Canadian Leadership in the Circumpolar World: An Agenda for the Arctic Council Chairmanship 2013-2015
Abstract: The Arctic is a region of increasing global interest. Canadian interests in the region-economic, political, social, and environmental-would benefit from the development of an effective governance framework for the Arctic in terms of providing for stable, predictable, and sustainable use of the area's resources in a manner that benefits northern inhabitants. Canada has an opportunity to influence the Arctic policy agenda and promote Canada's interests as in 2013 it assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, the high-level intergovernmental forum that discusses common circumpolar policy. This article outlines the issue areas most likely to benefit from regional co-operation, and which Canada should promote in the lead up to and during its chairmanship: Search and rescue, fisheries management, shipping regulations, and a regional seas agreement. The article argues that Canada should lead governance reform in the Arctic both because it is in Canada's interests to do so, and because Canada is uniquely placed to do so within the Circumpolar World.
International Dispute Settlement: The Law of the Sea Convention
The methods of settlement considered so far can be used in all types of disputes and are available to all states. Alongside these general methods are to be found specialised procedures created by particular groups of states for the resolution of disputes in a specific subject area. The machinery available for the settlement of disputes in special fields has been extensively considered elsewhere and will not be described again here. However, to convey an idea of the problems involved in constructing such machinery, and the way in which accepted methods can be adapted and combined to provide solutions, the next chapter examines some recent developments in the area of international trade law, while this chapter provides an outline and review of the arrangements for dispute settlement to be found in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. The Convention and its system The 1982 Convention contains 307 articles and eleven annexes and was eight years in negotiation. With an instrument of such length and complexity, dealing with matters in which virtually all states have an interest of some kind, certain issues naturally proved more difficult than others. Not surprisingly, dispute settlement was one of the most contentious issues and the provisions which now comprise Part XV of the Convention went through several versions before the text was finally agreed. The Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) held its first substantive session at Caracas in 1974 and decided that the issue of dispute settlement should be dealt with by each Main Committee to the extent that the matter was relevant to its work.
Cambodian refugee health care beliefs and practices.
Since 1975, when refugees from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia first began coming to the United States, many articles have been written about Southeast Asian or Indochinese refugees and health care. A careful review of the literature shows that most of these articles have one thing in common: they are written primarily about Vietnamese and do not address the unique health care beliefs and practices of Lao or Cambodian refugees.1 Although some beliefs and practices are common to most Southeast Asians, many are not. Understanding at least that differences exist, and hopefully what some specific differences are, will allow nurses and others to give better care to the various people commonly grouped together as Southeast Asians. This article will introduce readers to some Cambodian beliefs and practices related to health care. Of the principle refugee groups admitted to the U.S. since 1975, the Cambodians are presenting the greatest challenges to health care providers. Cambodians are usually poorly understood by Americans, their health status statistics are hidden among the broad category of "Asian-Pacific Islanders" or "Indochinese Refugees," and cultural and institutional barriers combine to make access to care an overwhelming problem. The end results, of course, are more problems and more expense for the Cambodians, increased stress placed on an already terribly overstressed people, and ultimately greater demands and expense placed on the health care system. One of the most common misunderstandings about Cambodians is that they (and Lao) are basically the same as the Vietnamese. "They speak the same dialect don't they?" There are some similarities, but there are also very significant differences.