THE ICLTD REPORTER

The ICLTD is proud to be co-sponsoring with the New York County Lawyers’ Association this unique research internship program for law students that focuses on the laws of war and the relationship between developing international legal norms and American foreign policy. Six students, Michele Ameri, from New York University School of Law, Karin Bohrer and David Levenson, both from St. John’s University School of Law, Vincent Pullo, and Jamian Spadavecchia, both from Brooklyn Law School, and Brent Crossrow, a law student at the University of Pittsburgh Law School and an MALD candidate at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, are participating.

We look forward to contributions from these individuals in these pages concerning cutting edge issues in the ever developing area of public international law as well as their participation in the ICLTD’s other projects and those projects of the Committee on Foreign and International Law of the New York County Lawyers’ Association.

Guest lecturers who have participated in the program to date are Ian Anderson and Mark von Sternberg, directors of the ICLTD, and Donna Axel of the International Women’s Caucus. We also look forward to the participation of Professor Stephen Ellman of New York Law School, and Professor Yassin El-Ayouty of Cardozo Law School.

Finally, the ICLTD would like to continue the internship program into the academic year as the Global Reach Program on Law and Foreign Policy. The Global Reach Program will be comprised of a series of discussion groups focusing on contemporary issues concerning the relationship between law and foreign policy and will be open to the general public as well as students of law and international affairs. Through this program, the ICLTD expects to enhance the resources available to Summer interns interested in pursuing their projects into the academic year and/or participating in related research programs.

In April, 1997 Ian Anderson and I met with Evelyn Kalibala, Director of Multicultural Education of the New York City Board of Education to discuss implementing the ICLTD’s foreign policy program for public high school students concerning the sub-Saharan region of Africa. The meeting went well and was followed by several meetings with Luis Espinosa, a staff development specialist at the Board of Education. A Profile of the Program was presented to Ms. Kalibala in early June, 1998 which was very well received. The result is that the ICLTD has been given the green light to contact certain schools which may be interested in hosting the program. The ICLTD plans that the Africa Outreach Program will be implemented sometime in January-February, 1999.

In related developments, in April, 1998, Mr. Anderson, Fran Arricale and I met with Congressman Charles Rangel, one of the key sponsors of the African Growth and Opportunity Act bill that was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this past year, to discuss the ICLTD’s Africa Outreach Program and to discuss with Mr. Rangel the goal of the organization to develop grass roots, community-based world affairs programs. Congressman Rangel was very supportive of the ICLTD and graciously offered to participate in ICLTD programs concerning Africa and the Caribbean region. Ms. Arricale was instrumental in arranging our meeting with Congressman Rangel and has offered substantial advice regarding the organization’s approach to the education community.

At the present time, the principal task of the ICLTD is to locate and develop materials on sub-Saharan Africa that can be used in the Africa Outreach Program. Finally, if any reader wants to receive the Africa Reach Newsletter, which follows the development of this project, please contact the ICLTD Office at the address and number noted above.

The GRISIRA project expects to serve as an important introductory information source for small businesses interested in international trade. The project which has been spearheaded by Advisory Council Member, Alex Angelchik will work through the ICLTD web site to provide businesses low cost information on a wide-array of variables that could help them assess emerging market risks. The ICLTD hopes that GRISIRA will become the basis for a subscription service that will provide a source of income for the organization, and an additional source of projects for members of the public interested in the area of international risk assessment. If anyone is interested in assisting with the development of the ICLTD’s GRISIRA data base and/or with organizing events concerning international risk assessment, please contact Robert Goodman or Alex Angelchick c/o the ICLTD. In terms of expertise, the ICLTD is looking for volunteers with backgrounds in statistics, economics and/or areas studies.

The Canadian Studies Series

Advisory Council member Louise Valiquette is assisting the ICLTD in developing a series of integrated programs on Canadian trade and foreign policy. A blue print for this project has been developed but needs additional revision. Relevant Canadian organizations also need to be contacted to gauge their interest in co-sponsoring the initiative.