The International (States) Parliament for Safety and Peace (IPSP or ISPSP; Italian: Parlamento Mondiale (degli Stati) per la Sicurezza e la Pace), sometimes written along with the designation New Society of Nations, is a private organization based in Palermo, Italy, whose stated intention is the promotion of security and peace. Its founder and president was Palermo-native Vittorio Maria Busa (1941–2013), self-styled as Viktor Ivan Busà, who also claimed the titles of metropolitan and archbishop of Białystok, president of the Republic of Danzig and the Democratic Republic of Belarus, and Grand Khan of Tartary and Mongolia.
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International relations and personal associations
The International Parliament for Safety and Peace claims recognition under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (1963). It had an observer in attendance at the 13th meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Abeba in 1992. IPSP joined the United Nations Global Compact campaign in 2010 as a global non-governmental organization with 1400 employees, but was delisted the next year for a "failure to comply with Integrity Measures". In 2015, Atef Tarawneh, the Speaker of the Parliament of Jordan received representatives of the Parliament for Safety and Peace for a meeting and signed an agreement.
IPSP claims association with many dignitaries in senator, deputy, and executive positions in its global, regional or local chapters. Columnist Steve Blow of The Dallas Morning News has referred to such positions as bodacious credentials. Columnist Bernard Levin of The Times wrote in 1994 that one could join the Parliament for just $140. IPSP reportedly awards titles of nobility and hands out medals for artistic merit and the pursuit of peace. Among the "senators for life" are president of the Gambia Yahya Jammeh, African-American entrepreneur Charles Steele, Jr., and Kochin-Indian vocalist K. J. Yesudas. President of Gabon Omar Bongo was a "senator for life" and "Grand Chancellor" of the organization. He won the IPSP peace trophy of 2006, handed out in 2007. The President of Equatorial Guinea since 1979, Obiang Nguema, received a "Gold Medal for the Liberties of Peoples" from the IPSP in 2003. Nguema is also listed as the organization's vice-president.
In 2010 IPSP drew international media attention after it secured Kentucky Colonel (2008) and Nebraska Admiral (2010) awards for Yahya Jammeh. IPSP representatives also gave Jammeh two awards and a letter from Barack Obama that were later described as inauthentic or non-existent. Jammeh also received "Russian" and "German" honorary degrees from members of the IPSP.
The organization issues its own diplomatic passports. The Council of the European Union, the authorities of Portugal and the Isle of Man, and various news sources have described these as fantasy documents.
Recognition of unaccredited institutions
Several unaccredited institutions of higher education operating inside and outside the United States state that they are accredited or recognized by the International Parliament for Safety and Peace. The IPSP is not recognized as an accreditor by the United States Department of Education (USDE) or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Without recognition of the "accreditation agency" by USDE and CHEA or an entity in the country where the accreditor is located, such accreditations are "bogus" to the academic community. The IPSP websites state that in the future the IPSP will only recognize institutions that are "regularly registered and approved by the Ministry of Education in their State of origin".
Among the institutions claiming accreditation or other recognition from IPSP are the Alternative Medicines Research Institute, Akamai University, European-American University, Institute of Energy Wellness Studies, "Newport University CED", Rutherford University, West Coast University, Weston Reserve University, and World Information Distributed University. IPSP is also identified as having recognized and accredited the World Organization of Natural Medicine, which awards the title Doctor of Natural Medicine (DNM).
Rutherford University was identified as a degree mill by the Oregon Office of Degree Authorization and moved its headquarters twice, after academic operations were forbidden in British Columbia and Wyoming. It was closed after operations from Swaziland attracted international media attention. The late IPSP leader, Viktor Ivan Busà, was listed with a PhD degree as a special advisor to Rutherford University México. He was also listed as the recipient of a 2007 PhD degree in Political Science from the International University of Fundamental Studies, which also claims its accreditation from the IPSP. The International University of Fundamental Studies was apparently associated with the diploma mill Saint Regis University.
Peace Trophy
The following persons were identified as recipients of an IPSP Peace Trophy: