge and information

for all. Especially for disadvantaged people these rights must be guaranteed in

order to enable them to improve their quality of life. In this area, the division of

Communication creates training opportunities, develops and distributes free

software and collaborates with different partners. (UNESCO at a glance. 2010. P.

26ff)

7.2.10. The Millennium Development Goals

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Furthermore the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) provide the basis for

UNESCO’s activities in its main fields of interest, namely education, sciences and

culture. These eight goals should enhance human conditions worldwide by 2015:

(portal.unesco.org. 5th October. How we work.)

Achieve universal primary education

Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike,will be able

to complete a full course of primary schooling.

Promote gender equality and empower women

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably

by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015

Reduce child mortality

Improve maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases

Ensure environmental sustainability

Develop a global partnership for development

7.2.11. Organizational Structure

7.2.11.1. The General Conference

The General Conference is the primary decision-making and governing body of

the UNESCO and it is made up of Member State representatives. Its main duty is

to set up the policies and main line of work of the UNESCO. Furthermore, it

establishes the program and the budget for the organization and the election of the

Executive Board Members and the Director-General is done by this Conference.

The regular meeting of the General Conference is held every second year and

Member States and Associate Members meet there alongside with observers such

as Non-Member States, intergovernmental organization and NGOs. The voting

power is not determined by a country’s size or budget contribution as all countries

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have one single vote. (www.unesco.org. 5th October 2011. UNESCO’s Governing

bodies)

7.2.11.2. The Executive Board

In general the Executive Board (EB) can be seen as the management of the

UNESCO and it consists of 58 members that are elected by the General

Conference according to diversity of cultures and geographical origin. The General

Conference decides on specific tasks that the EB has to carry out. The EB

guarantees that the decisions of the General Conference are properly carried out

and fulfils the tasks given by the General Conference. Furthermore, a Constitution

officially regulates the functions and obligations of the EB. This Constitution,

together with the rules and directives introduced by the General Conference, forms

the basis for the EB’s work. (www.unesco.org. 5th October 2011. UNESCO’s

Governing bodies)

7.2.11.3. The Secretariat

The Director-General and the Staff appointed by him/her make up the Secretariat.

2,000 civil servants from about 170 different countries worked for the Secretariat in

mid-2009 and 700 staff members were employed in the 65 field offices all around

the world. In General the Staff is grouped into Professional and General Service

categories. (www.unesco.org. 5th October 2011. Secretariat.)

7.2.11.4. Director General

Every four years a new Director-General is elected by the General Conference

and then has the authority to direct the Secretariat in the work of realizing the

programs approved by the General Conference. Since 2009, Irina Bokova, who

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comes from Bulgaria, is the Director-General of the UNESCO. According to her,

the greatest challenge nowadays is to create the global governance of the 21st

century and to lead the world into a new time of peace and humanism with

sustainable economic and social development. (www.unesco.org. 5th October

2011. Director General)

7.2.11.5. National Commissions

There are 196 missions in Member and Associate States in order to provide a link

between the civil society and the organization. This provides a unique and basic

network for the work of UNESCO. These Commissions provide assistance in

implementing various initiatives and programs in different domains. Furthermore

they collaborate with the private sector which provides valuable technical input as

well as financial help.

7.2.12. Financing

UNESCO is mainly financed by member states contributions that are assessed for

each country. The budget is for a two-year period and for instance, for the period

of 2010 - 2011 it amounts to US$ 653 million. Moreover, extra-budgetary funding

helps the UNESCO to increase the programs and outreach activities. (UNESCO’s

programme and Budget for 2010-2011. 2010.)

8. Friday, 27th of April 2012

8.1. International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)


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Time: 10:00 am – 12:30 am

Topic: ICC – An Overview (including Questions and Answers Session)

Speaker: Mr Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac; Ms. Alma Forgo; Ms. Calliope Makedon

Sudborough


The ICC was created in October 1919 at the International Trade Conference in

Atlantic City, New Jersey, by a group of industrialists, financiers and traders. It is a

private entity a does not act as a chamber of commerce. According to the

Preamble of the Constitution of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) the

organization defines its major objective as it is “to further the development of an

open world economy with the firm conviction that international commercial

exchanges are conducive to both greater global prosperity and peace among

nations”. In the light of this purpose the following principle aims can be seen:

Firstly “the promotion of international trade services and investment” targets the

elimination of obstacles to global business like tariffs or import quotas. Secondly

the “promotion of a market economy” aims to enforce the principle of free and fair

competition among business entities. Finally the ICC works on the fostering of the

“economic growth of developed and developing countries” by an enhanced

integration of all countries in the world economy.

The ICC currently claims a membership of over 7000 companies and business

associations in more than 130 countries worldwide. The member companies stem

from all different kinds of industries comprise everything from SMEs to

multinational corporations. Other than that, the ICC works together with the World

Trade Organization, the United Nations, G8/G20 and national governments. The

only difference between the WTO and the ICC is that the WTO works together with

governments and the ICC with companies. The United Nations and business were

not friends in the past as they distrusted each other. Nevertheless, they managed

to establish a good relationship. Mainly due to the fact that they need the business

input, therefore they started a project and are working nicely together now. This is

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a real benefit. The ICC has enjoyed general consultative status with the Economic

and Social Council of the United Nations and its agencies since 1946. The G8/G20

gave the ICC the opportunity to get their hands in as they engaged in a joint

venture. They define priorities of business and work with them in order that the big

issues are getting addressed.

The ICC headquarter is located in Paris where about 140 staff members of more

than 20 nationalities are working on daily issues. The organization’s turnover

makes up some 21 million Euros a year. Revenues are obtained by contributions

of the National Committees, publications and business seminars. The ICC has

National Committee offices in over 90 countries. They have obligations to the

organization and vice versa. Over 2000 representatives from companies and

business associations help to develop ICC policy positions as well as create

voluntary rules by which international trade in practiced. The policy includes all

major areas companies are involved in.

On our last day of visiting organizations in Paris, we had the great opportunity to

hear presentations by ICC staff members in order to get insight knowledge of the

organization. Mr Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac gave us a brief overview of the history,

the role, the members of the ICC as well as the most important achievements of

the ICC- Department of Policy and Business Practice. Mr. Coutelier closely

elaborated on issues related to the ICC-Arbitration and the according rules. Ms.

Makedon Sudborough followed by presenting the ADR, Expertise and Dispute

Boards.

8.2. ICC and the Department of Policy and Business

Practice

After giving a brief overview of the history, the role and the members of the ICC,

Mr Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac informally spoke about the most important

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achievements of the ICC- Department of Policy and Business Practice to which he

is personally committed.

However, in the beginning Mr. Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac wanted us to remember

following basic facts about the ICC. The organization works with companies on a

nonprofit base. It is totally private and not a Chamber of Commerce as such.

Furthermore, the ICC’s budget is very limited and they do not get subsidies from

the United States. Most of the consulting experts are working free of charge,

because they believe in the work of the ICC. It is the only private organization

which sets rules, which is a unique fact.

An interesting fact which he mentioned was about the ICC leadership. The

executive board drives the ICC forward, which is shocking is that only two women

are part of the board out of 30 members. He thinks this is due to reason that they

do not have the time. They are meeting four times a year in Paris.

The aim of the ICC rule setting is to provide guidance by issuing example

contracts for international business operations. UCP 600, or UCP 700 in its

revised form, is a highly important basis for bank guarantees like letters of credit,

which are established to ensure payment under an export contract.

Mr. Ceyrac elaborated in great detail on the probably most important publication of

the ICC – the INCOTERMS. This set of example provisions offer clear guidelines

for export contracts of sales of goods. It was emphasized, that sales of goods is

the only purpose of the INCOTERMS. Nevertheless they are also frequently used

for other export contracts, which is a clear misinterpretation. According to Mr.

Ceyrac the ICC faces the challenge, how to facilitate the application of the

INCOTERMS, as they are often used in an inaccurate way.

ICC rules are generally revised periodically, which has also been the case with the

INCOTERMS. However revisions of such widely used publications also impose a

certain disruption on users, as they have to adapt to the changes. As a result

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revisions should now be kept to a minimum and only important amendments shall

be done. Currently, the INCOTERMS 2010 are in use. The revision took two

years. Normally, the INCOTERMS are revised every ten years.

Another challenge for the ICC is seen in fighting counterfeit goods. Product piracy

has already reached all kinds of industrial and consumer goods including

medicines, fertilizers and other chemical products. As a result these goods might

have much more serious consequences than “usual” counterfeits like luxury

designer goods. As penalties are internationally very low, the ICC tries to target

consumers in order to build consciousness. As a basic matter of research the ICC

employs focus groups all around the world, to identify motives and the level of

information of consumers of counterfeit goods. Furthermore, they want to establish

rules for the internet. The rules have to include business aspects.

The Commercial Crime Services (CCS) is the anti-crime arm of the ICC. CCS

tackles all types of commercial fraud, financial instrument fraud, money

laundering, shipping fraud and product counterfeit.

Before the Question & Answer Session Mr. Francois-Gabriel Ceyrac pointed out

that the ICC will have a new homepage in June 2012 which will be clearer

arranged.

8.3. Question and Answer Session

Following a question about internship opportunities, Mr Ceyrac mentioned that at

least in the Paris headquarters interns are taken on a frequent basis, but are

unpaid. French is not required, only in the court a second language is needed.

Nevertheless in this respect all national committees are independent.

Another question addressed the ICCs strategy how to raise consciousness for

counterfeit goods and their negative impact. Mr. Ceyrac explained that simple

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messages or ads are most effective. For example billboards on airports should

raise awareness.

Furthermore, he got asked if SME’s can have access. He pointed out that they are

more and more involved, but big companies have definitely more involvement at

the moment.

Finally it was asked how users of the INCOTERMS can be encouraged to apply

the revised version, once it was published. Mr. Ceyrac explained that generally it

has to be stated in export contracts, which version of INCOTERMS are used. By

this means misunderstandings are limited. Nevertheless the ICC strongly

recommends using always the latest version.

8.4. ICC International Court of Arbitration, Secretariat and

Arbitration Rules

Ms. Alma Forgo closely elaborated on issues related to the ICC- Arbitration and

the according rules. In general the ICC Arbitration was founded in 1923 by the

French minister and deals with business related dispute issues which the parties

wish to clarify. However, any issues related to political decisions, such as war, are

strictly excluded from ICC-Arbitration. Currently the number of cases which are

dealt with by the concerning institution amount to 1,400 p.a., however this figure is

not affected by the crisis thus is likely to increase during the upcoming periods as

its popularity rises steadily. In total, more than 18 000 cases have been

administrated. Currently, there are 1501 ongoing cases and 508 awards have

been approved in 2011 (final, partial, by consent). Moreover, 1 331 arbitrators

were appointed/confirmed by the Court in 2011. Ten per cent of the cases involved

a state or state entity. The same year, there were 63 different places of arbitration

and in total, 2993 parties from 139 different countries. Most parties are from

central and eastern Europe.

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The administrative body of the court is made up of 129 Court members from 87

countries, one president and 15 vice presidents. Court members are not judges,

but arbitration specialists. They are appointed for a renewable three year term by

the World Council of the ICC. The Court’s function is not to make any decisions

with respect to the cases, but to make sure that the cases are properly

administrated under the ICC rules. Examples are fixing the budget and the costs of

Arbitration, deciding jurisdiction prima facie and deciding challenges, replacing,

appointing and confirming arbitrators. A weekly meeting of the court ensures the

information flow within the organization. The Secretariat can be seen as the

linkage between the court, the arbitrators and the involved parties and is

responsible for the smooth process of decisions making. The secretariat has 85

staff members and is divided into eight teams. Seven are working in Paris and one

in Hong Kong.

The prime reason why numerous business issues are decided to be dealt with

under ICC-Arbitration is, according to Ms. Forgo, the easy enforceability of

decisions in numerous countries. Certainly, the implementation of the very

decisions is of high advantage especially in member countries to the ICC however

also in other parts of the world Arbitration decisions are widely acknowledged.

Consequently, it has to be mentioned that the ICC is extremely international and

therefore the above mentioned advantage receives even more attention and

importance. The reason why the headquarters is located in Paris is, because of

historical reasons. As in the 1920s Europe was center for trade and for

commercial exchange very important, Paris seemed to be the heart of

negotiations. However if the ICC court would be established nowadays it would be

most probably located in Asia.

However, as already indicated, a further major advantage of ICC Arbitration

presents the speed with which decisions are concluded and therefore available for

the disputing parties. Usually Arbitration decisions are concluded within a couple

of weeks, especially in member counties, whereas local courts in the different

countries may need up to several years in order to present adequate solutions.

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Moreover, Arbitration is also available to small and medium sized businesses as

the costs remain quite low compared to sums which need to be calculated if

disputes are settled with national courts. The final sum necessary depends

primarily on the amount in dispute which mostly remains affordable for the parties.

However, in general it can be said that the amount of dispute succeeds USD 1

million.

One question had been raised asking, which issues were mostly carried to court.

Whereupon Ms. answered that most cases derive from photovoltaic contracts as

they are getting no subsidies and many organizations need to file for insolvency.

Second recurring issues are contracts dealing with gas. As those contracts are

mostly long-term contracts organizations start to negotiate to minimize their

losses.

Finally, Ms. Forgo elaborated closer on the process of arbitration and clearly

mentioned that the work of the ICC Arbitration starts with the file for arbitration and

the establishment of the terms and references of the case which have to be signed

by the involved parties.

8.5. ADR, Expertise and Dispute Boards

Ms. Calliope Makedon Sudborough presented the ADR (Amicable/Alternative

Dispute Resolution), Expertise and Dispute Boards services. First she explained

the functions of the ADR, which set of rules, came into force on 1 st July 2001. The

ADR settles disputes amicably in a rather inexpensive and quick way.

Furthermore, the set of rules are all constructed on the same basis than the

Arbitration, Expertise and Dispute Board Rules.

Ms. Makedon Sudborough goes on with the different articles, which state how

ADR is started. Article 1 covers the “Scope of Rules”, which explains that those

rules are only applicable to business, as well as domestic and international

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disputes. Article 2 explains two alternative methods – there is either no prior

agreement to submit the dispute to ICCADR, or there is an agreement to refer to

the ICCADR Rules. In Article 3 the “Selection of the Neutral” is explained, which

provides information about the qualifications a Neutral third party should have,

such as language, background, location, expertise. “Fees and Costs” are

discussed in Article 4, which indicates that there is no general rule about the

length of the procedure.

Nevertheless, both parties have to pay a registration fee of 1,500 USD, which is

not refundable. Moreover, further administrative fees are never more than 10,000

USD and never less than the registration fee. All costs have to be borne by both

parties as well.

Article 5 covers the “Conduct of the ADR Procedure”, which gives information

about the different types ADR, such as Mediation, Neutral evaluation, Mini-trial, or

any other technique including a combination of techniques. The parties should

decide with the neutral party which technique to apply to their dispute.

“Termination of ADR Proceeding” is covered in Article 6, which shows that

sometimes mediation failed but occasionally parties want to make a new deal. This

means that mediation does not give a 100% assurance for being successful. The

success highly depends on the parties involved. Furthermore, the Neutral can also

say that mediation will be inefficient and therefore has the possibility to terminate

the whole procedure.

Article 7 “Confidentiality”, probably one of the most important ones states that all

documents, suggestions, views, communications, agreements are confidential.

Nevertheless, there are two exceptions – when disclosure is required by

applicable law, and when disclosure is agreed by both parties.

Ms. Makedon Sudborough also mentioned that there is a certain link between ICC

ADR and Arbitration, but there is strict confidentiality necessary between the

services. Everything should be kept secret, thus it is not allowed to give

information to the ICC Court of Arbitration. If parties think arbitration takes too long

and is too intensive, they have the possibility to go to ADR.

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Another major point presented were the tasks of a mediator. Mediation is a

voluntary and confidential procedure where the parties develop consensual,

interest-based and future oriented solutions with the assistance of a third party.

The outcome should be a win-win for all parties. The mediator is the third party in

a discussion, who should support to smooth down differences. This party or

person needs to be neutral, and accepted of both negotiation parties. Moreover

the person needs to have special skills and should be an expert in the field

consulted. The ADR is employing some experts however in some unique cases

external personal need to be contracted.

Statistics show that there is a world wide spread with regards to ADR, to be more

precisely 80 per cent are international and only 20 per cent domestic. Since 2001

cases are with parties from 64 countries. The average amount of disputes is US$

30 million. The average duration is below four month and the average costs are

slightly above US$ 20 000. The settlement rate if file has been transferred to the

mediator is 74 per cent. Compared to a settlement rate of over 80 per cent, if a

first meeting with the mediator took place.

8.6. Question and Answer Session

Concerning the third presentation, students raised questions which primarily

concerned the work of the ICC ADR Service also referring to the number of cases

dealt with by the ICC ADR Service per year. The speaker informed the students

that about 17 cases where dealt with in 2008, however, the first months of 2009

already show an increase of 25% in this activity. Furthermore the question related

to which of the parties has to bear the costs for an ADR procedure file was raised,

which Ms. Makedon Sudborough clearly answered by indicating that the party who

brings in the file needs to bear the registration fee which is later credited to its

credit for costs. Furthermore, additional charges are divided between the

respective parties. Additionally, one major advantage of the ADR Service was

discussed during the Question & Answer session, being the faster decision making

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process. For small and medium sized companies, files which might take years to

be decided on with national courts can be extremely harmful, whereas the quick

decision making of the ADR Service presents a clear advantage.

8.7. Internship Opportunities

The speakers highlighted the acceptance of interns in the various departments of

the organizations. Furthermore the important issue of prior experience was

discusses and it was confirmed that no law studies are required in order to apply

for an internship with the ICC however students need to be officially enrolled in an

university. The duration of the respective internships is quite flexible lasting from 3

to 6 months. In comparison to various other organizations, internships are paid

within the ICC however this payment shall more be seen as a compensation,

according to the speakers.

Interested students are invited to express their wish to join the ICC for an

internship by sending an e-mail to kbt@iccwbo,org. The respective message

should also include a closer definition of the desired department of interest and a

reference to the very speakers is advisable.

Find more information under the respective website: www.iccwbo.org/

9. Not visited International Organizations due to

cancellations

9.1. United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG)

Date: Monday, 23rd of April 2012

Time: 11:30 am - 12:45 am - cancelled

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Topic: Guided tour through the facilities

Due to time problems and a delay of the briefing at UNECE, the guided tour

through the Palais des Nations was cancelled.

About 100,000 visitors take the tour of the Palais des Nations each year. Tours are

available in more than 15 languages and last for one hour.

Visitors of the UNOG see different rooms of the Palais des Nations. The most

important ones are the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room,

decorated by famous artist Miquel Barceló, the Salle des Pas Perdus, from which

one can see the Armillary Sphere and the monument commemorating the

conquest of outer space and the Assembly Hall, which is the largest room in the

Palais des Nations. Furthermore, the guided tour brings visitors to the Council

Chamber, where many important historical negotiations have taken place. At the

end of the visit, a film on the activities and objectives of the United Nations Office

is shown. During the tour, information about the current activities of the United

Nations and the history of the Palais des Nations, which formerly was the

headquarters of the League of Nations, is provided.

9.2. L’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie

The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) was not included in the

schedule of the study trip. Therefore the authors are not able to supply first-hand

information about employment and internship possibilities. Nevertheless, the

official website (http://www.francophonie.org/-Recrutements-.html) provides

information about the recruiting procedures and requirements.

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9.2.1. History

The International Organisation of La Francophonie is one of the biggest linguistic

zones in the world. The two cornerstones of which the Organisation is based are

the common language as well as the humanist values promoted by the French

language. The precursors of the IOF were the Agency of Cultural and Technical

Cooperation, founded in 1970, which became the Intergovernmental Agency of the

French-speaking nations in 1995.

In order to simplify the institutional system, in 1986 the International Organization

of La Francophonie under the authority of the General Secretary of La

Francophonie was established during the first summit of Heads of States and

Governments of the French-speaking nations in France.

Currently the OIF comprises 200 million French speakers worldwide, whereas

Africa is the continent with the largest number of French speakers. Furthermore,

the OIF’s has 75 States and governments, including 19 observers across the five

continents. French is either the official language, or one of the official languages in

32 of the OIF’s member states, governments or observers.

9.2.2. Objectives and Mission

The OIF is acting in compliance with the cultural and linguistic diversity and for the

promotion of the French language in order to create peace, cooperation, solidarity

and sustainable development. The main objectives of the Organization are:

• to establish and to develop democracy

• to prevent, to manage and to regulate conflicts, to support the State of Law

and human rights

• to intensify the dialogue among cultures and civilizations

• to bring people together through mutual understanding

• to strengthen their solidarity through multilateral cooperation, to promote the

growth of their economies

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• to promote the education and training

In addition, the four missions are:

• Promoting French language and cultural and linguistic diversity

• Promoting peace, democracy and human rights

• Supporting education, training, higher education and research

• Expand cooperation for sustainable development.

In particular, the Organization concentrates on young people and women, access

to information and communication technologies.

The OIF provides a four years schedule promoting their actions, which is based on

the contributions from its States and Government Members. The current program

2010 – 2013 includes the new method of action of the IOF as well as the

renovation of its structures and mode of operation, aiming to assure achievement

of its objectives and to improve performance.

9.2.3. Decision Making Process and Organization

The Francophone Summit, the Ministerial Conference and the Permanent council

together are three authorities who are guide lining and controlling the OIF, in

respective order.

9.2.3.1. Francophone Summit

Held every two years, the Francophone Summit is the highest authority, a meeting

of heads of state and government, of each member country of the International

Organization of Francophone. Future goals are set and strategies to get there,

discussed. The summit is also used to fix the areas of focus of the OIF, to make

notions for improvements and to revise the effectiveness of functioning of their

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processes. Moreover, this is the place where new full members, associate

members and observer members are selected and developed.

9.2.3.2. Ministerial Conference

The ministerial conference, the second authority in order, is held on more regular

occasions where ministers of foreign affairs of member countries meet to

recommend new member states and associate member states to the summit,

while monitoring the execution of decision made by the summit.

9.2.3.3. Permanent Council

This particular authority, the last decision making body of the OIF is held whenever

necessary and is there to plan future summits and the implementation of summit

decisions on a day-to-day basis, while also monitoring the execution of decisions

taken by the ministerial conference to close the circle of monitoring.

Hereby, representatives who are appointed by the heads of states meet under the

charge of the Secretary General who is chairing such events.

9.2.3.4. Secretary General and Administrator

The Secretary General has key position in the organizational structure of the OIF.

He guides the international political actions of the organization and is the

spokesman and official representative on an international level. Furthermore, he

has the function to promote multilateral cooperation and chairs the cooperation

council. From 2002 until 2010, Abdou Diouf, former president of the Republic of

Senegal, was the Secretary General of the OIF holding 2 terms before entering a

third term. Moreover, he nominates the Administrator which serves a four years

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term. Currently, this position is held by the Canadian Clément Duhaime. The

duties of the Administrator consist of the facilitation of multilateral cooperation and

the management of administrative and financial affairs.

9.2.4. Admission Criteria

Status of the French language a determining criterion

French as an official language not a precondition

Official file for admission to the OIF is a necessity

Ministerial council and the permanent council monitor, revise, and propose

potentials

Summit decides whether the potential country can join or not

9.3. International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC)

9.3.1. History

The history of the ICRC started in 1859, during the war of Italian Unification, when

a citizen from Switzerland, Henry Dunant, saw thousands of people injured during

the fights lying around without help in Solferino, a town in Northern Italy.

Therefore, he asked the question if it would not be possible to form relief societies

during peace to ensure that they will care for wounded people in wartime. This led

to the foundation of a five-member committee in 1863, known as the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

An important concept was to give neutral status medical services and volunteer

nurses, as they should not be affected by the fighting. Ten resolutions were

adopted which provided for the establishment of the future Red Cross, like the

Committees have to provide medical services in times of war and have to

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communicate with their governments to be accepted. But to make treaty rules, and

therefore binding obligations, out of these resolutions, in 1864 a conference was

held.

The idea was to create relief societies providing medical service to wounded

soldiers as well as a legal basis obliging armies to care for all wounded, no matter

which side they were on. This led to the signing of the Geneva Convention for the

Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded of Armies in the Field. Modern

international humanitarian law was born. WWI led to a considerable expansion of

the ICRC´s activities, also including prisoners of war, civilians and the prohibition

of the use of chemical weapons.

In 1919 the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

was founded by 5 member societies, namely Britain, France, Italy, Japan and the

United States, to strengthen and unite Red Cross Societies. The ICRC´s efforts to

help the Jews and other groups of civilians persecuted during WWII were a failure.

After this disaster in 1949, 4 further conventions were adopted: the Convention for

Wounded and Sick military personnel on the battlefield, the Convention of

wounded, sick and shipwrecked military personnel in war at sea, the Convention of

Prisoners of War and the Convention for civilians. The fourth Convention was

completely newly-introduced and wanted to ensure general protection of civilians

against consequences of war.

9.3.2. Structure of the ICRC

The ICRC is currently headed by the president Jakob Kellenberger and other two

vice-presidents Olivier Vodoz and Christine Beerli. Their tasks are mainly

representing the organization on the international scene and ensuring a smooth

functioning of the ICRC.

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Apart from the presidency, also the Assembly, the Assembly Council and the

Directorate are involved in the decision making process. The Assembly with its 15

to 25 elected members of Swiss nationality, chaired by the presidency, is the

supreme governing body which oversees all activities of the organization.

Formulating policies, defining objectives and institutional strategy, and approving

the budget are part of its responsibilities. The Assembly Council, composed of five

elected members and chaired by the president, prepares the activities of the

Assembly and reports regularly to the Directorate and the Assembly. The

Directorate, with its five members and the current Director-General Yves

Daccord, is the executive body of the ICRC. Its main task is to ensure the

application of the objectives and institutional strategy.

9.3.3. Mandate and Mission of the ICRC

The mission of the ICRC is as follows: “The International Committee of the Red

Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose

exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war

and internal violence and to provide them with assistance.”

The ICRC has a legal mandate from the international community, originating from

the binding 1949 Geneva Conventions and from the Statutes of International Red

Cross and Red Crescent Movement which are adopted at the International

Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, taking place every four years.

The Geneva Conventions, which are applicable worldwide, tell the organization to

visit prisoners, re-unite separated families and engage in different humanitarian

activities during armed conflicts like organizing relief operations. The Statutes of

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, having a so-called quasi-

legal or “soft-law” status, address situations of internal violence where the Geneva

Conventions do not apply.

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9.3.4. Activities of the ICRC

The ICRC is engaged in different fields of activities. The most important are listed

below:

Protection: in this field the ICRC tries to ensure that the international

humanitarian law is kept during times of war. But this activity is not only concerned

with the protection of civilians affected by war but also of prisoners and detainees

as well as the reconnection of families torn apart by war.

Concerning the protection of civilians there are several specific rules (1949

Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols). Situations not covered

by these rules are subject to human rights law and the principles of humanitarian

law. Whenever a conflict occurs the ICRC tries to keep as much contact to the

civilian population as possible as well as to the authorities in order to ensure that

humanitarian law is kept.

In order to ensure that prisoners and detainees are treated according to the

international standards, the ICRC is entitled to visit them.

Reconnection of families includes all activities that prevent the separation of

families, rebuild contact between family members and help to clear what

happened to missing members. Study Trip Report 2009 30

Assistance: this field covers all activities aiming to improve living conditions by

providing necessary materials and medical assistance. Major areas in this section

are health, economic security and water and habitat.

Assistance in health covers the most important activities to ensure that people

affected by war have access to the basic medical assistance at an international

standard.

Economic security is concerned with basic economic needs of people and

provides assistance so that these are met.

Activities in the section of water and habitat try to secure access to clean water as

well as appropriate sanitation.

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Furthermore the ICRC promotes international humanitarian law by increasing the

awareness of those who determine the fate of victims and those who are

empowered to ease the undertakings of the ICRC.

The ICRC also makes efforts to clean areas of mines and other explosive

remnants of war (ERW), uses humanitarian diplomats to make aware of problems,

works together with national societies in order to ensure fast help and cooperate

with private sector companies which conduct business in war prone zones so that

humanitarian principles are promoted and fast and qualitative help is ensured.

9.3.5. Museum of the ICRC in Geneva

Due to construction works a visit at the museum of the ICRC in Geneva was not

possible.

9.3.6. Internship/Employment Opportunities

Concerning employment possibilities at the ICRC, one can apply for only one

advertised post via sending a mail including the CV to the Committee. Normally,

during the first two to three years working for the ICRC basic activities are done,

after three years middle management functions may be available and after several

more years senior management positions can be occupied. Important to know is

that staff usually is not allowed to choose where it wants to carry out its missions.

Thus, employees have to go to the regions and countries experiencing wars and

conflicts, which are chosen by the ICRC. Furthermore, the ICRC occasionally hires

interns for specific posts that have been advertised.

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10. Diaries 21st of April – 27th of April 2012

10.1. Saturday, 21st of April 2012

The study trip which would give us the unique chance to visit various well-known

international organisations in Geneva and Paris started on Saturday, 21th April, at

10:00 pm when we met at the train station in Krems. A double-decker bus picked

most of the students up in Krems. The remaining fellows joined us in Ansfelden

and Salzburg. The journey from Krems to Geneva took us approximately 14 hours

and turned out to be quite exhausting in terms of sleeping in an upright position on

a bus chair. However, watching movies, discussing various topics, tattling and

eating “Lambada-Schnitten” and “Choco Bananas” the journey was a very

entertaining and funny experience.

10.2. Sunday, 22nd of April 2012

At around 11:30 we arrived at the ETAP Hotel in Geneva where we spent the next

two nights in small but very comfortable three-bed rooms. After checking in most

of the students headed out to explore the city of Geneva. The weather was quite

sunny and warm at that time. Geneva offers some very interesting and beautiful

places to visit, ranging from architecture, historical buildings in the old city to

museums and natural sights like the Lake Léman which is commonly known as

Lake Geneva which is surrounded by the Alps. At the hotel we received a free

ticket which allowed us to go around for free using all public means of transport.

Thus, we enjoyed a very nice boat trip crossing the lake. The lake is the second

largest in central Europe and is located partially in Switzerland and partially in

France. One of the biggest attractions of Lake Geneva is the Jet d’Eau, the

enormous fountain that spouts the water 140 m in the air.

When we continued our walk along the quay we saw the Statue of Elisabeth of

Bavaria, the “Memorial of Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Duchess in Bavaria, Princess

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of Bavaria, Empress of Austria, aka Sissi”, who was murdered exactly on this

place in 1898. We were also impressed by the beautiful park beside the lake.

Afterwards we visited the swatch exhibition on our way to the old town which

turned out to be a maze of sloping streets and alleyways with various cafés,

boutiques and historical architecture on every turn. As we arrived on Sunday

unfortunately all shops were closed, however we climbed the narrow cobblestone

streets to visit Saint Peter’s Cathedral, which towers over the Old Town and is also

perfectly visible from the Lake’s quay. Thanks to its location it offers an amazing

panoramic view over the city.

Mot many students decided to go out the first evening in Geneva because of the

nearly sleepless night in the bus. Nevertheless, some of us enjoyed traditional

Swiss cheese fondue in a nice restaurant next to Lake Geneva.

10.3. Monday, 23rd of April 2012

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After having enjoyed one wonderful free day in Geneva we were ready to start into

an interesting week visiting different international organizations. Soon we realized

that this trip, indeed, is not a holiday. We were expected at Geneva’s Etap Hotel’s

breakfast hall seven in the morning.

All of us enjoyed the big buffet

that offered something for every

taste and that would leave us full

of energy for the exhausting day

that lay ahead of us. As we

received transport cards that

were valid for all public means of

transport in Geneva we took the

city bus towards our first stop – the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

After a few minutes of searching for the right entry we eventually made it to the

thorough security check that lasted for one hour before being allowed to enter the

building. At about 10.50 am a representative of the United Nations Economic

Commission for Europe (UNECE) welcomed us in room number 3 in building 6

and gave us an interesting insight into what the organization does and how it

works. Additionally, all students received last year’s annual report to further obtain

information about the organizational structure and achievements. As it was the first

organization for us to visit we were really amazed by the facilities the conference

room was equipped with. Soon later we noticed that all the other rooms and

organizations have similar equipment.

About one hour later we were given free time to have a look around the building.

We used this time for a group picture in front of the UN headquarters!

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As time passed really quickly and hunger was on its rise we were looking forward

to the lunch at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that was only a short

walk away. This was especially beautiful because it was not only any random

lunch hall – it was on the top floor with a terrace where we could enjoy an amazing

view over Geneva.

Having filled our stomachs we

were ready for our next stop.

Again, Geneva’s public transport

system took us near the so-called

“Blue Box”. We were awaited at

the Austrian Mission to IOs

Geneva at 3 o’clock by six Austrian

speakers that all dealt with

different topics. After enjoying

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some refreshments, Ambassador Dr. Christian Strohal warmly welcomed us and

introduced the work of the Austrian Mission. During the next couple of hours we

were given the opportunity to understand how the World Trade Organization

(WTO) is structured, what the UN does in relation to Human Rights, how the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is set up and how

disarmament is being tackled by the UN.

In the following some interested students had the chance to talk face to face with

the speakers and ask about possibilities to work for the Austrian Mission in

Geneva.

At about 5.30 pm we finished the programme for this day and were free to spend

the evening anyway we wanted. Some of us went to the city centre for dinner,

others returned to the hotel in order to get rid of the business outfit and ready for

some sightseeing and for some drinks.

However, nobody went out for too long because we all knew: The next day is not

going to be any more relaxing!

10.4. Tuesday, 24th of April 2012

Like the day before, also our third day in Geneva started quite early - at 7 am we

were already enjoying the delicious breakfast at ETAP Hotel Geneva. Before

heading to the first organization on today’s schedule, we had to complete the

check-out and store our luggage and belongings in the bus. As the weather was

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not the best this day we were glad that Rudi, our lovely bus driver, brought us

directly to the Head Quarters of the ITU (International Telecommunications Union).

However, in the lobby we were kindly informed that the presentation will be hold in

the other building and due to security reasons we were not allowed to use the

alleyway, connecting the two buildings.

Nevertheless, this “inconvenience” was rewarded with a very interesting and

informative presentation about the history, objectives and work of the ITU, or UTI

(Union Internationale des Télécommunications) as it is called in French. The two

presenters were very enthusiastic about their jobs and did really try their best to

explain the rather complex structure of ITU in the simplest way possible in order to

make it clear for us. However, this was not the only “goody” they could offer us –

during the briefing we were told that today we would have the great honour to be

the first group to visit the newly established ITU museum called “ICT Discovery”,

which would officially be opened next week. A very nice guide showed us through

this interactive museum, which explains the development of communications from

the ancient times until today and gives a highly interesting outlook into the future of

communication.

We would have loved to spend some more time there but unfortunately had to

head to the next organization, the ILO (International Labour Organization). Though

we arrived one hour late we were warmly welcomed by a German countryman,

who seemed quite relieved when Professor Anis told him, that this presentation

should be held in English as not all of us are German speakers. He later explained

that because of the many years is has already spent working for ILO in Geneva,

explaining it in his mother tongue seems quite challenging for him.

Within one hour he gave us a very good overview about the organization, its

structure, work and aims, which inspired some of us to participate in a lively

discussion concerning current work issues. Later on, Mr Hahn invited us to lunch

in the ILO’s cafeteria. After having spent two days in expensive Geneva, we were

all glad, that the offered meals were comparatively cheap and really delicious.

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After our recreative lunch break we had to find our way to the last organization on

today’s agenda – the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization). The young

lady gave us a clear explanation about the various forms of intellectual property

and WIPO’s assignment. She further explained that due to the upcoming

International Day of Intellectual Property a small exhibition was installed, showing

all patents of Steve Jobs and other masterminds of Apple.

This was the final point on our official agenda, thus we had some spare time to

enjoy our last hours in Geneva and prepare ourselves for the long overnight bus

ride to Paris.

10.5. Wednesday, 25th of April 2012

After being four days on the road already, some people fell asleep shortly after

midnight on the bus ride between Geneva and Paris, while others were playing

games, watching DVD’s and thereby created a cosy atmosphere. But there were

also several people disturbing this perfect harmony by singing, drinking and

shouting a little bit too much.

As we left Geneva already around 9pm, we arrived earlier than scheduled in Paris

around 5am on Wednesday morning. As the rooms in the hotel were not ready yet,

we deposited our luggage and immediately made our way towards the Eiffel

Tower. Arriving there around 6am we had the pleasure to be the one and only

tourists. A minor group stayed behind and transformed the hotel lobby into a nice

living room.

After returning from the sightseeing tour, the toilets, the luggage room as well as

several already disposable rooms served as dressing and bath rooms for

everyone to get ready for the conferences in the afternoon.

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The next institutions on our agenda were the OECD as well as the IEA, which are

located near the Metro station “La Muette” in the west of Paris. Besides the highly

interesting presentations of Mr. Andrew Gentry from the PR department of the

OECD, Ms. Marion Gratt of the Austrian Mission to the OECD and of Dr. Timur Gül

from the IEA, we also had the chance to meet our former trade history professor

Mr. Manfred Schekulin, who shortly explained to us his involvement in one of the

OECD committees.

Leaving the OECD premises after a long and exhausting day we were keen on

exploring Paris. But before hitting the road again, we returned to our hotel to finally

take a little rest and change our suits into casual clothing. At the end of the day,

the evening activities of the students were diversified, ranging from watching

football in a bar, over people starting their photo-safaris to some enjoying the

nightlife of Paris and to others simply going to bed resorting to the land of dreams.

10.6. Thursday, 26th of April 2012

After an exciting first day in Paris and the long journey from Geneva the majority of

the students preferred to go to sleep in the evening. However some of them went

out to grab a drink in the nice surroundings of our hotel “Ibis”.

Unfortunately the rest didn’t last that long as everybody got awake at 6.10 am due

to a failure in the hotel’s information system which scheduled an alarm call service

for the whole hotel. Nevertheless adelicious French breakfast at 8 am

compensated us for the early wake-up call. Next to French croissant, pain au

chocolat, different cakes across French cheese and baguette the hotel provided us

with everything a person may wish for breakfast. Hence, delighted about the

breakfast and touched by the cosy atmosphere, people started to get into a really

good mood. So, at 9 am the whole group started a fresh morning walk to the metro

station Saint-Ambroise of line 9 which took us directly to the World Bank. Even

though the World Bank’s premises didn’t look very special from the outside, the

inside was quiet amazing with a beautiful garden as its central point. At our arrival

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we enjoyed a warm welcome by “Kathrin Duty” who gave us an interesting

introduction into the World Bank’s field of work. During the following Q&A session

Ms Duty got excited about all the interesting questions the students asked

regarding their lending service, the impact of the economic crisis, transparency as

well as employment and training possibilities. 1

Subsequently we took advantage of the first sunbeam to walk from Ièna to

Trocadéro where we took a great “family picture” at the Palais de Chaillot with the

Eiffel Tower in our back. After a lunch

break near the Champs de Mars, a large

public green space between the Eiffel

Tower and the École Militaire, we met

again at the UNESCO building at 2 pm.

There we had the chance to get a brief

introduction by a staff member of the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization. Further we enjoyed a guided tour across the premises of

the

UNESCO including, amongst other cultural treasuries, beautiful paintings of

Picasso and Miró, the square of tolerance representing a major UNESCO goal of

global peace as well as a Japanese garden donated by the Japanese government

to the UNESCO.2

In addition, they showed us a film from

Irina Bokova the current Director General.

In the second part of our visit Ms Isabell

Ladiges welcomed us on behalf of the

Austrian Delegation. In the following

discussion she gave us a practical insight

into her field of work, the UNESCO

projects, such as “Education for

1 http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/files/6490/12114476981jardin_jap2.jpg/jardin_jap2.jpg

2 http://ledorfineart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/1958-LA-CHUTE-DICARE-c.jpg

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Sustainable Development” and possible training opportunities. The short

introduction was followed by various interesting questions. Around 4 pm our visit

ended and students split into small groups to discover the city of Paris. In the

evening many students went out for dinner or culturally distracted themselves and

slightly after 11 pm many of them met again in the lobby of the hotel to join an

Erasmus party near the Grands Boulevards. Hence, another exciting day with a lot

of new impressions ended.

10.7. Friday, 27th of April 2012

After discovering the nightlife of Paris the previous night, the whole group met at

the hotel lobby at 9 am to jointly go to the International Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to this, most fellows enjoyed the rich breakfast at the hotel for the start of

their day. After a short ride with the subway, our group arrived at the International

Chamber of Commerce. The ICC made a great effort in welcoming us as we

received our own badges and were then brought to the 5th floor, where we had a

great view over Paris.

At the beginning we got an introduction into the general matters of the

International Chamber of Commerce and were then given a very comprehensive

presentation, focusing on law, by a German intern at the ICC. During the coffee-

break we were served coffee, water and tea and could chat a little. The last part of

our visit at the ICC was a presentation about intermediaries.

The interesting and comprehensive presentation ended at 1:30 pm and the rest of

the day was free, which most of us used for sightseeing and exploring the city of

Paris. Due to our tight time schedule, most of us could just get a small impression

of the city by visiting a number of main sights. One of the most visited places were

of course the Eiffel Tower, Montmartre, the Louvre or the Champs Élyssées. Some

people preferred strolling along the banks of the Seine or concluded the afternoon

in one of the numerous pubs and cafes.

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A group of us started with a French lunch at a typical French restaurant enjoying

great food like real French “Quiche”. Then the journey took them to the world-

known Moulin Rouge, where they unfortunately could only take pictures from

outside as the costumes can only be marvelled at during shows at night. Sacre

Coeur was their next stop, where they first strolled around Montmartre to get to the

famous white church. When they got there they enjoyed the weather and the view

while relaxing in the grass in front of Sacre Coeur. In the bohemian side of town

they could watch street performers and let the flair of the city sink in.

After enjoying a great day in a great city, everyone had to head back to the hotel to

get the last things done before going back home. Last necessities were purchased

at a supermarket close to the hotel in order to be ready for a long way home and

to make the 19 hours bus ride back to Krems a little bit more comfortable. At

around 9 pm we

went to the hotel to

change and to load

our luggage into the

bus. Shortly

afterwards we

found our way

through the Parisian

rush hour and

headed home for

Austria.

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11. Conclusion

Our study trip to Geneva and Paris was definitely a great success. The unique

experience of visiting various organizations enhanced our theoretical knowledge in

International Law and Global Political Studies and gave us the opportunity to

establish personal contacts for our professional future career.

We were given very informative speeches at the organizations, although we

sometimes had to patiently wait some time before we were allowed to enter or we

spend some minutes searching for the right entry, but finally it was absolutely

worth it. Moreover, we could definitely strengthen our community and we got to

know each other a lot better. The - for some long for others short, for some

cheerful for others exhausting - nights on the bus with “Chocolate-bananas” and

“Lambardaschnitten” were quite remarkable and for sure won’t be forgotten easily.

Besides visiting organizations we enjoyed getting to know the cities Geneva and

Paris, doing some sightseeing, shopping and especially experiencing the night life.

Summarizing, every one of us could gain a lot of new professional and personal

experiences and we all spend a great time in Geneva and Paris.

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12. Credits

Introduction & conclusion Cornelia Ablinger

Geneva & Paris description Kerstin Atzenhofer, Fritz Block

UNECE Jennifer Baum, Gawdy Carranza

UNOG Elisabeth Diwold, Edgar Dennig

WIPO Pablo Fexer, Sarah Hargassner

UNESCO Eva-Maria Fürlinger, Ana Lucic

WB Group Christoph Gusenleitner, Daniel

Marischka

ICRC Stefanie Hartinger, Yvonne Bader

ITU Birgit Hartl, Caroline Heger

ILO Jörg Heidinger, Stefanie Herko

Austrian Mission Manuel Holousch, Susanne Holzinger

OECD Melanie Irndorfer, Karin Krainer, Pinar

Kiziltas, Katrin Kahr

IEA Judith Kraller, Anja Kriegbaum

ICC Nora Labes, Bianca Langer

L’Organisation Internationale de la

Francophonie

Birgit Monitzer, Armin Pljevljakovic

Diary 21st – 22nd of April Kurt Reimann, Claudia Röglsperger

Diary 23rd of April Iris Schweitzer, Sebastian Stagl

Diary 24th of April Marlene Steiner, Florian Stief

Diary 25th of April Lukas Stummer, Melanie Sturm

Diary 26th of April Theresa Unterberger, Angelika Wagner

Diary 27th of April Julia Weber, Philipp Widauer, Verena

Wurzer, Deborah Zahra

Pictures Ines Handstanger, Maximilian Hanke,

Arianisa Metoska, Jakob Sterlich

Main organizers Magdalena Froschauer, Maximilian

Hanke

Other organizers Sarah Ashour, Vija Krievina, Simone

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Lerchl, Eva Maurina, Sandra Stockner,

Martina Trauner

Final formatting of Study Trip Report Simone Lerchl

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geneva-paris st report 2012

Documents

palais des nations

mining production specialist

study trip report

red crescent movement

mrs marion gratt

mr andrew gentry

austrian federal ministry

study trip geneva