Geneva Conference Research Articles

How to Negotiate Over Trade: A Summary of New Research for Developing Countries

Developing country governments negotiate with other governments frequently over trade issues. Most developing countries are now members of the World Trade Organization and many of the rest are negotiating to join it. In the Doha Development Agenda, members find themselves facing multilateral talks of daunting complexity. The issues range from established ones such as market access, to the revision of WTO rules on antidumping, subsidies, and dispute settlement, to controversies over proposed new rules on investment and competition policies. Sometimes governments also negotiate to settle legal disputes about members’ compliance with existing rules. Many are simultaneously negotiating new regional and bilateral pacts as well. During the late 1990s it was widely agreed that many developing countries still needed to improve their capacity to participate effectively in trade negotiations. Publications and training programs were designed to familiarize new negotiators with the multilateral rules and economic issues raised by negotiating proposals. But generally lacking were writings concerning the process of negotiating itself--how to play the game effectively and avoid recognized pitfalls. Developing country negotiators rarely have the time and liberty to publish lessons they have learned from experience. Professional scholars who specialize in studying the international negotiation process (as distinct from the issues on the table) have under-represented the developing countries, as a rule.In 2003 a group of scholars from developed and developing countries launched a new research project to address this gap. They presented preliminary findings at a conference at UNCTAD’s Palais des Nations in Geneva on 6-7 November 2003. Veteran negotiators and academics offered reactions and suggestions for improving the papers. The eight studies and an introduction will eventually be published in revised form as a book edited by John Odell. The latest drafts of the complete papers can be found at the web pages of the Geneva International Academic Network and the Economic Negotiations Network. The latter web page will also put you in touch with other research on international economic negotiations.This shorter report telegraphs an advance summary of these studies’ lessons for developing country leaders and negotiators. Section I gives an overview of the project and explains terms used throughout; section II provides a summary of each paper with its lessons; for convenience section III collects in one place an analytical summary of all the lessons. In order to even collect evidence about what occurs - negotiations after all are generally closed to outsiders - we selected a few recent cases, conducted a thorough investigation and analysis of these few (presented in the book), and thus had to leave many possible events and insights unexplored. We hope our selective conclusions are better grounded as a result of this depth and care. This initiative and its results come from the academic world, and no government or international organization should be held responsible for this report’s contents. At the same time we are most grateful for generous help from several sources. The University of Southern California’s Center for International Studies made possible a workshop at which the team planned the research. Associate Professor Cedric Dupont of the Graduate Institute for International Studies, Geneva, volunteered to help organize and host the Geneva conference and played a central leadership role. The Geneva International Academic Network generously financed the conference and the drafting of this report. In Geneva, from the beginning Director Patrick Low and Counselor Jean-Daniel Rey (WTO), Director Manuela Tortora (UNCTAD), and Minister Didier Chambovey (Switzerland) gave invaluable advice and support. UNCTAD provided a conference room and the Swiss Mission to Geneva welcomed participants with a reception.

The Third Geneva Conference on Person-centered Medicine

The Geneva Conference on Person-centered Medicine that took place in May 2010 represented an affirmation of an annual process initiated in May 2008. It also achieved the participation and support of a record number of international institutions, 22 of them, most notably the World Health Organization, which became a formal co-organizer of the event. The Third Geneva Conference followed the inaugural Geneva Conference of May 2008 and the Second Geneva Conference of May 2009 as landmark events in a process of building an initiative on Medicine for the Person through the collaboration of major global medical and health organizations and a growing group of committed international experts

Building Person-centered Medicine through Dialogue and Partnerships: Perspective from the International Network for Person-centered Medicine

Person-centered medicine is to a large extent relationship-centered medicine. This involves, first, the understanding that a dialogic attitude lies at the foundation of medicine for the person and therefore represents a commitment to promote this interactive and communicational attitude in all aspects of clinical care. It also involves pursuing the development of partnerships as a natural path and mechanism for constructing the reality and the future of this initiative and its organization. Most immediately, these considerations informed the selection of Collaboration across Specialties, Disciplines and Programs as the overall theme for the Third Geneva Conference on Person Centered Medicine. At the same time, one can usefully reflect on how such considerations have emerged from the work of medicine and health pioneers who perceived and placed the whole person in context at the center of our field. And how these ideas are being nurtured by current innovative work on clinical procedures and strengthened by the cooperation of many global medical and health organizations and a growing community of scholars.

Est Evidence Teaching of Person-centred Basic Communication Skills: a reflection

Adequate person-centred communication is an important cornerstone of good clinical practice and therefore requires training, just like other aspects of medicine do. The exact content of person-centeredness can vary depending on specific context and culture, but key issues mentioned frequently are: providing room for the patient’s story through involvement in consultations, with an emphasis on dialogue with the physician, exploring emotional cues and showing empathy, attention to the patient’s context, adjusting information and advice to that context and framing it in a positive way and involving patients in decisions on the management of illness. In practice, however, the concept of person-centeredness some-times works out differently from the one ‘on paper’.During the Third Geneva Conference on Person-Centered Medicine, a case history was used for discussion with the audience about patient centeredness. The focus was gradually shifted from the content of person-centeredness to the principles of teaching/training of communication skills. The participants contributed their opinions and these were supplemented with the available evidence from the literature leading to the reflection in this article.

North Korea's Denuclearization and a Peace Treaty

Taking more than two years to negotiate, the Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953, by the United States, representing the United Nations forces, and by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which also acted on China's behalf. armistice went into force on the same day. Article IV, paragraph 60 in the armistice called on both sides to recommend to their respective governments that a conference be held within three months that would settle through negotiation the questions of the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Korea, the peaceful settlement of the Korean question, etc.1 Besides a considerable delay in beginning the conference, Cold War problems, including the issue of foreign troops on the Korean Peninsula, prevented any consensus at the Geneva Conference. Thus, the Geneva Conference on Korea (another part dealt with Indochina) failed to produce a peace treaty.The Korean part of the conference lasted for nearly two months, from April 26 to June 15, 1954. On one side were representatives from sixteen allied countries, which during the Korean War had troops in Korea that were led by the United States under the authority of the United Nations; on the other side were the communist delegates, officials from the DPRK, China and the Soviet Union. Nothing positive happened during the conference.According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The U.S. delegate deliberately obstructed the Geneva Conference from reaching any agreement on the question of maintaining and consolidating peace in Korea.2 DPRK claimed that the United States stood in the way of an all-Korean election by insisting that the process follow the constitution of South Korea and be monitored by the United Nations, which Pyongyang and its allies saw as anything but a neutral arbiter.3The United States, on the other hand, stood by two principles, both of which the communist delegates to the conference refused to accept: free elections (as defined by Washington and its allies) and that the United Nations, including its armed forces, would be the ultimate authority on the Korean Peninsula. Showing their tenacity, the United States and its allies issued a declaration on June 15, 1954, the last day of the conference, stating, So long as the Communist delegations reject the two fundamental principles which we consider indispensable, further consideration and examination of the Korean question by the Conference would serve no useful purpose.4The Geneva Conference on Korea, in short, was marred by the bitter and heated divisiveness that characterized the early Cold War years. That a permanent peace treaty never materialized years later is a very good indicator that the Cold War continued to leave its massive footprint on Northeast Asia-indeed, even after the Cold War was officially declared to be over.Nothing from the Four-Way TalksThe failure of the four-way talks between the United States, the two Koreas and China, which took place between 1997 and 1999, to produce a peace treaty made clear that while the ideal of such an accord existed none of the participants, especially Washington and Pyongyang, knew how to bring it to fruition. For example, while Pyongyang desired a peace treaty with the United States, it wanted to exclude South Korea, which of course was not what Washington or Seoul wanted to hear. On the other side, Washington was not about to yield to Pyongyang's desire to U.S. troops removed from South Korea, claiming, like Seoul, that the presence of American forces have helped to maintain peace and stability for decades.Both Washington and Pyongyang maintained that their ultimate objective was to establish a permanent peace in a practical manner. However, the four-way talks consistently had agenda problems. Washington remained committed to confidencebuilding measures, which incorporated U.S. and South Korean interests. Clinton administration stressed that the United States wanted the four-way talks to reduce tensions and build confidence on the Korean Peninsula with the aim of putting a formal end to the hostilities of the Korean War. …

Which Interventions are Used by Health Care Professionals to Enhance Medication Adherence in Cardiovascular Patients? A Survey of Current Clinical Practice

Complex medication regimens are often required to manage cardiovascular diseases. As non-adherence, which can have severe negative outcomes, is common among cardiovascular patients, various interventions to improve adherence should be implemented in daily practice. To assess which strategies cardiovascular nurses and allied health professionals utilize to (1) assess patients' adherence to medication regimen, and (2) enhance medication adherence via educational/cognitive, counseling/behavioral, and psychological/affective interventions. A 45-item questionnaire to assess adherence assessment and interventional strategies utilized by health care professionals in daily clinical practice was distributed to a convenience sample of attendants of the 10th Annual Spring Meeting of the European Society of Cardiology Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions conference in Geneva (Switzerland) in March 2010. Respondents not in direct clinical practice were excluded. Descriptive statistics were used to describe practice patterns regarding adherence management. Of 276 distributed questionnaires, 171 (62%) were returned, of which 34 (20%) were excluded as respondents performed no direct patient care. Questioning patients about non-adherence during follow-up was the most frequently reported assessment strategy (56%). Educational/cognitive adherence enhancing interventions were used most frequently, followed by counseling/behavioral interventions. Psychological/affective interventions were less frequently used. The most frequent intervention used was providing reading materials (66%) followed by training patients regarding medication taking during inpatient recovery (48%). Slightly over two-thirds (69%) reported using a combination of interventions to improve patient's adherence. Educational interventions are used most in clinical practice, although evidence shows they are less effective than behavioral interventions at enhancing medication adherence.

Towards accessible search systems

The SIGIR workshop Towards Accessible Search Systems was the first workshop in the field to raise the discussion on how to make search engines accessible for different types of users. We report on the results of the workshop that was held on 23 July 2010 in conjunction with the 33rd Annual ACM SIGIR Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Geneva Conferences and the emergence of the International Network for Person‐centered Medicine

The yearly Geneva Conferences on Person-centered Medicine started in May 2008 as a collaborative effort of global medical and health organizations and committed clinicians and scholars to place the whole person at the centre of medicine and health care. They were informed by the traditions of great ancient civilizations and recent developments in clinical care and public health. The process of the Geneva Conferences led to the development of the International Network for Person-centered Medicine as a non-for-profit institution aimed at organizing future editions of the Geneva Conference and building person-centred medicine as a paradigmatic repriorizing of the medical and health fields in collaboration inter alia with the World Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the World Organization of Family Doctors.

European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness initiatives on person‐centred care

European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness is working towards the goal of shifting the emphasis of care for people with metal illness from the treatment of the symptoms to a more holistic approach of treating the whole person - in other words 'person-centred care'. It is also working with the Geneva conference on person-centred medicine and various interested groupings and organizations to ensure that the role of the family is fully recognized and supported. By engaging primarily with the medical community in bringing to fruition certain initiatives which European Federation of Associations of Families of People with Mental Illness considers as important to the success of person-centred care. To date, no formal reviews have taken place and feedback from the initiatives has been informal and anecdotal. Early reports from the various initiatives are positive. But they also indicate that there is still much work to be done in order for the concept to become a reality across the majority of European countries.

ILO Convention No. 94 in the aftermath of the Rüffert case

The purpose of this article is to discuss the ILO’s Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Convention 1949 (Convention No. 94) and, in particular, the legal situation in the aftermath of the decision on 3 April 2008 of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Rüffert case (Case C-346/06). The authors argue that the labour law concerning social clauses in public contracts is an old and well-established institution that still has an important role to play. They analyse the Rüffert case and argue that there is a conflict or contradiction between the ECJ’s judgment and Convention No. 94. The authors propose how the Posted Workers Directive 96/71/EC and the EU public procurement regime should be clarified in order to resolve this contradiction. This issue should be raised and promoted both by the EU Member States, in the aftermath of the discussions in June 2008 at the ILO Labour Conference in Geneva on Convention No. 94, and by the new Barroso Commission, which took office in spring 2010, as well as the European Parliament.

The Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the 1954 Geneva Conference: A revisionist critique

Drawing upon documentary and other evidence from Vietnam this paper argues that in 1954 the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) accepted negotiations and a diplomatic solution to its war against France because it served some of its most vital interests and satisfied its sense of the possibilities of the moment. To be sure, the DRVN leadership responded positively to concerns and pressures from its socialist allies, the Soviet Union and China, on some issues in Geneva. But it was not, as western scholars have maintained, acting against its own better judgement or strategic imperatives.

Religion, World Order, and Peace: An Indigenous African Perspective

Religion, World Order, and Peace: An Indigenous African Perspective Wande Abimbola It is now ten years since the historic gathering of the leaders of the world’s religions took place at the United Nations building in New York. A lot has happened in the world since then; the most despicable being the attack of the twin towers of New York on September 11, 2001. It is therefore a very good time, ten years after the gathering of the year 2000, to take stock of where we are and where we are going as far as religion is concerned in the world. It is sad to note that it appears that the United Nations has not taken advantage of the gathering of religious leaders to put in place a consultative forum of religious leaders to assist with conflict and intolerance, which have certainly not diminished since the year 2000. Such a body of religious leaders drawn from across the world should urgently be put in place by the UN. This will help to address and probably reduce violent conflicts now going on in the world, most of which are borne out of religion or at least have religious undertones. There is also the need for the establishment of a United Nations Commission on Religion to examine the rights of the world’s indigenous peoples. This will be a follow‐up to the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. This is an urgent issue since the shameful and violent conversion of minority peoples of the world has continued unabated. The indigenous peoples of the world remain powerless in the face of competing claims and onslaught of Christianity and Islam. Billions of dollars are being spent every year to eradicate the way of life and identities of indigenous peoples of Africa, Australia, and the Americas in the name of evangelism, which those two religions claim to be part of their holy scriptures. This age‐old practice has led to what could be described as genocide or annihilation of the identities of indigenous peoples of the world. The competition between Christianity and Islam for converts among the indigenous peoples of the world has resulted in violent conflicts in Africa and elsewhere between the adherents of these two religions. Three of such violent clashes occurred in Nigeria within the last six months, leading to the massacre of thousands of people. How can the United Nations pretend that such violent clashes are none of their business? To whom are the indigenous peoples of the world going to turn for protection or succor? The forcible conversion of indigenous peoples of the world has been going on for more than a thousand years. It is about time the United Nations Organizations and its numerous agencies begin to do something about it. In fairness to Christian leaders around the world, there were two major conferences that they have convened to examine some of the issues mentioned earlier since the last couple of years. The World Council of Churches held its own conference in Geneva in 2004, and the Vatican convened its own conference at Lariano Vellitri in 2006. I was present at both conferences at which lots of recommendations were made, but nothing concrete has been performed. The Lariano Vellitri conference was convened by Pope Benedict XVI specifically to address the issue of conversion. The Pope wanted the religious leaders of the world to put in place a code of conduct for conversion of people from one religion to another. We are all patiently waiting to see what the Pope will do with the recommendations of the 37 religious leaders of the world at Lariano Vellitri. Perhaps there is no better way to demonstrate the need for a world forum on religion at the UN than in the implementation of the claims of scientists on climate change. Most of the indigenous religions of the world are rooted on respect for the environment. My own religion, the Yoruba religion, for example, is based on what can be described as a worship of nature. We believe that when our divinities, known as Òrìsà, finished their work on earth, they then changed themselves to different forces of nature. Sàngó became...

WHOʼs International Drug Monitoring – The Formative Years, 1968–1975

In early 2009, Jan Venulet (JV), gratefully agreed to the suggestion by the President of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) to write ‘a chapter or two’ on the earlier periods of pharmacovigilance. The purpose of ISoP’s project, to which several others will also contribute, is ‘to collect the memories of the beginning of pharmacovigilance with the objective to put it on the website for future generations’. The second author, Margaretha HellingBorda (MHB), invited by JV to collaborate on this walk down memory lane of the WHO’s International Drug Monitoring, was also part of the early and formative years, 1968–1975. Our starting point for refreshing our memories was JV’s own library and numbered references from which we selected relevant publications from the 1960s and 1970s and unpublishedWHO documents. Among the latter, one in particular has been a major reference source (seemingly the only existing copy) entitled ‘‘Pilot Research Project for International Drug Monitoring – Assignment Report, 9 January 1968–10 March 1970 by Dr Jan Venulet, Senior Project Officer’’. Apart from the above, together with World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolutions (Appendix 1), our other primary reference sources in writing this paper have been: Presentation at the 25th Anniversary of the World Health Organization’s Programme for International Monitoring by Jan Venulet. In: Proceedings of the XXVIIth CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) Conference in Geneva (organized jointly by CIOMS and WHO), 14–15 September 1993. ‘‘Experience with the World Health Organization: International Monitoring of Adverse Reactions to Drugs’’, WHO, Geneva, by Margaretha Helling. In: Tognoni and Vander Kleijn, editors. Clinical Pharmacy and Clinical Pharmacology. Gouveia. Chapter 9, 141–151, 1976. For a further list of references and selected bibliography, see Appendix 2. The following is a brief summary of the history, development, activities, outputs, results and reflections of the formative years, 1968–1975, of the WHO International Drug Monitoring.

Technology Trends

Technology Trends

How to assess the impact of an electronic document? And what does impact mean anyway?

PurposeUsually the impact of research and researchers is quantified by using citation data: either by journal‐centered citation data as in the case of the journal impact factor (JIF) or by author‐centered citation data as in the case of the Hirsch‐ or h‐index. This paper aims to discuss a range of impact measures, especially usage‐based metrics, and to report the results of two surveys.Design/methodology/approachThe first part of the article analyzes both citation‐based and usage‐based metrics. The second part is based on the findings of the surveys: one in the form of a brainstorming session with information professionals and scientists at the OAI6 conference in Geneva, the second in the form of expert interviews, mainly with scientists.FindingsThe results of the surveys indicate an interest in the social aspects of science, like visualizations of social graphs both for persons and their publications. Furthermore, usage data are considered an appropriate measure to describe quality and coverage of scientific documents; admittedly, the consistence of usage information among repositories has to be kept in mind. The scientists who took part in the survey also asked for community services, assuming these might help to identify relevant scientific information more easily. Some of the other topics of interest were personalization or easy submission procedures.Originality/valueThis paper delineates current discussions about citation‐based and usage‐based metrics. Based on the results of the surveys, it depicts which functionalities could enhance repositories, what features are required by scientists and information professionals, and whether usage‐based services are considered valuable. These results also outline some elements of future repository research.

How to assess the impact of an electronic document? And what does impact mean anyway?: Reliable usage statistics in heterogeneous repository communities

Purpose – Usually the impact of research and researchers is quantified by using citation data: either by journal‐centered citation data as in the case of the journal impact factor (JIF) or by author‐centered citation data as in the case of the Hirsch‐ or h‐index. This paper aims to discuss a range of impact measures, especially usage‐based metrics, and to report the results of two surveys. Design/methodology/approach – The first part of the article analyzes both citation‐based and usage‐based metrics. The second part is based on the findings of the surveys: one in the form of a brainstorming session with information professionals and scientists at the OAI6 conference in Geneva, the second in the form of expert interviews, mainly with scientists. Findings – The results of the surveys indicate an interest in the social aspects of science, like visualizations of social graphs both for persons and their publications. Furthermore, usage data are considered an appropriate measure to describe quality and coverage of scientific documents; admittedly, the consistence of usage information among repositories has to be kept in mind. The scientists who took part in the survey also asked for community services, assuming these might help to identify relevant scientific information more easily. Some of the other topics of interest were personalization or easy submission procedures. Originality/value – This paper delineates current discussions about citation‐based and usage‐based metrics. Based on the results of the surveys, it depicts which functionalities could enhance repositories, what features are required by scientists and information professionals, and whether usage‐based services are considered valuable. These results also outline some elements of future repository research.

The Family Trust In New Zealand and the Claims of ‘Unwelcome Beneficiaries’

In June 2009, at the Transcontinental Trusts conference in Geneva, His Honour Justice David Hayton said that the New Zealand Court of Appeal had got aspects of the law of trusts wrong in its decision in Official Assignee v Wilson [2008] 3 NZLR 45. The Court held that the test for proving a trust was a sham was whether the trustees and settlor had a common intention that the trust was not to be a genuine entitiy. Hayton prefers a more objective approach and looks to the objective effect of a shammer’s conduct and not look for secret dishonest intentions which will hardly ever be revealed. Hayton’s approach would ensure that trust property would be made available to creditors so that they were paid what they were due by declaring the trusts to be shams. Family trusts have become big business in New Zealand and are commonly used to protect a businessman’s assets from creditors. While there is nothing illegal in setting up a family trust, it is my contention that the law pertaining to family trusts in New Zealand has become so far removed from the accepted principles of equity as to demand investigation. This paper explores the origins of equity and compares the modern family trust against the equitable principles which have been developed over hundreds of years, even as far back as Plato’s Greece. The paper links the equity of Ancient Greece to Cicero in Rome, through the early Roman Church to the Chancellors serving English Kings. The law of England leads to the law of modern New Zealand. The paper goes on to examine the way the family trust has been used to defeat the legitimate claims of creditors. I aim to show that the approach taken by the New Zealand Court of Appeal is too narrow and favours the ‘shamming’ settlor at the expense of creditors who have given good consideration in comparison with volunteer beneficiaries. Moreover the family trust has become a mechanism that bears little relationship to recognised equitable principles and should lose the protection accorded to properly constituted trusts. Keywords: Hayton, Objective, Intention, New Zealand

Bắc Di Cư: Catholic Refugees from the North of Vietnam, and Their Role in the Southern Republic, 1954––1959

Northern Catholic refugees who resettled in the Republic of Vietnam during 1954 and 1955 in the aftermath of the Geneva Conference formed an identifiable, largely unassimilated cohort that was eventually (but not immediately) utilized by the government of Ngôô Đinh Diệm for nation-building purposes. In both their departure from the North and their resettlement in the South, the Bẳc di cư were largely responsive to their clerical leadership. These Catholic communities often replicated the patterns of organization, modes of leadership, and suspicion of the external world that had characterized their rural village communities in the North.

Robin Gorna takes the helm at the International AIDS Society

Robin Gorna takes the helm at the International AIDS Society

Operation Passage to Freedom: The United States Navy in Vietnam, 1954-1955

Very little has been written about the U.S. Navy in Vietnam in the immediate postKorean War era, nor has the magnitude of American participation in the resettlement of Vietnam refugees following the 1954 Geneva Conference been explored. Beginning in the fall of 1954, U.S. Navy ships, as a part of Task Force 90, helped to relocate thousands of displaced North Vietnamese to South Vietnam following the separation of the nation at the 17th parallel. What those sailors accomplished during the three hundred days of Passage to forever changed the lives of more than 310,000 Vietnamese who traveled on their ships. In Operation Passage to Freedom Ronald B. Frankum, Jr. recounts the events surrounding this enormous humanitarian evacuation that was the American military's first major involvement with the Vietnamese people. Based on archival research and interviews with more than forty sailors who participated in Task Force 90, Operation Passage to Freedom illuminates a mission that has been all but forgotten and also explores how the initial humanitarian involvement of the United States in Vietnam eventually led to massive military involvement in the 1960s and 1970s.