I know that most if not all ICOM International Committees will be busy
planning their 2004 annual meeting in Seoul. However, I thought that since
Committees will be deciding during that meeting their future programmes for
the following triennial period they would be interested to know that
serious difficulties are being reported by many international organisations
over meetings in the United States because of the current emergency
"Homeland Security" measures that have been put in place as part of the
USA's defences against international terrorism.
ICOM has always had warm cooperation with the governments and other
official bodies of countries where it or its constituent International
Committees plan to meet, including the United States. I don't recall any
significant problem about ICOM members attending meetings since the then
USSR authorities objected at first to the granting of visas to the ICOM
Israel delegation to ICOM 1977 in Leningrad and Moscow (since Israeli
passports were not recognised at that time by the Soviet Union) - though
happily, following strong representations from the ICOM headquarters and
ICOM USSR, visas were issued to all in good time.
However, the International Council for Science - the leading world body for
scientific and academic cooperation - which represents 75 national
academies and 27 international scientific unions covering almost every area
of science, social sciences and humanities research - has recently
considered the rapidly growing number of cases of problems with
international meetings held in the United States. The ICS reports that
there have had serious problems because many invited participants have
either been refused visas to visit the USA for meetings, even after the
personal attendance at a USA Embassy or Mission abroad (which is now
required in all cases: postal or agency applications are no longer
accepted), or where there have delays of several months before a decision
on a visa application has been made.
Recent examples of meetings significant numbers of those invited failing to
get visas have included several major international academic and
professional conferences, and even a World Bank expert meeting. It is also
reported that an official United States Government conference on
Afghanistan reconstruction virtually collapsed because not one of the
Afghan experts officially invited by the United States were granted visas
by the Kabul Consulate.
It seems that because of current security concerns, at the moment very few,
if any, visas for scientific or professional meetings, or for study in the
USA, are being issued to the nationals of around 40 countries, including
China, Russia, other former USSR countries, the Middle East, and some
African countries.
As a consequence the International Council for Science has now called on
all its member bodies and their constituent organisations to hold their
conferences outside the United States for the time being.
While ICOM Committees will, I am sure, want to avoid such drastic action,
it seems to me that they will want to be assured well in advance that every
Committee member wishing to attend will be granted a visa, where this is
required, even in these difficult times in terms of international and
national security concerns. I have no doubt that prospective local
organisers of meetings in the USA, and where necessary the AAM-ICOM
Secretariat, will be able to advise, and where necessary negotiate the
necessary assurances, as ICOM was able to do with the Soviet Government in
respect of ICOM Israel members in 1977.
Also, members in countries where visas are required for USA entry and who
are hoping to attend ICOM meetings in the USA should be advised to apply
for their visa around six months in advance of the meeting.
Patrick Boylan
Chairperson, ICOM - ICTOP (Training of Personnel)
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