2014 IGU Regional Conference held in Krakow,Poland

The 2014 Regional Conference of the International Geographical Union（IGU）was held on August 18-22 in Krakow,Poland.The total number of participants was 1374 from 64 countries and regions,including 357 from Poland.Germany,Japan,Czech,UK,China,Russia,USA,France and Hungary are the top countries of attendees in this conference.     

全面禁止核试验条约组织(CTBTO)筹备委员会核查工作组(B组)会议相关的技术名词解释

参与全面禁止核试验条约组织（CTBTO）筹备委员会核查工作组（B组）会议,以及相关的技术交流活动、核查系统建设等工作,涉及到较为复杂的技术系统和专业技术。为便于从事相关管理和技术工作的专家参考,本文系统地编译了相关技术名词,以供参考。     

Research into fisheries equity and fairness—addressing conservation burden concerns in transboundary fisheries

Conservation and management of transboundary fisheries must account for diverse national interests while adopting compromises necessary to develop and implement robust conservation and management measures. The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement requires states to ensure that conservation and management measures for straddling and highly migratory fisheries do not transfer a disproportionate burden of conservation action onto developing states. However, fulfilling this obligation in transboundary fisheries is undermined by the lack of agreed transparent frameworks for assessing the impact of alternative conservation and management measures, and distributive decision making processes for adopting measures that meet scientific and equity obligations. A new informal and multi-disciplinary research partnership, the Fisheries Equity Research Network, has been established to encourage international research into the equitable distribution of conservation limits in trans-boundary oceanic fisheries. The Fisheries Equity Research Network will research transparent and equitable rules and frameworks for assessing and distributing conservation burdens in transboundary fisheries.     

Liner shipping and information exchange—a European perspective

The European Commission (EC) is currently reviewing Council Regulation 4056/86, which includes the proposal by the European Liner Affairs Association (ELAA) to put in place a regulatory instrument for an information exchange system. The White Paper of the EC, issued in 2004, which provides a comprehensive discussion of the key issues including the ELAA proposal, is examined. The implications of the removal of Regulation 4056/86 and the application of this information exchange instrument in its place are studied. Arising from the protection afforded by antitrust immunity for nearly 100 years owners appear to have developed a fear of the unknown regarding an unregulated environment.     

The creation and conduct of the Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification

As in other Latin American nations, Guatemala established a truth commission as a part of a negotiated transition from war to peace. The establishment of a particular truth commission arises out of the unique circumstances of that nation’s conflict and its negotiated resolution. As with other examples of truth commissions, the Guatemalan experience demonstrates the dilemmas of answering the demands for accountability, within the precarious context of a negotiated transition. Once established, a truth commission is subjected to the struggles within sectors of society striving to control the truth commission, and make it respond to certain interests. These struggles influence the practices, powers, and potential of the truth commissions.This article analyses the context in which the Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification emerged, the conditions in which it operated, and the potential consequences of the truth-seeking process. I argue that the Guatemalan truth commission became a site of struggle in which battles concerning impunity versus accountability occurred. This article first traces the phenomenon of truth commissions in Latin America, and locates the Guatemalan case within this regional context. Next, the negotiations that led to the formation of the truth commission are examined, in order to highlight the particular powers and interests at stake. Finally, I describe the operations of the Guatemalan truth commission in practice (1997-1999), and discuss the ways in which the commission developed a life of its own, despite the politics of its birth.