The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine agreed on Sunday on an Oct. 31 movement plan for 16 vessels that are in Turkish waters, a day after Russia suspended its participation to the Black Sea grain initiative that allowed food exports from Ukrainian ports. (Reuters/Hindu)
Russia has suspended its participation in the inspection of cargo ships carrying Ukrainian grain, the Joint Coordination Centre, the body overseeing the deal, said late Sunday. (AFP/Barron’s)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had repelled a “fierce offensive” by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region. (Reuters/US News)
President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister on Sunday needled Joe Biden over Ukraine, saying that he hoped the U.S. President had the wisdom to deal with a global confrontation similar to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. (Reuters/National Post)
BRAZIL
Brazilian president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for “peace and unity” after narrowly winning a divisive runoff election Sunday, capping a remarkable political comeback by defeating far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro — who has yet to accept defeat. (AFP/Manila Times)
Leaders from the United States, France and other western and regional nations quickly offered congratulations Sunday to Brazil’s president-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after his narrow victory was announced. (AFP/Barron’s)
EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA
ARMÉNIE-AZERBAÏDJAN: Le président russe Vladimir Poutine doit recevoir lundi les dirigeants de l’Arménie et de l’Azerbaïdjan pour des pourparlers, après de violents affrontements armés à la frontière entre ces deux pays du Caucase en septembre, qui ont fait 286 morts. (AFP/La Presse)
MIDDLE EAST AND NORTHERN AFRICA
IRAN:
Iranian protesters rallied again Sunday, defying an order by the powerful Revolutionary Guards to stop the demonstrations — now in their seventh week — sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini. (AFP/Jordan Times)
Germany and the European Union are examining whether to classify Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday. (Reuters/US News)
AFRICA
AU-DRC: African Union officials on Sunday appealed for an end to the growing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a day after rebels made further progress there and Kinshasa expelled Rwanda’s ambassador. (AFP/Barron’s)
SOMALIA: The United Nations and United States on Sunday separately condemned attacks in Somalia’s capital which killed at least 100 people and injured hundreds more. (AFP/Jamaica Observer)
ASIA/PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA: Hackers have targeted a communications platform used by Australian military personnel and defence staff with a ransomware attack, authorities said on Monday, as the country battles a recent spike in cyberattacks across businesses. (Reuters/US News)
AUSTRALIA-USA: The United States is preparing to deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to northern Australia, a provocative move experts say is aimed squarely at China. (ABC)
INDIA: At least 141 people died when a pedestrian suspension bridge collapsed in India’s western state of Gujarat. (BBC)
NEW ZEALAND-IRAN: The New Zealand government said on Monday it has suspended its official bilateral human rights dialogue with Iran, saying bilateral approaches were “no longer tenable” with basic human rights being denied in the country. (Reuters/Swissinfo)
PAKISTAN: A female journalist was crushed to death Sunday in Pakistan while covering a political march led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, a senior police officer said. (AP)
PHILIPPINE authorities have recorded 98 deaths from Tropical Storm Nalgae, with 63 people missing and 69 others injured, the disaster agency said in a bulletin on Monday. (Reuters/US News)
SOUTH KOREA-USA: The United States and South Korea began one of their largest combined military air drills on Monday, with hundreds of warplanes from both sides staging mock attacks 24 hours a day for the better part of a week. (Reuters)
AMERICAS
HAITI: A Haitian journalist was killed Sunday in Port-au-Prince after being hit in the head by a teargas canister while protesting for his colleague’s release from police custody, a medical source told AFP. (AFP/Barron’s)
USA-CHINA: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a call on Sunday and discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement. (Reuters/US News)
GLOBAL ISSUES
CLIMATE CHANGE: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said on Sunday she will skip next month’s COP27 talks in Egypt, slamming the global summit as a forum for “greenwashing”. (AFP/France 24)
COVID-19: Cases in mainland China hit 2,898 on Sunday, topping 2,000 for a second straight day and pressuring the country’s controversial zero-COVID policy, which has hamstrung the economy and exasperated its citizens. (Reuters/Swissinfo)
MIGRATION: De nombreuses opérations de sauvetage en mer ont eu lieu ces samedi 29 et dimanche 30 octobre 2022 dans la Manche. 224 migrants qui tentaient de rejoindre l’Angleterre ont notamment été secourus et ramenés vers les côtes françaises. (AFP/Ouest France)
From 18-20 October The Hague Conference on International Private Law the Asia Pacific Week was hosted by The Philippines at its capital Manila. The successful conference was jointly by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Supreme Court of the Philippines and the University of the Philippines College of Law.
This year’s theme: “Enabling cross-border cooperation n the region and beyond”. The main goal of HCCH, established in 1893, is the unification of the rules of private international law, adopting conventions and instruments concerning three main areas: International Family and Child Protection Law, Transnational Litigation and Cooperation and International Commercial, Digital and Financial Law.
With a globalizing world its obvious that the HCCH is of great significance. The hosting country became a State Party in 2010 and is fully committed to JCCH and its Conventions on its mandate to facilitate cross-border legal cooperation as both the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo stated. Prior to the conference the Convention of 23 November 2007 on the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family Maintenance (2007 Child Support Convention) entered into force for the Republic of the Philippines following the deposit of its instrument of ratification on 22 June 2022.
Signing of a Cooperation Agreement between HCCH and the University of Philippines – College of Law, the latter represented by Dean Carlos Vistan and HCCH by its Secretary-General Dr. Christoph Barnasconi.
The lecturers at the conference were all international legal heavyweights from countries such as Australia, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United States and Vietnam and of course the Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) Dr Christophe Bernasconi, was at the conference. The ambassador of The Philippines to The Netherlands H.E. Mr. Jose Eduardo Malaya, who’s been the leading figure to realize the HCCH Asia Pacific Week in Manila is himself a lawyer, current vice-president of the Philippine Society of International Law (PSIL) and a member Executive Council of the Asian Society of International Law (AsianSIL), took an acting part himself in the conference by providing remarks titled: “On accession to and Implementation of HCCH Conventions: The Philipine Experience”.
H.E. Mr. Eduardo J Malaya, Ambassador of the Philippines.
Ambassador Malaya noted that: “In the course of the Asia Pacific Week, prominent HCCH Conventions and instruments, as well as normative projects and future work, will be taken up. These will include the five Conventions where the Philippines is a Contracting Party as well as others which the country may consider accession in the future. In our view, accession to two can be prioritized, namely the Evidence Convention and the Child Protection Convention.
The Evidence Convention provides effective means for the taking of evidence in cross-border circumstances in civil or commercial matters. By enabling a variety of mechanisms for the taking of evidence abroad, it provides an effective solution to overcoming differences between civil and common law systems in the taking of evidence. Its streamlined process of taking evidence is frequently used in practice in numerous countries and play a fundamental role in effective cross border litigation. It also reduces party litigants’ expenses and help address court delays. It already covers 60 countries, including the U.S., most EU countries, China, Singapore and most recently, Vietnam. In the case of the Philippines, it will complement the hearing via videoconferencing instituted by the Supreme Court in 2021.
From left to right: Vice Dean Solomon Lumba, Dean Carlos Vistan, Dr Christophe Bernasconi, and Ambassador Malaya.
The Convention on parental responsibility and protection of children covers civil measures of protection ranging from parental responsibility, child custody and access, to measures of protection or care, and protection of children’s property. The Convention determines which country’s laws are to be applied, and provides for the recognition and enforcement of measures taken in one Contracting State in all other Contracting States.
The cooperation provisions of the Convention already provide the basic framework for the exchange of information and the necessary degree of collaboration between administrative authorities in 53 Contracting States. It will complement the Adoption and Child Abduction Conventions where the Philippines is a Contracting Party, thus underscoring further the country’s commitment to children’s welfare and elevate the country as fully supportive of the emerging international regime of child protection”.
Ambassador Malaya also urged the Philippines legal community to: “take a good look at another groundbreaking initiative of the HCCH – the Choice of Law Principles. These principles promote party autonomy in international commercial contracts. By acknowledging that parties to a contract are best positioned to determine the set of legal norms governing their transactions, the Principles offer legal certainty and predictability necessary for effective cross-border trade and commerce. Rather than a country acceding to the principles, arbitration institutions around the world are encouraged to incorporate or adopt it into their own institutional rules”. Furthermore, he stated that: “in the case of the Philippines, arbitration has long been recognized as one of the most effective mechanisms in resolving disputes. Since the passage of the Arbitration Law in 1953, the field of arbitration and proliferation of arbitral institutions have grown exponentially over the years. I urge Filipino arbitrators to join in the discussion, and consider the Choice of Law Principles and its potential in dispute resolution”.
The HCCH Asia Pacific week was attended by over 450 (international) participants representing government and judicial authorities, academic institutions, civil society and the private sector and concluded by a signing of a Cooperation Agreement between HCCH and University of Philippines – College of Law, the latter represented by Dean Carlos Vistan and HCCH by its secretary-general Dr Christophe Bernasconi.
KHPG (24.102.2022) –https://bit.ly/3soAxEg– Ukrainian human rights NGOs have issued an appeal to President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling on him to veto a bill which claims to comply with the European Court of Human Rights, but which does nothing of the sort. The situation is especially frustrating as real compliance might finally provide the only chance of justice for the many life prisoners in Ukraine who may well be imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.
On 18 October, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted two draft bills: No. 4048 ‘On amendments to some legislative acts regarding implementation of European Court of Human Rights [ECHR] judgements’ and No. 4049 ‘On amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences; the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code regarding implementation of ECHR judgements’. The proposed amendment to the Criminal Code would allow the imposition of less severe sentences and early release on probation in the case of people sentenced to life imprisonment.
This should have been a positive move since Ukraine’s life sentences really are for life, with no possibility of release, nor of judicial review (except in the case of new evidence). The European Court of Human Rights issued its first judgement on this situation back on 12 March 2019 in the case of Petukhov v. Ukraine. The Court held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 3 (the prohibition of torture) specifically with respect to life sentences, like that in the case of Volodymyr Petukhov, where there was no chance of any reduction to the sentence. The judgement stated clear that there needed to be a reform of the system of review of life sentences. Although there could well be situations where a prisoner was, for example, deemed too dangerous to ever be released, life prisoners must know what they can do in order to have at least some hope of eventual release. There have been several analogous judgements since then.
On 17 September 2021, Ukraine’s Constitutional Court found that the situation where life prisoners were deprived of any chance of release was unconstitutional. The Court’s judgement obliged Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada to bring two articles of the Criminal Code into keeping with its judgement. The two bills adopted on 18 October 2022 were supposed to rectify this situation. The human rights NGOs’ appeal, however, points out that, instead of removing the violation, the bills actually create grounds for yet more applications from life prisoners to international courts.
No. 4049 envisages changing a life sentence to a sentence of 15 to 20 years where a person has already served no less than 15 years’ imprisonment. Since no part of the sentences would be concurrent, this would mean that a life prisoner’s sentence would be changed, but he would still have to serve a minimum of 30 years’ imprisonment. Since some life prisoners have already served considerably more than 15 years (even more than 25), the charges of them ever being released, would be remote. The authors of the appeal note that this norm clearly discriminates against those who have already served much more than the requisite 15 years envisaged by the new bill.
In fact, the human rights groups believe that the very need to serve more than 30 years already places the entire mechanism allowing for release of life prisoners in question. Given the inadequate conditions in Ukrainian penitentiary institutions and the failure to provide prisoners with proper medical care, life prisoners would be unlikely to survive so long in confinement. They would thus still be deprived of any realistic chance of release.
ECHR has, in fact, already addressed the question of what would be a reasonable amount of time after which a person could at least have the chance of release. In Ihe case of Bancsók and László Magyar (no.2) v. Hungary, a term of imprisonment of 25 years was proposed.
The human rights groups (the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, and others) are therefore calling on President Volodymyr Zelensky to veto No. 4049 and to send it back for revision.
Since the European Court of Human Rights’ position does not depend on whether a person was guilty of the charges which led to the life sentence, the appeal is concerned only with the above flaws. It should, however, be noted that an extra issue in Ukraine is that human rights NGOs have identified a large number of cases where there seem legitimate grounds for doubting that the person serving a life sentence is, in fact, guilty. There are also many cases where one person was sentenced to life, while another received a 15-year sentence, although the crimes were comparable.
Until the new Criminal Procedure Code came into force in 2012, there were no mechanisms for ensuring that a person could not be convicted and sentenced, even to life, on the basis of ‘confessions’, tortured out of a person, of testimony given without a lawyer being present, etc. Under the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine’s Supreme Court was stripped of a number of powers, including its right to review criminal cases under extraordinary procedure. Such procedure had enabled review of a conviction in cases where there had been violations of material or procedural law, for example, where evidence had been fabricated or falsified.
There remains no mechanism for rectifying miscarriages of justice, however glaring. Campaigns to obtain a judicial review or at least pardon in the cases of, for example, Volodymyr Panasenko; Yaroslav Mysiak; Maxim Orlov; Mykola Slyvotsky and others have remained unsuccessful. Some prisoners, like Oleksandr Rafalsky died in prison. His mother, Tamara Rafalska, has continued to campaign not only for justice for her son, but for those of other life prisoners deprived of the right to a fair trial. It was she who, on 27 May 2021, received a poignant victory when ECHR found that Ukraine had violated her son’s rights through the use of police torture and the failure to properly investigate this.
Volodymyr Panasenko
If the President does not veto No. 4049, 62-year-old Volodymyr Panasenko, who has already spent over 15 years imprisoned, would face a further 15-year sentence for a crime nobody has ever believed that he committed.
As well as human rights NGOs, several prominent public figures, including the first Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and first Human Rights Ombudsperson, Nina Karpachova have pointed to the evident miscarriage of justice.
On 26 October 2006, a car bomb, planted under a car belonging to Lviv City Councillor and owner of the Shuvar market, Roman Fedyshyn left him unharmed but killed 14-year-old Marika Kutsinda who was walking past when the bomb exploded.
A month after the blast, the police had caught one person suspected of carrying out the attack, and declared another person wanted (he was arrested in 2013), as well as Oleksandr Rudy, who was suspected of being the go-between between the perpetrators and the person who had commissioned the crime.
Rudy was arrested while under treatment for alcoholism in a psychiatric clinic and signed four different ‘confessions’. He first asserted that the blast had been ordered by Fedyshyn himself to improve his political rating. When the investigator Roman Sharko told him that such a confession would not do, he named Myroslav Bokalo, the administrator of the market. This was also deemed wrong, so Rudy then asserted that the crime had been ordered by two men – Bokalo and Panasenko. The latter had created the company behind the Shuvar market together with Fedyshyn. A fourth ‘confession’ mentioned only Panasenko.
Rudy retracted his words in court, stating at both first trial, and then appeal level. that Panasenko had nothing to do with the crime and that it had been commissioned by somebody else. He later also wrote a statement saying that he had given false testimony against Panasenko under pressure from the investigator. The pressure, he specified, consisted of threats that he would get life himself if he didn’t provide the testimony and beatings.
This was ignored by the court, under presiding judge Stanislav Holubytsky, as were other falsifications in the case. Panasenko’s lawyer Natalya Krisman is convinced that everything was done to put Panasenko away for life. She says that neither the investigators nor the court really tried to conceal their certainty that Panasenko was innocent. It was simply that the other candidates had power and could not be touched.
Volodymyr Panasenko remains imprisoned. Despite the European Court of Human Rights’ judgement, on 15 February 2021. The Grand Chamber of Ukraine’s Supreme Court refused to initiate proceedings into Panasenko’s appeal against his life sentence. Stanislav Holubytsky became a Supreme Court judge, with this despite a negative assessment from the Public Integrity Council which cited his role in the trial of Panasenko. Roman Sharko, who played a direct role in falsifying evidence was appointed to a managerial post in the Prosecutor General’s Office, responsible for overseeing ‘adherence to the law within the National Police’.
Pakistani art at the residence of the Ambassador of Pakistan
The Hague, on 14th October 2022, H.E. Mr. Suljuk Mustansar Tarar, Ambassador of Pakistan in cooperation with The Arts Society The Hague, hosted a special event at Pakistan House, the residence of the Ambassador.
Ms. Fatima Hadia Tanweer -MC, welcomed the guests and introduced the speaker Ambassador Suljuk Mustansar Tarar and the Chairman of The Arts Society The Hague, Mr. Andrea Perugini (former Italian Ambassador in the Netherlands).
Pakistani Residence andThe Arts Society The Hague
The event consisted of a captivating lecture by Ambassador Suljuk Mustansar Tarar on the outstanding Pakistani art and its global presence, based on his recent book entitled “All that Art“.
H.E. Mr. Andrea Perugini, Chairman, The Arts Society The Hague.
Suljuk Mustansar Tarar recounted details of several leading Pakistani artists who up to date were little known. Remarkable was the experience of a temporarily colour-blind painter. Mustansar Tarar subsequently went on tofocus on miniature- and landscape painting.
Suljuk Mustansar Tarar the man, who has studied architecture in Lahore, is a diplomat and a writer inspired notably by his father.
His works feature in The Friday Times, The News, and The Daily Times. All that Art is his first book.
Lady wirh Red Ball collection Lahore Museum
Suljuk Mustansar Tarar indicated that the art market and galleries in Pakistan are not as developed as in Europe. Some artists make use of facilities in neighbouring countries.
The program continued with a musical intermezzo by the duo Letizia Elsa Maula, clarinet and Sylvia Cempini, cello.
Musical intermezzo by the duo Letizia Elsa Maula, clarinet and Sylvia Cempini, cello.
Arts and Culture performances like this promote mutual understanding, and connectivity between peoples and could be instrumental in achieving global peace.
The evening concluded with a raffle, guests were treated to excellent Pakistani snacks and beverages.
The Arts Society The Hague and the Pakistan Embassy contributed to the raffle by offering art- and culture books.
The raised 1215 € was donated to the Pakistani Flood Relief Fund as a token of solidarity with thousands of people affected by the flood.
European partners highly appreciate and support the profound socio-economic reforms undertaken on the initiative of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, as well as Uzbekistan’s new regional policy, which has made it possible to solve within a short period of time the most difficult problems of joint use of water resources, delimitation and demarcation of state borders and, in general, change the political atmosphere towards strengthening trust and cooperation in Central Asia.
This was discussed during the recent visits and meetings at the highest and high levels, in particular, during the visit of the former President of the European Council Donald Tusk to Uzbekistan in May 2019, the telephone conversation between the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of the European Council Charles Michel, the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov to Brussels in July 2022, meetings between the Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov and EU High Representative Josep-Borrell in September 2022.
The European Union is one of Uzbekistan’s important foreign policy and economic partners. The parties interact within the framework of the updated in 2019 EU Strategy for Central Asia, which, in fact, became a new “road map” for deepening interregional cooperation in the medium term.
An important feature of the updated Strategy is that it is based on three key priorities:
1) enhancing the political-economic and social sustainability of Central Asian countries through support for reforms, security, environmental protection, rule of law, and democratization;
2) ensuring prosperity of the countries of the region through economic development, education, scientific research, and regional cooperation;
3) strengthening institutional mechanisms for cooperation between the EU and the countries of the region.
Currently, active work is underway to organize the visit of President of the European Council Charles Michel to Uzbekistan, which is designed to broaden the prospects of interaction and bring Uzbek-European relations to a qualitatively new level.
As an important stage in economic cooperation between the parties was the granting for Uzbekistan the status of a beneficiary country of the General System of Preferences “GSP+” on April 10, 2021. This contributed to a noticeable increase in the volume of Uzbek exports to the EU, thanks to unilateral tariff preferences for the export of Uzbek goods to the European market. The number of commodity items that can be duty-free exported to the EU countries increased to 6200 items. The EU monitoring mission on “GSP+” visited Uzbekistan and prepared positive assessments on Uzbekistan In March 2022.
As a result, in the first six months of this year trade turnover between Uzbekistan and EU countries increased by 22%, while exports from Uzbekistan grew by 86%. Among the categories of goods that showed the greatest growth are products of chemical industry (six-fold growth), textiles (90% growth) and food products (65% growth).
The EU supports Uzbekistan’s accession to the World Trade Organization. The EU has positively assessed the implementation of the 5 million EUR project “Assistance to Uzbekistan in Accession Process to the WTO” implemented by the International Trade Centre in cooperation with the Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan.
An important partner of Uzbekistan is the European Investment Bank (EIB) headquartered in Luxembourg. The EIB approved a concessional loan of €100 million for the implementation of an urban heating project in Nukus in February 2020. Besides, a loan project worth $100 million was approved by Bank to support small and medium-sized businesses for increasing economic activity and employment. Projects on waste management, energy efficiency increase and financial support of the Multi-Partner Trust Fund on Human Security for Aral region worth 300 mln euros are being developed by the EIB. By the way, the EU has also allocated 5.2 million euros for the Multi-partner Trust Fund in 2020.
This year, negotiations on the draft of Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA) between Uzbekistan and the EU, initialled on July 6 this year in Brussels, have been successfully completed.
Negotiations on the draft of PCA were launched in February 2019 and had been completed at the end of June 2022. During this period, 10 rounds of negotiations and more than 150 meetings were held, both at the level of experts, chief negotiators, and members of the government.
The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which has been in force since 1999, mainly contains provisions on political dialogue, cooperation in the areas of democracy, human rights, promotion of cultural ties, financial and technical cooperation, investment, trade in goods and services, as well as intellectual property protection.
It is expected that EPCA will contribute to the further integration of Uzbekistan into the multilateral trading system, strengthen the mechanisms of market economy, increase the confidence and interest of foreign investors and the business community to the country, and open new opportunities for domestic producers for trade cooperation with partners from EU countries. In other words, the document is designed to bring relations between Uzbekistan and the EU to a new level.
As part of the promotion of Uzbekistan’s interests among the political-forming circles, the EU-Uzbekistan Friendship Group, chaired by MEP R. Czarnecki (Poland), has been functioning in the European Parliament since 2020.
Further development of bilateral and multilateral relations between Uzbekistan and the EU had been discussed during the visit of Foreign Minister Vladimir Norov to Brussels on September 5-6, 2022. In particular, agreements were reached on holding an «EU-CA» ministerial meeting in November this year. In addition, on the initiative of Uzbekistan, the first EU-Central Asia conference on connectivity will be held in Samarkand on 18 November this year. At present, the issue of holding the EU-CA Tourism Forum in Uzbekistan in 2023 is also being worked out.
Geovanny Vicente-Romero, writer, CNN en Español columnist, strategist and professor at Columbia University formally joins the G100 as Global Advisor on Mentoring & Motivation a committee led by Yanire Braña. At the same time, Vicente-Romero has been recognized as a He-For-She Champion for The Denim Club, a group of male figures that work to close the gender equality gap by promoting equity and more opportunities for the recognition and visibility of female leadership.
According to the latest Global Gap Index of World Economic Forum, Iceland, Finland, and Norway continue to occupy the top positions compared to other countries such as the USA occupying position 27, followed by Mexico (31), Argentina (33), Peru (37), Panama (40) or Colombia (75). This index, which was presented for the first time in 2006, measures the magnitude of the gap between women and men in terms of health, education, economy and political indicators.
G100 is an empowered group of 100 women leaders from across the world, leading 100 global wings, supported by 100 He-For-She champions (Denim Club) and 100 Country Chairs for powerful advocacy, awareness & impact across governments and organizations for a gender equal future.
For the very first time, a powerful global group of women and men has been constituted to address challenges and drive solutions across 100 different sectors. With engagement and exchange, the G100 enables gender equality to be viewed and pursued by all as an urgent social and economic imperative toward co-creating a better future for us all.
The G100 offers the myriad strengths and resourcefulness of its network and knowledge in the service of all solutions that further women’s equality, empowerment and leadership. The group believes that when the force of our solutions exceeds the force of our problems, the mountain of change will move – the shift will occur. They are fostering a critical mass of a million gender champions to enable the tipping point.
G100 is also supported by The Denim Club: Group of 100 He-for-She Champions globally, comprising leaders and luminaries from the business, corporate and political domains, each leading a sector of influence and having their companies and institutions in support of gender parity and equality. They will advocate for gender equity and balance, mitigate barriers to women’s leadership, commit to women’s greater C-suite representation, and fuel funding for female founders.
The founder of this club, Dr. Harbeen Arora said, “we are very honored that leading leaders from around the world join us in solidarity to advance our common cause of gender equality. Geovanny strengthens the He-For-She Denim Club Champions in support of the G100, by promoting mentoring and motivation. Together we can achieve important milestones for equality and empowerment in this same decade and this way we do not have to wait 100 years to achieve gender equality”.
Geovanny Vicente-Romero, who was recently recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD 100), within the framework of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York, brings his experience to the G100 and the Denim Club.
“The incorporation of Geovanny is key to being able to foster greater visibility and recognition of the work that G100 is doing in terms of mentoring, as well as helping identify the entities committed to closing gender gaps across mentoring”, says Yanire Braña, who has more than twenty years of experience leading programs and activities aimed at closing gender gaps in Spain, the US and Latin America.
On the occasion of the tribute to Judge Rafael Altamira (1921) for the centenary of his appointment as Judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice in The Hague, the Embassy of Spain in The Hague and the Hispanic Association of The Hague organized the lecture “Rafael Altamira, a civilizer among civilizers at the Permanent Court of International Justice” by Yolanda Gamarra Chopo, Professor of International Public Law and International Relations at the University of Zaragoza.
Professor Gamarra Chopo, was part of a group of researchers from several universities in Spain and other European countries, who began working on a joint research project years ago on the ideological roots of the European parties, where Judge Altamira stands out as a key figure.
Edith Bergansius and attendees to the lecture “Rafael Altamira, a civilizer among civilizers at the Permanent Court of International Justice”
The conference brought together international jurists of the stature of H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur, former Registrar of the International Court of Justice, ambassadors, such as Ambassador and Costa Rican jurist H.E. Mr. Arnoldo Brenes Castro and jurist Renan Villacis, Director of the Secretariat of the Assembly, at the International Criminal Court, among many other diplomats, jurists and legal historians from Spain and Latin America who filled the main hall of the Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague on Thursday, September 29, 2022.
He was the only Spanish judge chosen by the same body to be part of the International Court of Human Rights in The Hague, not by assignment of a position by country, but for his long career in defense of equality and human rights. He was not a judge, nor an internationalist, but a professor of History of Law, which brought a different vision to the Court.
Although he lacked experience as a judge, he brought to the Tribunal a new perspective on dispute resolution, introducing arbitration as a means of conflict resolution. He also implemented the language and conceptualization of his own training: social justice, the dignity of individuals and the recognition of individual rights as opposed to the sovereignty of countries, the contribution of jurisprudence as a source in the Tribunal, regeneration, morality and common principles as the basis of the solution.
Professor Gamarra Chopo.
In her extensive lecture, Yolanda Gamarra Chopo emphasized the legal conscience of Judge Altamira, his character, his humility, his vocation for peace, his defense of arbitration in the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the Hague Tribunal. Altamira’s work still dispersed among the many academic activities he carried out and his constant travels around the world,
Edith Bergansius, President of the Hispanic Association of The Hague, who organizes important academic and cultural activities, presented Yolanda Gamarra Chopo as passionate of Altamira’s life and one of his most faithful scholars. Ms Bergansius thanks the Embassy of Spain and Luis Tejero González, Counsellor of the Spanish Embassy in The Hague, for their Support in the organization of this event,
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan KC on arrest and extradition of suspects
I welcome the recent arrests in Ethiopia and the extradition to Italy and the Netherlands of two key suspects of crimes against victims of human trafficking and human smuggling in Libya. I am pleased to note that my Office has supported the collective effort to make this operation a success and to hold those responsible to account.
On 5 October, a 38-year-old man of Eritrean nationality was extradited from Ethiopia to the Netherlands after years of investigations by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. On 12 October, Mr Gebremedhin Temesghen Ghebru, a 35-year-old man from Eritrea, was extradited from Ethiopia to Italy following efforts by the Polizia di Stato and the Palermo Prosecutor’s Office. Both suspects were allegedly involved in smuggling of persons from Africa to Europe. In the course of the journey, the victims were reportedly subjected to brutal violence, including in camps located in Libya, and suffered beatings, starvation, sexual violence, and extortion.
Following extradition, all suspects continue to be presumed innocent under the domestic laws of the states concerned and their responsibility will be determined by independent judges of the national authorities.
The arrest and extradition of those two suspects are of significant importance in the work that Italy and the Netherlands are doing to hold perpetrators accountable for crimes targeting migrants. I commend the authorities in both countries for their meticulous and effective investigative work as well as the Ethiopian authorities for their decisive action. These criminal investigations also benefitted from the support provided by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Europol, and Interpol, among others.
My Office has also actively assisted these investigations through the sharing of knowledge, information, evidence, and through joint witness interviews. As I have stated recently before the United Nations Security Council, under the Rome Statute, crimes against migrants may constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.
These recent arrests and extraditions are a clear sign that international cooperation works. The collective effort in these two cases is a prime example of what can be achieved when States, agencies, and my Office join forces in pursuit of a common goal. This is the way forward if we want to ensure that no one is above the law and the impunity gap is narrowed.
As I noted in my last report to the United Nations Security Council, the Libya Situation is a priority for my Office and deepening our cooperation with national authorities in pursuit of accountability is one of the core principles at the heart of the renewed strategy I outlined to the Council in April of this year.
It is in this spirit of partnership that my Office in September became a formal member of the Joint Team that supports investigations into crimes against migrants and refugees in Libya. I was delighted that we were able to take this step, further aligning our action and resources with others, including the authorities from Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, as well as Europol. I wish to underline my commitment to continue strengthening our engagement and support to our national partners moving forward.
Monaco has welcomed four new ambassadors, from Nigeria, Panama, San Marino, and the United Arab Emirates.
Mme Isabelle Berro-Amadeï, Minister for External Relations and Cooperation, received the diplomats during a lunch at the Hôtel Hermitage.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in geography and a master’s degree in economic development and planning of the United Nations Institute for Economic Development (IDEP) in Dakar, HE Mr Kayode Ibrahim Laro has spent his career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
HE Ms. Issamary Sanchez Ortega holds a doctorate in civil law from the University of Panama and has been an independent lawyer and consultant for nearly 20 years. In 2019, she was appointed Director of the Financial Analysis Unit and Advisor to the Competitiveness Unit at the Presidency of the Republic of Panama before following a diplomatic career.
Holder of a master’s degree in finance from the Università Commerciale L. Bocconi in Milan, HE Mr Giovanni Luca Ghiotti worked for several years in finance, in London, then Zurich before being appointed a member of the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of San Marino. In 2016, he joined the Ministry of Finance and Budget of San Marino as First Secretary and since 2021 he has been an Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of San Marino.
A career civil servant, HE Mrs Hend Manea Saeed Al Otaiba was director of communications of Abu Dhabi Media and also head of public relations for the cultural programs of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. Having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2017, she created and directed the first Department of Strategic Communication that promotes the country’s foreign policy through international media and diplomatic missions of the United Arab Emirates.
In anticipation of a new momentum in Slovenian political arena
With parliamentary, local and presidential elections all being held this year in Slovenia, 2022 has been dubbed “super election year”.
Presidential election campaign is taking place in the atmosphere of Robert Golob‘s Freedom Movement (Gibanje Svoboda) convincing victory in the April parliamentary elections and the ensuing tectonic changes in Slovenian political arena. After parliamentary elections the new Slovenian coalition government was appointed, led by Prime Minister Robert Golob and comprising the Freedom Movement (GS), the Social Democrats (SD) and the Left (Levica).
Nine candidates will compete at the first round of election for the president of the Republic of Slovenia scheduled for 23 October 2022, of which five men and two women. Slovenia will get its fifth democratically elected president since the country proclaimed independence in 1991. So far this function has been carried out by Milan Kučan (two terms in office), Janez Drnovšek, Danilo Türk and Borut Pahor (two terms in office). The eventual runoff will take place on 13 November 2022.
The seven candidates standing for election in the first round are: 1. Milan Brglez – Freedom Movement – Social Democrats (Gibanje Svoboda – Socialni demokrati), 2. Anže Logar – independent candidate supported by Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska Demokratska Stranka – SDS), 3. Janez Cigler Kralj – New Slovenia – Christian Democrats (Nova Slovenija – krščanski demokrati), 4. Miha Kordiš – the Left (Levica), 5. Nataša Pirc Musar – an independent candidate, 6. Vladimir Prebilič – an independent candidate, and 7. Sabina Senčar – Resni.ca Party (Stranka Resni.ca).
There are altogether 1,696,893 eligible voters in Slovenia, with the entire country representing a single constituency.
Slovenia needs new goals
The situation in domestic and foreign environment, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis, has had a strong impact on Slovenia as well. The country is also not immune to growing corruption in the EU, which according to some estimations costs Europe around 200 billion EUR every year. Fight against crime and corruption and the much-needed reforms have been a special challenge for Slovenian state in the last years.
Slovenia became a full member of NATO and EU in 2004, joined the Eurozone and the Schengen area in 2007 and became a member of OECD in 2010, and it is also a member of numerous other international organisations. It was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (1998-1999), it presided the Council of the European Union twice (2008 and 2021) and is currently vying together with Belarus for the third non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2024-2025 period.
With all those achievements, Slovenian political leaders were left without any new goals for the future. The political elites were exhausted and unprepared for any further visionary or ambitious action. For example, they have not sufficiently exploited EU membership for national interests, like Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and some other new member states have done. In 2004, Slovenia was at the very top among the ten new EU member states, while now it is ranked in the middle. The country will have to create a more attractive business environment for foreign investments, which it cannot achieve with its present legislation and incentives. A better, more reliable and brighter future will have to be provided to Slovenia and its young generation, which is increasingly leaving the country for economic reasons.
Slovenia is marked with strong political polarisation with a fierce struggle between the so-called forces of continuity (former communists) symbolised by former President Milan Kučan, and the Slovenian Spring led by the former Prime Minister and leader of Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) Janez Janša. The new Prime Minister Robert Golob will therefore have the task to put an end to the historical political polarization in the country and to create consensus in the society when it comes to the key future issues. During the years of cyclical boom and high economic growth, political polarisation did not cause any significant problems to this most successful novice among the countries of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). However, with the economic crisis and recession growing in the world and Europe, all the problems came to light in Slovenia – the crisis revealed all the mistakes the country has made since it gained independence. Most of them stem from the processes of privatisation of former socially owned (state) property. In order to continue its rapid development, Slovenia has to eliminate inner tensions and regulate relations with the neighbouring countries.
The prevailing opinion is that Slovenia needs to set new goals, despite the fact that it is an EU member state. This will be another task of Robert Golob’s government. Excuses that the state as a rule follows the policy set by the EU or Brussels point to the fact that Slovenia lacks a clear vision, creativity and concepts for the future Against the background of geopolitical changes and the shifting world order, Slovenia will be forced to look for its own solutions and follow its own interests, which means that it should strengthen its position in the EU and other organisations, develop strong bilateral relations beyond the EU, make new partnership and look for new markets where Slovenia has not been present yet or where its presence has been very weak so far.
Is Slovenia controlled by informal centres of power
Consolidation of the country and dealing with the energy and food crisis are the priority tasks of Robert Golob’s government, which must at the same time overcome several decades of conflicts between the key actors within the state. The informal and parallel centres of power that were formed have actually been leading the country from the backstage and caused problems to any government that wanted to act transparently and in the public interest. According to some analysts it is those centres of power together with lobbies that have the main control over the state of Slovenia, which was most evident during Prime Minister Miro Cerar‘s (Modern Centre Party – SMC) government.
Analysts have noted that the influence of informal centres of power and parallel structures has led Slovenia to make the key strategic mistake when it allowed to be controlled by certain individuals from behind the political stage. During the past few years Slovenia has become the most isolated country in the region in relations with the USA, bearing in mind that the USA played the key role in the establishment of the independent Slovenian state. No one has taken the responsibility for this situation yet.
The influence of informal power centres is most visible when it comes to the disappearance of millions of taxpayers’ money. A school example of this would be the Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC), popularly called the Bad Bank, which had no clear criteria or model for company restructuring. For most companies that came under its ownership BAMC proposed bankruptcy proceedings, although this is already provided for in the existing legislation, which makes BAMC completely unnecessary. The winners of the establishment of BAMC are both banks that have relieved themselves of their claims on companies and significantly improved their balance sheet positions and operating results, as well as over-indebted companies (tycoons). The latter thus got rid of their debts, but thanks to non-transparent proceedings and personal connections with BAMC through third (foreign) persons, law firms or “unrelated” companies, they acquired or even hired “their” companies or bought the claims that had been transferred to BAMC.
Analysts have noted that in early years following Slovenian independence certain social elites plundered the state, while the state is plundering itself through BAMC.
Devalued function of president of the state
During the presidency of incumbent president of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor, the function of the president was devalued and undermined. The first President of the Republic of Slovenia Milan Kučan is still considered a role model among presidents.
President of the state should act as a moral authority. However, President Pahor publicly announced that he does not consider himself a moral authority. During presidential race all candidates promise to be a moral authority, but they must yet prove to the people or the voters that they really deserve to be one. On several occasions President Pahor stated that the president is not the second prime minister, which is true. However, the president has other levers that enable him or her to be very actively involved in social life and thus contribute to finding appropriate solutions, especially when it comes to the most vital issues.
If we simplistically understand moral authority as a person whom the community regards as trustworthy for making correct and good decisions, it is certainly inappropriate for an individual, even if it is the president of the state, to assess himself or herself as a moral authority. The notion of morality is nullified by the mere fact that the person describes oneself as moral – it is others who are to decide on his or her morality. It is also not appropriate for the president of the state to renounce his or her moral authority. After all, the citizens probably expect their president to be a moral authority to a certain (the largest possible) extent. By denying oneself as a moral authority, the president degrades himself or herself and the function that he or she represents, even though his or her (perhaps even noble) intention may be to appear unpretentious instead of lofty.
Whether the holder of an office is a moral authority can be assessed by various prominent individuals or groups that shape public opinion, by the media, etc. The real power of moral authority stems from the respect people attribute to his or her statements. Presidential candidates should be aware of that. It is one thing to promise to be a moral authority, but another to actually be one during the term of office. Decisions about when to express an opinion as president of the state are not always the easiest, but the president should express his or her point of view and take a stance, even if it offends certain group of voters.
The president is expected to be less populist and more upstanding, leading others by example. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is an important acquisition of a modern state governed by the rule of law, and its president – as a “defender” of the constitutional order – should also defend opinions that are not liked by the majority, but are correct for the existence and development of such a state.
The voters expect the president to be above any party politics, and the president’s involvement in party politics and his pleasing of the government may cause a loss of trust among the electorate. As a rule President Pahor did not interfere significantly in any important issues, but was rather an observer or follower of events. Pahor usually remained silent or responded too late to key issues such as human rights and attacks on the media (STA – Slovenian Press Agency, RTV Slovenia Public Media Service). He was engaged in the Brdo-Brijuni process which did not bring significant added value except for the costs to tax-payers. More appropriate foreign political engagement is of vital importance for the country that is a full EU and NATO member and a candidate for non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
The new president is expected to bring a new momentum to Slovenian political arena and to promote Slovenia at the regional and international levels. So far, this was not the case. Despite the fact that his powers are very limited, the incumbent President Pahor was expected to contribute significantly to creating a fresh and positive atmosphere in the country.
Borut Pahor wanted to present himself as “president who promotes unity”, although during his two terms of office Slovenia was no less politically disunited than before. Most of Slovenian public does not really understand whom he wanted to unite and what kind of uniting action he took. The powers of the president need to be expanded in order to strengthen his 0r her role. For example, the president should have the right to initiate the procedure for the review of the constitutionality and legality of acts before signing them or before appointing judges etc. Moreover, Slovenia needs radical changes to the constitution which is outdated and no longer meets current needs and challenges.
Slovenia should focus again on the West Balkans, which has been neglected in the past few years while other states have strengthened their presence there. The state of Slovenia should not repeat its past mistakes, such as: the “erased” citizens (citizens erased from the register of permanent residents who thus remained without a legal status after the declaration of Slovenia’s independence in 1991), Ljubljanska Banka (LB) savers, and precarious workers. Shunning the issue of recognition of minorities from the countries of the former Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia (Albanians, Bosniaks, Montenegrins, Croats, Macedonians and Serbs), who are citizens of the Republic of Slovenia, weakens the credibility of the Republic of Slovenia in the West Balkan region and as well as in the European Union. It is difficult to build credibility with no excuse for not recognising the minority status to Slovenian citizens coming from former SFRY republics.
Not much interest in presidential election
There is not much interest in Slovenia for presidential election, even though this is the highest political position in the state that calls for avant-garde politicians who would be able to cope with the newly-arising circumstances and future challenges. Among the candidates there are no leading Slovenian politicians and the election campaign has not attracted much attention from the general public in Slovenia, and even less internationally.
The candidates that drew most public attention are Nataša Pirc Musar, Anže Logar and Milan Brglez, who all undoubtedly possess the competences for this function.
Nataša Pirc Musar, an attorney with PhD in law, is an independent candidate with strong support from two former presidents, Milan Kučan and Danilo Türk. Her advantage is that she does not belong to established political structures, which allows her to address and reach out to the entire political spectrum of voters.
Anže Logar, a member of SDS with PhD in sociology, is an independent candidate backed by Janša’s right-wing Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) which is very close to Viktor Orban‘s Fidesz. Until recently, Logar was Slovenian Minister of Foreign Affairs. He targets the right-centre voters.
Milan Brglez, with PhD in international relations, is backed by the ruling coalition parties Freedom Movement (GS) and Social Democrats (SD) whose member he is. He was former Speaker of the National Assembly of the republic of Slovenia and is currently Member of the European Parliament. He targets the left-centre and centre voters.
Analysts believe that in order to succeed at forthcoming election, Anže Logar should clearly distance himself from Janez Janša and Slovenian Democratic Party which suffered plebiscitary defeat at recent parliamentary elections when the Freedom Movement won. Likewise, Milan Brglez should clearly distance himself from incumbent President of Slovenia Borut Pahor and the Social Democrats whose chairman Pahor used to be. Such distance would enable both candidates to win more favour among the general electorate, while for both of them as individuals this would be a political suicide. This situation suits best Nataša Pirc Musar, who is not backed by any political party and does not have to distance herself from anybody and as such targets the voters from the whole political spectrum.
Researches have shown that the run-off will be held between Anže Logar and Nataša Pirc Musar. The latter’s success may be threatened by Milan Brglez who covers a part of the same electoral. Brglez can enter the runoff if he manages to gain voter’s affection through strong support from the backstage during the last week of the election campaign.
President of the state should not be indebted to anyone, especially not to political parties. He or she should be more active in taking stances on the key issues in the society. With the world facing enormous changes, the new president of the state is expected to reposition his or her role as president and bring a new momentum to Slovenian political arena, in order to continue the consolidation of the state which begun when the incumbent Robert Golob’s government came to power. For the first time in Slovenia’s history there is a real chance that the country would be led by a woman – after four consecutive male presidents.
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Published by IFIMES Ljubljana, 20 October 2022 IFIMES – International Institute for Middle-East and Balkan studies, based in Ljubljana, Slovenia, has a special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council ECOSOC/UN, New York, since 2018.
