International Progress Organization

The IPO has members in more than 70 countries on all continents and organizes conferences and expert meetings on issues of conflict resolution, civilizational dialogue, international law, and United Nations reform.

The president of the IPO is Dr. Hans Köchler, the Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Since 1974 the IPO has organized a series of lectures and conferences on the cultural dimension of international affairs (Amman 1974; Innsbruck 1974; Vienna 1979; Rome 1981; Nicosia 1984); these activities preceded the current global discourse on the dialogue of civilizations in which the I.P.O.

In 1987 the IPO initiated (in co-operation with Nobel Laureate Seán MacBride) the Lawyers' Appeal Against Nuclear War which led to a worldwide civil society campaign for a resolution by the UN General Assembly calling for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the question of the legality of nuclear arms.

In addition to the organization of lectures and international conferences, the IPO has undertaken (since 1980) monitoring missions in the fields of human rights and the rule of law.