Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Treaties”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

The impact of the peace treaty on psychological well-being: a follow-up study of Palestinian children.

This research examined the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty and Palestinian children's perception of it on their self-esteem and neuroticism. We also studied the relative importance of earlier exposure to traumatic experiences and psychosocial resources indicated by the children's creativity, intelligence and political activity in influencing their psychological well-being after the peace treaty. The sample used was a follow-up group of 64 Palestinian children of 11-12 years of age, living in the Gaza Strip. The results showed that the level of neuroticism was significantly lower after the peace treaty than before. The children's earlier exposure to traumatic experiences was still significantly related to high neuroticism and low self-esteem after the peace treaty. Acceptance of the treaty and participating in the subsequent festivities mitigated the negative impact of the traumatic experiences on their well-being. Increased neuroticism and decreased self-esteem were found only among children who refused to accept the peace treaty and did not participate in the festivities. Creativity and Intifada activity promoted their post-peace treaty well-being, in terms of psychosocial resources. The more creative the children were, the more their neurotic symptoms decreased because of the treaty and the higher self-esteem they had after it. The more active the children were during the Intifada, the more their self-esteem increased because of the treaty.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2004

Self-enforcing climate-change treaties.

In the absence of world government, an effective treaty to control the emissions of greenhouse gases should be self-enforcing. A self-enforcing treaty has the property that, if a country expects other countries to abide by the treaty, it will be in the self-interest of that country to abide by the treaty too. (A difficulty with the Kyoto Protocol is that it does not appear to lay the groundwork for a self-enforcing treaty). A self-enforcing treaty can be modeled as a Nash equilibrium of a suitably defined dynamic game among a large number of sovereign countries of diverse sizes and economic capabilities. We study such a game and characterize its equilibria (typically there are many) and the global-Pareto-optimal solutions. We identify one of the equilibria, which we call "business as usual," with the current situation. The multiplicity of equilibria provides an opportunity to move from the inefficient business-as-usual equilibrium to one or more equilibria that are Pareto-superior. Using a calibrated model with 184 countries, we give numerical illustrations of business-as-usual and global-Pareto-optimal trajectories and estimate the potential welfare gains from a self-enforcing treaty.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Robustness of conditional moments: an application to premium calculation of reinsurance treaties.

In this study, the tail probability of a class of distributions commonly used in assessing the severity of insurance losses was examined. Without specifying any particular distribution, the use of an algebraic functional form Cx(-alpha) to approximate the tail behavior of the distributions in the class was demonstrated. Norwegian fire insurance data were examined, and the algebraic functional form was applied to derive the expected loss of a reinsurance treaty that covers all losses exceeding a retention limit. It was shown that (1) the expected loss is insensitive to the parameter alpha for a high retention limit (e.g., a catastrophe treaty), and (2) with a low retention limit (e.g., a largest claim treaty), a reliable estimate of the parameter alpha and a sound judgment on the maximum potential loss of the treaty could provide useful and defensible summary statistics for pricing the treaty. Thus, when dealing with the losses of certain reinsurance treaties, it was concluded that knowledge of a specific probability distribution is not critical, and the summary statistics derived from the model are robust with respect to a large class of loss distributions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

The Maastricht Treaty: setting a health care agenda for Europe.

This paper is intended to promote awareness among the European cancer nursing community of recent developments in the European Union's views on health. The paper outlines the background leading to the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty). The main features of the Treaty are identified and Article 129 of the Treaty on the provisions for public health and prevention of disease is discussed. The implications of the Treaty for health care in general and cancer care in particular are addressed.

European Union↗
PubMed1999

PROFILE: Environmental Impact Assessment Under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty.

/ Antarctica has been set aside by the international community for protection as a natural reserve and a place for scientific research. Through the Antarctic Treaty of 1961, the signing nations agreed to cooperate in protecting the antarctic environment, in conducting scientific studies, and in abstaining from the exercise of territorial claims. The 1991 signing of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (Protocol) by representatives of the 26 nations comprising the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties (Parties) significantly strengthened environmental protection measures for the continent. The Protocol required ratification by each of the governments individually prior to official implementation. The US government ratified the Protocol by passage of the Antarctic Science, Tourism, and Conservation Act of 1997. Japan completed the process by ratifying the Protocol on December 15, 1997. US government actions undertaken in Antarctica are subject to the requirements of both the Protocol and the US National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). There are differences in the scope and intent of the Protocol and NEPA; however, both require environmental impact assessment (EIA) as part of the planning process for proposed actions that have the potential for environmental impacts. In this paper we describe the two instruments and highlight key similarities and differences with particular attention to EIA. Through this comparison of the EIA requirements of NEPA and the Protocol, we show how the requirements of each can be used in concert to provide enhanced environmental protection for the antarctic environment. NEPA applies only to actions of the US government; therefore, because NEPA includes certain desirable attributes that have been refined and clarified through numerous court cases, and because the Protocol is just entering implementation internationally, some recommendations are made for strengthening the procedural requirements of the Protocol for activities undertaken by all Parties in Antarctica. The Protocol gives clear and strong guidance for protection of specific, valued antarctic environmental resources including intrinsic wilderness and aesthetic values, and the value of Antarctica as an area for scientific research. That guidance requires a higher standard of environmental protection for Antarctica than is required in other parts of the world. This paper shows that taken together NEPA and the Protocol call for closer examination of proposed actions and a more rigorous consideration of environmental impacts than either would alone. Three areas are identified where the EIA provisions of the Protocol could be strengthened to improve its effectiveness. First, the thresholds defined by the Protocol need to be clarified. Specifically, the meanings of the terms "minor" and "transitory" are not clear in the context of the Protocol. The use of "or" in the phrase "minor or transitory" further confuses the meaning. Second, cumulative impact assessment is called for by the Protocol but is not defined. A clear definition could reduce the chance that cumulative impacts would be given inadequate consideration. Finally, the public has limited opportunities to comment on or influence the preparation of initial or comprehensive environmental evaluations. Experience has shown that public input to environmental documents has a considerable influence on agency decision making and the quality of EIA that agencies perform.KEY WORDS: Environment; Impact assessment; Antarctica; NEPA; Protocol; Antarctic Treatyhttp://link.springer-ny.com/link/service/journals/00267/bibs/24n1p13.html

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

International drug treaties: the connexion between ratification and social and economic conditions.

This study examines social and economic conditions in 152 countries and relates them to ratification of the two major international drug control treaties , the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The findings show that: (i) countries which ratified only the Single Convention had the greatest drug problems; (ii) ratifications were more common among developed countries than developing ones; (iii) ratifications were not more common among larger countries or those having higher expenditures on health and education, but they were more common among older U.N. member countries and those having ratified more non-drug treaties ; (iv) the best predictors of ratifications were a high level of life expectancy, a high degree of economic development and a substantial drug problem. The trend has been for more countries to ratify these treaties over time. However, a shorter-term solution would involve international support for those poorer countries which have not yet ratified them. Technical advice in the form of legal experts and translators is one example of such support.

Developing Countries↗
PubMed2003

Intercontinental transport of air pollution: will emerging science lead to a new hemispheric treaty?

We examine the emergence of InterContinental Transport (ICT) of air pollution on the agendas of the air quality and climate communities and consider the potential for a new treaty on hemispheric air pollution. ICT is the flow of air pollutants from a source continent (e.g., North America) to a receptor continent (e.g., Europe). ICT of air pollutants occurs through two mechanisms: (i) episodic advection and (ii) increasing the global background, which enhances surface concentrations. We outline the current scientific evidence for ICT of aerosols and ozone, both of which contribute to air pollution and radiative forcing. The growing body of scientific evidence for ICT suggests that a hemispheric-scale treaty to reduce air pollutant concentrations may be appropriate to address climate and air quality concerns simultaneously. Such a treaty could pave the way for future climate agreements.

Aerosols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lessons from the unsuccessful 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is probably the most important treaty for the control of nuclear weapons. A Review Conference was held in May 2005 but the member states failed to agree on any decisions or recommendations. Possible causes for this failure reside in the unsupportive geopolitical climate surrounding the conference, design limitations of the Treaty, and the obstructionist actions of particular states. However, valuable contributions were made at the conference by some states and by civil society representatives. Fortunately there are still many ways for states and civil society to make future conferences more successful in eliminating the threat to human security from nuclear weapons.

Consensus Statements as Topic↗
PubMed2005

Why nafta failed and what's needed to protect workers' health and safety in international trade treaties.

Labor standards, including occupational health and safety regulations and enforcement, are being subjected to intense downward pressures as a result of fundamental shifts in the global economy. The 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the first trade treaty that attempted to promote and protect workplace health and safety through a "labor side agreement." NAFTA failed to protect workers' health and safety due to the weaknesses of the side agreement's text; the political and diplomatic considerations limiting its implementation; and the failure to recognize and address the economic context, and political consequences of this context, in which the agreement was implemented. Subsequent trade treaties, both bilateral and regional, have not overcome the weaknesses of NAFTA. The treaty components needed to protect workers' health in future trade agreements are: 1) a minimum floor of occupational health and safety regulations; 2) an "upward harmonization" of regulatory standards and actual practice; 3) inclusion of employers so that they have formal responsibility and liability for violations of the standards; 4) effective enforcement of national regulations and international standards; 5) transparency and public participation; and 6) recognition of disparate economic conditions among trading partners and provision of financial and technical assistance to overcome economic disincentives and lack of resources. Also required are continued actions by non-governmental actors, including the workers themselves and civil society organizations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Medicines and the drug control treaties: is buprenorphine for opioid addiction at risk of being lost?

Over the past century, a worldwide system for the control of drugs with abuse potential has developed through the adoption of a series of international treaties. The important multilateral conventions currently in force are the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961 (Single Convention), the United Nations Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971 (Psychotropic Convention) and the United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988. From the beginning, the aim of these drug control treaties has been to control the abuse and trafficking of substances with abuse potential while assuring that the availability of these drugs for medical and scientific purposes is not unduly restricted. There is activity in the World Health Organization and the International Narcotics Control Board to determine whether the international control of buprenorphine, a partial mu-opioid agonist used as an analgesic and for the treatment of opioid addiction, should be changed from the Psychotropic Convention to the Single Convention. This change would result in the classification and regulation of buprenorphine as a narcotic drug rather than a psychotropic substance. Such a move is unwarranted medically and scientifically and would provoke increased controls on buprenorphine that would fundamentally disrupt the medical practice of pain management and opioid replacement therapy around the world. The negative impact of inappropriate regulatory controls when licensed medicines come under such scrutiny are described.

Analgesics, Opioid↗
PubMed1984

Yields of Soviet underground nuclear explosions from seismic surface waves: Compliance with the Threshold Test Ban Treaty.

Magnitudes of the larger Soviet underground nuclear weapons tests from the start of the Threshold Test Ban Treaty in 1976 through 1982 are determined for short- and long-period seismic waves. Yields are calculated from the surface wave magnitude for those explosions at the eastern Kazakh test site that triggered a small-to-negligible component of tectonic stress and are used to calibrate body wave magnitude-yield relationship that can be used to determine the sizes of other explosions at that test site. The results confirm that a large bias, related to differential attenuation of P waves, exists between Nevada and Central Asia. The yields of the seven largest Soviet explosions are nearly identical and are close to 150 kilotons, the limit set by the Threshold Treaty.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Impacts of international trade, services and investment treaties on alcohol regulation.

There is an underlying incompatibility between government efforts to minimize the harm associated with alcohol, particularly by regulating its supply, and international commercial treaties that promote the freer flow of goods, services and investment. These treaties have already forced changes to many government measures affecting alcohol availability and control, primarily by constraining the activities of government alcohol monopolies and by altering taxation regimes. The North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization agreements open new avenues for challenges against alcohol control measures. Some of these agreements extend beyond trade, border measures and differential taxation and allow challenges that intrude into areas of non-discriminatory domestic regulation affecting market access, intellectual property, investment and services. Effective protection from these agreements for vital public health measures has rarely been obtained, although it is increasingly essential. The WTO "services" agreement, basically unknown to the public, is currently being re-negotiated and poses the gravest new challenge to policies designed to influence patterns of alcohol use and minimize alcohol-related harm. In future, these international agreements will probably affect adversely those alcohol approaches considered to be the most effective or promising. These include: maintaining effective state monopolies, restricting the number and locations of retail outlets, taxing and regulating beverages according to alcohol strength, restricting commercial advertising, and maintaining and enhancing public alcohol education and treatment programs. These effects can, in turn, be expected to increase the availability and access to alcohol, to lower alcohol taxes, and to increase advertising and promotion, resulting in increased alcohol consumption and associated health problems. Until more balanced international rules are developed, the challenge facing alcohol policy researchers is to defend national and local alcohol measures from further erosion. This will require greater coordination with researchers in other affected sectors, intervention with government representatives in health and related areas and the promotion of alternative approaches to current international commercial agreements.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Health protection of workers in the European legislation of the Rome Treaty today].

Occupational hygiene and prevention of occupational accidents and diseases are institutional objectives of the social policy of the European Union as stated in the Treaty establishing the European Community (firstly Treaty of Rome, signed on 25 March 1957). In this report the legislative activity of the European Community aimed at the improvement of the working environment to protect workers' health and safety is considered through its historical development, up to the present situation. The first part of the report briefly describes the Institutions established by the European Community, with specific tasks relating to occupational hygiene and health and safety at work. Then European laws grouped in categories according to their subjects are considered, especially with regard to the development and progress of the legislation, to point out main features and historical trends.

Europe↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Low level noble gas measurements in the field and laboratory in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

Over 300 daily environmental radioxenon samples were analyzed using French developed SPALAX for automatic sample preparation including high-resolution gamma-spectrometry. The 133Xe sensitivity was significantly better than 1 mBq/m3 (specified criterion for Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification). Radioxenon analysis was extended to include the X-ray region by improved detector window, sample cell design, efficiency calibration, line shape fitting and background analysis. The resulting analysis offers a 4-16 fold improvement in sensitivity for 133mXe and 131mXe, respectively.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

The role of science in treaty verification.

Technologically advanced nations are currently applying more science to treaty verification than ever before. Satellites gather a multitude of information relating to proliferation concerns using thermal imaging analysis, nuclear radiation measurements, and optical and radio frequency signals detection. Ground stations gather complementary signals such as seismic events and radioactive emissions. Export controls in many countries attempt to intercept materials and technical means that could be used for nuclear proliferation. Nevertheless, we have witnessed a plethora of nuclear proliferation episodes, that were undetected (or were belatedly detected) by these technologies--the Indian nuclear tests in 1998, the Libyan nuclear buildup, the Iranian enrichment program and the North Korea nuclear weapons program are some prime examples. In this talk, we will discuss some of the technologies used for proliferation detection. In particular, we will note some of the issues relating to nuclear materials control agreements that epitomize political difficulties as they impact the implementation of science and technology.

International Cooperation↗
PubMed2004

Automated radioxenon monitoring for the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty in two distinctive locations: Ottawa and Tahiti.

In preparation for verification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty, automated radioxenon monitoring is performed in two distinctive environments: Ottawa and Tahiti. These sites are monitored with SPALAX (Systeme de Prelevement d'air Automatique en Ligne avec l'Analyse des radioXenons) technology, which automatically extracts radioxenon from the atmosphere and measures the activity concentrations of (131m,133m,133,135)Xe. The resulting isotopic concentrations can be useful to discern nuclear explosions from nuclear industry xenon emissions. Ambient radon background, which may adversely impact analyser sensitivity, is discussed. Upper concentration limits are reported for the apparently radioxenon free Tahiti environment. Ottawa has a complex radioxenon background due to proximity to nuclear reactors and medical isotope facilities. Meteorological models suggest that, depending on the wind direction, the radioxenon detected in Ottawa can be characteristic of the normal radioxenon background in the Eastern United States, Europe, and Japan or distinctive due to medical isotope production.

Air Movements↗
PubMed2002

Detection and analysis of xenon isotopes for the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty international monitoring system.

The use of the xenon isotopes for detection of nuclear explosions is of great interest for monitoring compliance with the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT). Recently, the automated radioxenon sampler-analyzer (ARSA) was tested at the Institute for Atmospheric Radioactivity (IAR) in Freiburg, Germany to ascertain its use for the CTBT by comparing its results to laboratory-based analyses, determining its detection sensitivity and analyzing its results in light of historical xenon isotope levels and known reactor operations in the area. Xe-133 was detected nearly every day throughout the test at activity concentrations ranging between approximately 0.1 mBq/m3 to as high as 120 mBq/m3. Xe-133m and 135Xe were also detected occasionally during the test at concentrations of less than 1 to a few mBq/m3.

Environmental Monitoring↗
PubMed2005

Trade treaties and alcohol advertising policy.

Restrictions on alcohol advertising are vulnerable to challenge under international trade agreements. As countries negotiate new trade treaties and expand the scope of existing ones, the risk of such a challenge increases. While alcohol advertising restrictions normally do not distinguish between foreign and domestic products, this neutral character does not protect them from being challenged under trade rules. The article analyzes four provisions of trade agreements--expropriation, de facto discrimination, market access, and necessity--in relation to the jeopardy they pose for alcohol advertising restrictions. Key cases are reviewed to illustrate how these provisions have been used to either overturn existing advertising restrictions or prevent new ones from coming into force. The article also reports on the mixed results governments have had in trying to justify their regulations to trade panels and the stringent criteria imposed for proving that a regulation is "necessary."

Advertising↗