Convention Protocol Research Articles

Legitimate Scientific Research: Objective Scientific Assessment of Marine Geoengineering Activities under the London Convention and London Protocol

Legitimate Scientific Research: Objective Scientific Assessment of Marine Geoengineering Activities under the London Convention and London Protocol

Strengthening plastic pollution governance in the Mediterranean: The Barcelona Convention's role

Plastic pollution constitutes a critical threat to the Mediterranean marine ecosystem, with immense volumes of plastic waste flowing into the shared sea from over 20 bordering states. This research analyzes plastic pollution governance in the Mediterranean region through the lens of the Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. It scrutinizes the policy gaps between the Barcelona Convention’s protocols and decisions concerning plastic waste, against on-the-ground implementation shortcomings enabling the continuity of plastic pollution. Absent monitoring capacities, limited enforcement of regulations, inadequate waste management infrastructure, and unchecked plastic production and use are examined as foremost implementation weaknesses. To bridge the governance gap, the paper delineates prospective policy, technological, financial and capacity-building interventions to curb plastic pollution based on the Barcelona Convention’s architecture. Proposed priority actions include consolidating monitoring programs, implementing Extended Producer Responsibility, integrating informal waste sectors, establishing a regional plastic waste fund, standardizing labeling, and banning select single-use plastics. This study aims to uncover governance solutions to advance regional anti-plastic pollution efforts. The research employs textual analysis of Barcelona Convention protocols and decisions, complemented by third-party data on plastic waste flows, management capacities, and policy evaluations for Mediterranean nations.
 Strategically bridging the governance gap is critical for Barcelona Convention members to progress on commitments to mitigate plastic pollution and safeguard the Mediterranean Sea.

Social protection for refugees and migrants: Examining access to benefits and labour market interventions

AbstractThe article discusses the current practices for providing social protection to refugees and migrants, focusing primarily on low‐ and middle‐income (LMICs) destination countries. It examines formal providers of social protection, including state institutions, development agencies and humanitarian organizations. In recent years, there has been an increase in funding from multilateral donors, especially in the context of the COVID–19 pandemic, leading to the establishment of national assistance programmes in LMICs that also encompass refugees and to a lesser extent migrant workers. International agencies play a crucial role in providing humanitarian cash assistance to refugees, given their status under international protection under the 1951 Refugee Convention and related protocols. Access to social insurance remains tied to formal employment. Social insurance entitlements for migrants are often restricted and refugees are typically excluded from formal employment in LMICs. Regarding labour market interventions, refugees and migrants are often excluded from national programmes, with migrants’ residence permits being often tied to employment. For refugees, international agencies take a prominent role in providing livelihood programmes aimed at enhancing income‐generating opportunities, economic inclusion and financial independence. However, the effectiveness of these interventions remains unclear, lacking rigorous evidence, and often being short‐term with limited coverage.

IMPACT OF NON-DIPPING PATTERN AND NOCTURNAL HYPERTENSION ON LEFT VENTRICULAR MASS INDEX IN UNTREATED WHITE-COAT HYPERTENSIVE SUBJECTS

Objective: Several studies have demonstrated that subjects with white-coat hypertension (WCH) have an increased risk of adverse cardiovascular outcome and target organ damage (TOD) progression compared to normotensives. The potentially detrimental effect of non-dipping or nocturnal hypertension on TOD has not been fully elucidated in subjects with WCH. The aim of our study was to investigate the impact of both dipping status and nocturnal hypertension on the left ventricle mass index (LVMI) of WCH individuals. Design and method: A total of 387 untreated WCH subjects underwent echocardiographic measurements. LVM was estimated using Devereux's formula according to the Penn Convention Protocol. LVMI was defined as LVM divided by the body surface area. The study population was divided into dippers (blood pressure (BP) nocturnal fall >10%) and non-dippers (BP nocturnal fall <10%) as well as into nocturnal hypertensives (nighttime systolic BP> = 120mmHg or nighttime diastolic BP> = 70mmHg) and nocturnal normotensives (nighttime systolic BP<120mmHg and nighttime diastolic BP<70mmHg). Statistical analysis was performed by means of independent-samples t-test, chi-square test and linear regression. Results: The percentages of non-dippers and nocturnal hypertensives in WCH subjects were 49% and 28%, respectively. The variables associated with LVMI in the univariate analyses were: age, male gender, body mass index, 24-hour diastolic BP and non-dippers. The multivariate regression analyses demonstrated significant associations of LVMI with the following factors: age (B = 5.760, 95% CI: 3.282 to 8.239; p<0.001), male gender (B = 10.941, 95% CI: 5.756 to 16.125; p<0.001), body mass index (B = 0.685, 95% CI: 0.138 to 1.232; p = 0.014), 24-hour diastolic BP (B = -6.634, 95% CI: -11.212 to -1.456; p<0.011) and non-dippers (B = 8.415, 95% CI: 3.449 to 13.380; p = 0.001). Non-dipping pattern was correlated to an increase of 8.415 g/m2 in the LVMI in WCH subjects. Conclusions: Non-dipping status is positively and independently associated with LVMI in untreated WCH patients. In contrast, statistically significant association between nocturnal hypertension and LVMI was not observed.

Carbon as a commodity, retention as a service

United Nations Climate Change convention protocols (2016; 2005) addressed the issue of anthropogenically reducing CO2 emissions but failed to view carbon as a commodity that can be measured when sequestered in terrestrial biometric sinks. Forestry science tools quantify tree capture of atmospheric carbon volume annually, and in what tree parts it resides. Trees photosynthesize carbon by converting atmospheric carbon dioxide to sequester carbon atoms in trees. Carbon can be commodified and traded in competitive markets via conservation easement agreements legally binding willing buyers and sellers to consented terms. Based on biometric data projections, carbon is measured in discrete forestland areas as tons per year to express a balance between its emissions and its inferred sequestered volume. Timber harvest decisions viewed through the lens of its quantified carbon volume can serve as a powerful mechanism in offsetting carbon emissions while lengthening financially optimal timber harvest rotation decisions. A commodity trading framework is articulated to link willing carbon sequestration agents (forestland owners) with willing carbon sequestration buyers in an equitable trading platform with legal terms applied through temporally defined conditions. The framework to determine carbon sequestration allowances and carbon storage payments is discussed in terms of agreements which market participants enter. In a brief synopsis, we offer our view on aligning carbon emitters with forestland sequestration operatives articulating meaningful financial and social benefits for those involved.

Forced deportations and the Ukraine war: Russian culpability in atrocity crimes

Since the war in Ukraine has begun, Russia has used population transfers as one of its tactics of war with over 3.6 million Ukrainian citizens now in Russia. These are acts that both Ukrainian authorities and other governments including the United States have claimed are forced deportations. This pattern reflects a longer history—the Soviet Union frequently used similar population transfers as forms of collective punishment against potentially rebellious populations, and the Russian government used similar tactics in both Chechnya and Syria. But in this case, we have better evidence of these movements as they occur. Forced deportations and transfers are defined both as war crimes—under the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol II and Article 8 of the Rome Statute—and as crimes against humanity—under Article 7 of the Rome Statute. Therefore, as forced deportations constitute both war crimes and crimes against humanity, there are a number of mechanisms by which individual Russian perpetrators of these acts can be held accountable. These include, with the Ukrainian government’s acceptance of its jurisdiction, the International Criminal Court. But such accountability mechanisms also exist at the individual state level through universal jurisdiction and Magnitsky sanctions legislation.

Exporting the Luxembourg Rail Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment to Africa

Abstract This article recommends the Cape Town Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and appeals to African countries to accede to the Luxembourg Protocol on Railway Rolling Stock (Rail Protocol). The discussion in this article focuses on the extent to which Article XXII of the Rail Protocol can be applied with respect to Africa. The article critically analyses the competence of the African Economic Community (AEC) and its sub-regional organizations to accede to the Cape Town Convention and Rail Protocol. The author provides a detailed argumentative analysis of the legal mandate of the AEC and the influence of African Union (AU) laws on the competence of the AEC’s sub-regional organizations to make declarations under the Cape Town Convention and Rail Protocol. The analysis confirms that competence to accede to the Convention and Rail Protocol resides with sovereign States in Africa and not with the AU, the AEC, the Organisation pour l’harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires, or any existing sub-regional organization in Africa.

ASSOCIATION OF LEFT VENTRICULAR MASS INDEX WITH ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY IN CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE PATIENTS

Objective: Although the association of left ventricular mass (LVM) with outcome is well established in dialysis patients, the importance of this association in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD) populations is not well documented. Aim of the study was to examine the association of LVM index with all-cause mortality in CKD patients. Design and method: Our study population consisted of 126 patients with CKD stages 3–4, referred for evaluation at the Hypertension Unit of our department. The patients underwent office blood pressure measurements and echocardiographic measurements. LVM was estimated using Devereux’s formula according to the Penn Convention Protocol. LVM index was defined as LVM divided by the body surface area. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between LVM index and all-cause mortality. Results: After a median follow-up of 3 years, 11 cardiovascular and 16 non-cardiovascular deaths occurred. The study population consisted of 95 men (75%). Mean age was 70 years, mean office BP was 143/76 mmHg. The multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that LVM index was independently associated with all-cause mortality (HR: 1.011, 95%CI 1.000–1.023, p = 0.049) after adjustment for age, sex, history of diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia, smoking, antihypertensive treatment and mean office blood pressure values. Conclusions: Left ventricular mass index is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in hypertensive patients with CKD.

Evaluating Class B Fire Extinguishing Efficacies of Organic Nitro Compounds Based Aerosol Forming Compositions

Every year, increasing fire accidents worldwide have directed our attention towards an effective fire suppression system. For many decades, Halons have been used as effective fire extinguishing agents. Vienna convention (1985) and Montreal protocol (1987) determined Halons as ozone-depleting agents, and subsequently, their manufacturing is banned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Thus, against the urgent background of this elimination of Halons, aerosol-based extinguisher resulted as one of the significant Halons substitute technology. The Ozone Depletion Potential and Global Warming Potential values of aerosol extinguishing agents are nearly zero. This has provided thrust for various Universities and research institutions for undertaking numerous projects to develop aerosol-forming pyrotechnic composites for fire fighting applications. In the present work, novel fire extinguishing pyrotechnic compositions were fabricated, in which four different organic nitro compounds, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid, 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid, m-nitrobenzenesulphonate and 3-nitrophthalic acid, were used as the reductant. These nitro compounds undergo rapid redox reaction with strong oxidants to produce aerosol fire extinguishing agents, extinguishing 4.57 KW of small scale n-heptane pool fires in 3 seconds. The fire extinguishing efficacy and thermal characteristics of novel compositions were evaluated against potassium nitrate and phenol formaldehyde resin-based conventional pyrotechnic composition.

An Efficient <i>Agrobacterium</i>-Mediated Genetic Transformation Using <i>cry1F</i> Gene in Castor ( <i>Ricinus communis</i> L.) for Protection Against <i>Lepidopteran</i> Insects

Castor ( Ricinus communis L.) is an essential non-edible, pharmaceutical, and industrial oilseed. The vulnerability of this economically valuable crop to foliage feeders like Spodoptera litura has resulted in a loss of production. This report focuses on the development of an optimized protocol for the transformation of castor shoot apices by Agrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA4404 containing plasmid construct pBIN1F harboring neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII), as selectable marker gene and Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai (Bt) cry1F gene controlled by cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Several parameters like O.D. (O.D600-0.6), concentration of kanamycin (50 mg/L) and acetosyringone (100 µM) were optimized and produced a significant difference in the transformation efficiency. Co-cultivation time and seedling age were factors, with overall transformation efficiency of 2.0% in fifteen-day-old seedlings and co-cultivated for three days. The surviving and actively developing shoot apices were validated for gene integration by molecular analysis after being preliminarily screened on 50 mg/L kanamycin and 300 mg/L cefotaxime. PCR, qRT-PCR and insect bioassay were used to confirm the putative primary transformants. When bioassayed against newly hatched Spodoptera litura hatchlings, these putative transgenics with cry1F gene caused significant (≤93%) insect mortality. Cry1F gene expressing transgenic plants had adequate defence against Spodoptera litura when exposed to castor. This convention protocol would succeed by using Agrobacterium-mediated transformation to apply agronomically appealing qualities to castor.

Challenges in Harmonized Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas

The Adriatic-Ionian region (ADRION Region) shows strong development in terms of urban expansion in coastal and inland areas as well as increasing maritime traffic and offshore hydrocarbon extraction activities. A serious risk of pollution arises from hazardous substances requiring reliable and coherent monitoring and assessment programmes. EU Directives (WFD - Water Framework Directive, MSFD - Marine Strategy Framework Directive) and Barcelona Convention protocols, aim to assess the level of pollution with the objective to implement measures to prevent and/or mitigate impacts on the marine environment. This high level integration process has to be based on common and agreed protocols for monitoring of contaminants. Aiming to share best practices to encourage a harmonized implementation of monitoring and assessment of contaminants, an extensive review of monitoring and analytical protocols adopted by six EU and non-EU countries along the Adriatic and Ionian seas was carried out in the framework of the Interreg Adrion project HarmoNIA. This paper presents a methodological proposal to define a common protocol for the evaluation of the metal contamination of seawater, sediment and biota. Contaminants have been chosen following preliminary consultations among countries of the ADRION area, considering objectives of WFD and MSFD, as well as Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures for offshore platforms. Information was gathered relative to matrix characteristics and quality assurance/quality control of the analytical performance (sample preservation, analytical methodology, reference materials, limit of detection and limit of quantification, accuracy, reproducibility, etc.). The comparison of information provided by laboratories of nine institutions highlighted the request for harmonization in terms of sampling procedures, matrix characterization, preservation procedures, analytical methods and LOQ values. Although appropriate environmental quality standards for biota and sediment matrices should be established at national level and also through regional and sub-regional cooperation, as required by the WFD and MSFD, the proposed LOQ values, even if challenging, represent a benchmark and a stimulus to optimize analytical performance, to ensure the best level of protection to the coastal and offshore environment in the ADRION Region.

FOOD SAFETY OF GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISM ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LAW AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN INDONESIA

Modern biotechnology products have provided considerable benefits for improving human life and well-being, both in the agriculture, food, industry and human health sectors, as well as in the environmental field. But there are concerns that modern biotechnology products, in addition to providing benefits, also have risks that have adverse impacts on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and human health. Therefore, steps need to be taken, both legally, administratively, and technology to ensure the level of biological safety.This study aims to explain and analyze the safety of Genetically Modified Organism or GMO according to international law and their implementation in Indonesia. The problem approach used in this research is normative law (library research). The data used are secondary data obtained from international, national legal regulations and literature data related to material that supports discussion of the problem. Analysis of the data used is descriptive qualitative.The results of research on food safety of Genetically Modified Organism or GMO according to international law, are regulations on food safety of genetically engineered products regulated in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The laws and regulations governing GMO food in Indonesia are good enough because they have carried out the mandate and did not deviate from the biodiversity convention and Cartagena protocol by passing legislation regulations from the legal level to the decision level of the head of BPOM. It’s just that for rules regarding GMO food that is sold in retail, or that is not in the form of packaging, there is still no technical rules that can answer the problems in the field.

AI and Spinoza: a review of law\u2019s conceptual treatment of Lethal Autonomous

In this article I will argue that the philosophy of Benedict Spinoza (1632–1677) may assist us in coming to terms with some of the conceptual challenges that the phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence (AI) poses on law and legal thought. I will pursue this argument in three steps. First, I will suggest that Spinoza’s philosophy of the mind and knowledge may function as an analytical tool for making sense of the prevailing conception of AI within the legal discourse on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS). Then, I will continue the argument with the aid of Spinoza’s political philosophy which partly complicates the picture as it seems to disqualify a normative process grounded directly upon the means stipulated for achieving a robust understanding of AI. Based on these two separate discussions I will conclude by outlining a composite critique – from the twofolded perspective of Spinoza’s ethical and political discussions – of the ongoing negotiations of a new Conventional Weapons Convention (CCW) protocol on LAWS.

The London Convention and London Protocol and Their Expanding Mandate

The London Convention and London Protocol and Their Expanding Mandate

Remote Sensing of Boreal Wetlands 1: Data Use for Policy and Management

Wetlands have and continue to undergo rapid environmental and anthropogenic modification and change to their extent, condition, and therefore, ecosystem services. In this first part of a two-part review, we provide decision-makers with an overview on the use of remote sensing technologies for the ‘wise use of wetlands’, following Ramsar Convention protocols. The objectives of this review are to provide: (1) a synthesis of the history of remote sensing of wetlands, (2) a feasibility study to quantify the accuracy of remotely sensed data products when compared with field data based on 286 comparisons found in the literature from 209 articles, (3) recommendations for best approaches based on case studies, and (4) a decision tree to assist users and policymakers at numerous governmental levels and industrial agencies to identify optimal remote sensing approaches based on needs, feasibility, and cost. We argue that in order for remote sensing approaches to be adopted by wetland scientists, land-use managers, and policymakers, there is a need for greater understanding of the use of remote sensing for wetland inventory, condition, and underlying processes at scales relevant for management and policy decisions. The literature review focuses on boreal wetlands primarily from a Canadian perspective, but the results are broadly applicable to policymakers and wetland scientists globally, providing knowledge on how to best incorporate remotely sensed data into their monitoring and measurement procedures. This is the first review quantifying the accuracy and feasibility of remotely sensed data and data combinations needed for monitoring and assessment. These include, baseline classification for wetland inventory, monitoring through time, and prediction of ecosystem processes from individual wetlands to a national scale.

Performance Analysis of Ripv2, OSPF and EIGRP Protocols using Cisco Packet Tracer Simulator 7.2

Figured out in modern massive networks there are existing of many independent system, vibrant transmitting procedures implemented regularly than the different kinds of fixed routing protocol, by the application of various new sorts of directing procedures can efficiently services the contemporary large system in the networking. The contemporary design of different transmitting convention protocols must be taken into considerations of current and as well as services need to be applied in the future by considering this for today’s scenario witnessing a great development adjustment in the web traffic that is generated by utilization of the various applications. This study was conducted to test the performance analysis in between RIPV2, OSPF and also EIGRP with cisco package tracer simulator 7.2.

Is the Constitution’s Convention for Proposing Amendments a 'Mystery'? Overlooked Evidence in the Narrative of Uncertainty

Since the 1960s, leading academics and other commentators have claimed that the composition and protocols of the Constitution’s “Convention for proposing Amendments” are unknowable and/or subject to congressional control. Today those claims are on a collision course with growing public sentiment for an amendments convention to address federal dysfunction. After reviewing the academic literature, this Article examines the relevant evidence on convention composition and protocols, including Founding-era records, later historical records, and a widely-overlooked Supreme Court decision. This evidence clearly contradicts assertions that convention protocols and composition are unknowable or subject to congressional control. Rather, the evidence informs us that an amendments convention is what the founders called a “convention of the states”—a gathering whose composition and protocols were universally understood by the time the Constitution was ratified. This Article also describes the composition and protocols and explains how the “convention of states” model fits within the Constitution’s structure.

Study to Identify Specific Cases of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge Associated with Genetic Resources that Occur in Transboundary Situations or for Which it is Not Possible to Grant or Obtain Prior Informed Consent

Article 10 of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing (“Global Multilateral Benefit-Sharing Mechanism”) calls for Parties to consider the need for, and modalities of, a global multilateral benefit-sharing mechanism to address the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from the utilization of genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources that occur in transboundary situations, or for which it is not possible to grant or obtain prior informed consent. The 3rd meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol adopted decision NP-3/13 on Article 10, which requested the commissioning of a peer reviewed study to identify specific cases meeting the aforementioned criteria. This study is the response to that request and identifies three broad groups of cases. The first group, genetic resources occurring in transboundary situations comprises three specific subgroups: (a) shared ecosystems and habitats/species distributed across national boundaries; (b) migratory species which transit through different jurisdictions; and (c) areas beyond national jurisdiction. The second broad group involves genetic resources for which it is not possible to grant or obtain prior informed consent. This group also comprises three subgroups: (a) genetic resources of untraceable provenance in ex situ collections; (b) utilization of samples from large numbers of geographically diverse organisms; and (c) cases involving the use of “digital sequence information” (DSI). The third broad group, traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources that occur in transboundary situations or for which it is not possible to grant or obtain prior informed consent, can be further divided into three subgroups: (a) associated traditional knowledge held by IPLCs across national boundaries, (b) publicly available associated traditional knowledge, and (c) associated traditional knowledge of untraceable origin in ex situ collections. Based on the research presented within, this study concludes that there may be specific cases that fall within the scope of Article 10, while also not undermining the bilateral approach upon which the Convention and Nagoya Protocol are founded.

A COMMENTARY ON THE SUPREME COURT’S JUDGMENT OF 17 JULY 2018 (STS 1263/2018) AND ITS SUPPOSED IMPACT FOR A LEGALLY BINDING VALUE OF THE DECISIONS ADOPTED BY THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)

The present commentary analyses the Judgment of the Spanish Supreme Court of 17 July 2018. This judgment given by its Contentious-Administrative Chamber is thoroughly considered along the commentary, explaining the factual and procedural background of Angela Gonzalez’s claim consisting of the request of a compensation for the dramatic murder of her daughter by her ex-partner in a gender-violence context. Accordingly, after the exhaustion of local remedies, the appellant cleverly brought her claim before the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which adopted a decision recommending Spain to indemnify her for the damages suffered. Subsequently, on the basis of this favorable decision, the appellant sought a compensation for the State liability due to an abnormal functioning of the Administration of Justice, whose denial was appealed before the Supreme Court. Finally, the Supreme Court considered the CEDAW’s decision as a “valid premise” to file a request of State liability and notably declared such decision as “legally binding/obligatory” for Spain, although the CEDAW’s decisions have not that nature according to its Convention and Optional Protocol. As a result, the Supreme Court adjudged an economic reparation for the claimant and affirmed that Spain breached its international obligations. In brief, the commentary concludes with some reflections on the future implications that this arguable judgment of the Supreme Court may entail in relation to the international obligations of the State and the domestic enforcement of the decisions adopted by the CEDAW and by other UN treaty bodies analogously.

Penanggulangan Eksploitasi Seksual Komersial Anak (ESKA) Berdasarkan Global - Local Based Approach (Glocalization)

Globalization has negative impacts to various field of human life. The advance of business, tourism industries, technology of information and transportation as well as entertainment has triggered the significant increase of commercial sexual exploitation which involves million of women anf children. The legal issue raised in this manuscript is has crime prevention on commercial sexual exploitation of children (GSEC) in Indonesia, been oriented to global-local based approach (glocalization)? As a normative research, the legal issue raised was analysed through statute and conceptual approach, by using primair, secondary and tertier legal.resourses, which furthermore was analysed descriptively and qualititatively. Based on the research output, it is known that the prevention of CSEC in Indonesia normatively has been adopted global-local based approach. On the global level, Indonesia has ratified a number of relevant convention and optional protocols, as well as built bilateral or multilateral cooperation. While on the local level, CSEC prevention has implemented several relevan laws, predominantly Children Protection Act, Anti Trafficking in Person Act, then complemented with Victim and Witness Protection Act as well.