Brand: Toyota
Type: Toyota avensis; 2.0 d4 wagon automatic
Build year: February 2004
Transmission: Automatic
Seats: 5
Fuel: gasoline
Mileage: ~200.000 KM
Price: € 1,000.00
For more information, viewing or to place a bid please contact:
Mr. Hoang Nam – Embassy of Viet Nam
Phone: +31 63 363 6833
Email: thehague@vietembassy.nl
By the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Hague
The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects and strongly condemns unfounded and unsubstantiated claims that it has sold unmanned aerial vehicles for the purpose of use in Ukraine’s conflict. Such unfounded claims, which are solely based on false flags and fabricated assumptions, are nothing more than a propaganda apparatus to further political agenda against Iran. In this regard, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in good faith and in accordance with its constructive approach toward the Ukraine crisis, stands ready to engage constructively in joint technical and expert cooperation to clarify the unfounded accusations leveled against Iran.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, the Islamic Republic of Iran has taken a clear, consistent, and unwavering position, emphasizing that all UN Member States must fully respect the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter as well as international law, including sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity. As a country that has been confronted with and affected by the devastation caused by an imposed war, the Islamic Republic of Iran opposes any conflict or war anywhere in the world.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently supported peace and ending the conflict in Ukraine and urged the parties to exercise restraint, avoid escalating tensions, and engage in a meaningful process for addressing the root causes of the situation and settling their disputes through peaceful means. It also urged the parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and conduct consultations to protect civilians and critical infrastructure from military targets or attacks.
The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the United Nation’s ongoing efforts to find a peaceful solution to this conflict. The United Nations should maintain objectivity and impartiality in order to play a responsible and constructive role in the political settlement of Ukraine’s conflict. Any action taken by the United Nations should be truly conducive to easing the situation and resolving the conflict, rather than intensifying conflict and exacerbating confrontation.
The Islamic Republic of Iran will continue its constructive engagement to help the peaceful resolution of this crisis.
Arusha, The Hague, 19 October 2022 – The President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism), Judge Graciela Gatti Santana, today presented the Mechanism’s tenth Annual Report to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This was President Gatti Santana’s first address to the Assembly since she assumed office on 1 July 2022.
At the outset, President Gatti Santana congratulated His Excellency Mr. Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary on his election as President of the 77th session of the General Assembly and wished him success in finding solutions for the complex crises the world is facing. She also acknowledged the tremendous contribution of her predecessor Judge Carmel Agius to the Mechanism and international justice more generally.
President Gatti Santana remarked that the submission of the tenth Annual Report represents a significant milestone for the Mechanism, as it started operations at the Arusha branch 10 years ago on 1 July 2012. The President noted that the Mechanism has come far since then, considering that, with the exception of one appeal and one trial, all core cases earmarked to be heard before the Mechanism have been finalised. In this regard, she underlined that “the coming years will see the transition of the Mechanism from a fully operational court to a truly residual institution.”
President Gatti Santana then introduced and elaborated on the three priorities she developed for her Presidency, based on the guidance of the Security Council in Resolution 2637 (2022): First, to ensure the efficient, effective and fair conclusion of the remaining trial and appeal proceedings. Second, to lead efforts in developing a comprehensive Mechanism strategy on continuous residual functions; and third, to consolidate the achievements of the ad hoc Tribunals and the Mechanism and to safeguard their invaluable legacy, while further enhancing inter-organ and inter-branch coordination and collaboration.
The President stressed that the international community’s trust in a credible international criminal justice system may be jeopardised without long-term strategies and support, and that therefore the Mechanism requires the continuing backing of all States in the areas of cooperation and resources. In this regard she thanked the 13 enforcement States for taking on additional responsibilities and invited others to share this burden. President Gatti Santana also underscored the need for Member States to honour their international obligations. She referred here in particular to Serbia’s ongoing refusal to arrest and transfer the contempt accused Mr. Petar Jojić and Ms. Vjerica Radeta and to the situation of the eight acquitted and released persons who were relocated to the Republic of the Niger in December 2021. She finally reassured the Assembly that the Mechanism is doing its utmost to streamline activities and be efficient and transparent in all its operations, but requires adequate resources to be able to deliver.
In closing, the President expressed her concern about the rise in genocide denial, historical revisionism and the glorification of convicted war criminals, and called upon the international community not only to stand by the Mechanism until it has completed its mandate, but to also remain vigilant and firm in countering societal patterns that feed on hatred, incitement and the denial of past crimes.
President Gatti Santana is in New York to report on the Mechanism’s activities in accordance with Article 32(1) of the Statute of the Mechanism.
Roy Lie Ajtam
The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Dr Eniola Ajayi, invited dignitaries, Business personalities, compatriots and friends to a reception celebrating the 62nd Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Independence Day on Monday, 3 October 2022. Venue, the Hilton Hotel, The Hague.
The organist Mrs Noeline Onukwugha Idut, gave renditions of the national anthem of the Netherlands and Nigeria. Further featuring on the program was a performance by the cultural dance group Nigeria Media/Entertainers Groups, Netherlands. The group put on a dazzling performance showcasing Nigeria’s rich and variated cultural heritage.
Ambssador Eniola Ajayi captivated the attendees with her welcome remarks. The guest speaker was Mr Tijmen Rooseboom of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr Eniola Ajayi related “: It is with great joy that I welcome you all to our 62nd Independence Anniversary, being the National Day celebration of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I congratulate my Nigerian compatriots for the grace to celebrate this year. I would also like to congratulate our co-celebrants of the October 1 National Day, namely; China, Cyprus, Tuvalu and the Republic of Korea.
I acknowledge Mr Tijmen Rooseboom, the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who is a Special Envoy to the Sahel/Head of West Africa and Great Lakes unit. I also acknowledge another Special guest in our midst, Mr Michael Balogun, the CEO of Tour2Nigeria.
It has been the honour of my life to represent the President and the beautifully diverse people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Nigeria and Netherlands enjoy a very cordial relationship especially in the economic sphere. I am delighted to note that the Kingdom of the Netherlands has footprints in Nigeria predating our Independence when they established an office in Lagos in 1959.
Nigeria established its mission in the Netherlands on 26th November,1966. The highest level of engagement in the past year was the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on 24th September, 2021 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. We have also had strategic engagements through Bilateral Consultations and the hosting of delegations in different sectors within the past year.
Netherlands being home to several important multilateral organizations in which Nigeria is a member has provided additional platform for us to contribute to world peace and order especially at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Common Fund for Commodities and the International Courts.
The focus of this year’s celebration is the uniqueness of our country Nigeria and the talents of our diverse population as expressed within the various sectors of human endeavours across the world. This year we are focusing on the Entertainment Industry in Nigeria. We have grown in leaps and bounds especially in the area of Music and Movie making.
“Nollywood”, the name given to the Nigerian film industry is the second largest film industry in the world. It produces 1500-2000 films a year, earning over $660 million annually. It is not surprising that Nigeria has witnessed a series of landmark Nollywood deals in form of content acquisitions from the most popular streamers – Amazon Prime video and Netflix.
A total of about 150 Nigerian films have made it to NETFLIX in just the last 2 years. Netflix will be showing us snippets of what they are doing in Nigeria titled “Naija to the World” this evening. The prospects for greater collaboration is immense, little wonder they are our top sponsor tonight. Thank you NETFLIX.
Nigeria being an African country located in the west, with a population of about 217 million according to Worldometer estimates of the UN in 2022 is pretty well known. That it comprises of 36 federating states and a Federal capital territory occupying a land space of 923,769 square kilometers is in the public domain. The fact that Nigeria is also the largest economy in Africa is common knowledge. Thankfully Nigeria is currently committed to the active diversification into the non-oil sector and has recorded serious growth in Agriculture and Telecommunications sectors in recent years.
One of the greatest partners in our diversification quest is the Kingdom of the Netherlands, being the number 1 trading partner of Nigeria in Europe. Netherlands is very strategic for us because many Dutch companies have been household names in Nigeria for nearly a century. Some of such companies Friesland Campina and Shell International are also partnering with us for this celebration.
This relationship has been truly dynamic in its response to changing economic and climatic challenges in our world. We also thank Ngbaka Brew, the Manufacturers of Ngbaka range of beer drinks for supporting this event. Ngbaka Beer is the success story of (4) four African boys in Europe who chose to keep the authentic African flavour alive.
The challenges of insecurity are receiving attention and thankfully it is abating. We are looking forward to a great year ahead especially with the promise of a free and fair election by the current Government and ultimately a smooth transition of power.
However there are some interesting things about Nigeria that you may not be familiar with. Some of those heartwarming nuggets are as follows:
The Nigerian citizen tells the story of dynamism, courage, resilience, strength and the ability to reinvent itself over and over again. The Human Capital of Nigeria remains our strength and hope for a brilliant future. We smile through our trials and adversities knowing that Nigeria will be greater still, because it has all the seeds of greatness waiting to bloom inevitably.
Nigeria is a very warm and accommodating society on the whole. I am yet to meet a diplomat who didn’t have a memorable experience serving in Nigeria. This is particularly noteworthy when you see how Nigerians find humour in everything in spite of the challenges we confront daily. We always find a reason to laugh. This is why we love the Netherlands so much. The Dutch people also have the culture of making people feel welcome.
Thank you all for making out time to join in our celebration today. You are all sincerely appreciated. Please enjoy this evening and everything we have to offer especially our Nigerian cuisine and the raffle draws courtesy of Jansen Holland Fabrics, makers of the popular Ankara fabrics and Bestgames Nigeria Limited, Distributors of the Nigerian Monopoly editions.
Bedankt, Thank you.”
In conclusion, guests were treated to an exquisite Nigerian buffet, including a classic version of the unbeatable King of Rice, Jollof rice.
Jollof rice is a meal that cuts across all levels of Nigeria’s diverse society.
By Nacho Sànchez Amor and Meglena Kuneva
Euobserver (12.10.2022) – https://bit.ly/3g95V6s – Every person has inherent, inalienable, and indivisible rights. This premise is the fundamental achievement of humankind. Yet, over the past years, we have witnessed an increase in violations of human rights and democratic values across the world.
Executions, tortures, arbitrary arrests and detentions, clampdown on civil society and political opponents, excessive violence by public authorities, censorship and threats to independent media, and disinformation — to name some of the most obvious examples.
With a string of crises, from the financial meltdown and the Covid-19 pandemic to Russia’s war against Ukraine, we have seen a rise of illiberal and authoritarian forces undermining the basis of our modern civilisation — universal human rights.
The undemocratic regimes resort to a narrative of relativism by claiming that human rights are “a weapon of cultural hegemony”.
They are creating an ideological and political discord over the universality of human rights. They hide behind a perverted logic of the “veil of ignorance”, defending a concept of democracy based not on values, but on a shallow ideology according to which universal human rights are a product of hegemonic eurocentrism or Western neo-colonialism.
One does not have to try hard to find an example of this kind of narrative.
The Covid-19 pandemic proved a perfect alibi for these regimes to impose their autocratic agendas. By spreading disinformation and disregarding the international rules-based order, they targeted disappointed and disillusioned people let down by self-complacent democracies.
This dangerous trend unequivocally calls for a truly global alliance to defend universal human rights.
It requires a genuine Human Rights League.
Countries and international organisations across the world have never joined forces in a proper human rights alliance.
In 1993, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions was established, composed mainly of national human rights institutions interacting with the United Nations.
The Alliance of Civilisations, created in 2007, focused on international action against extremism.
US president, Joe Biden, hosted the Summit for Democracy in December last year.
All these initiatives are most valuable, but none of them is a genuine global human rights alliance, which the world desperately needs.
Liberal and mature democracies and international organisations, joined in the Human Rights League, have to wake up from complacency, stand firm against illiberal and autocratic regimes and reaffirm our shared commitment to universal human rights as a global model of society.
We need to go beyond sterile strategic dialogues. We need to move from resolutions and statements to a more assertive and decisive action.
The first opportunity to discuss all this, and to kick off the League, will be the event organised this Thursday (13 October) in the European Parliament. Human rights allies will gather to exchange views on how to make this idea a reality.
In this endeavour, the parliament has a crucial role to play, being the most vocal and devoted EU institution in defending democratic values, a true moral force, as well as a beacon for human rights activists all around the world.
With a noble and ambitious idea of the Human Rights League in mind, it is also crucial to analyse our Union’s human rights toolbox, including political and strategic tools, legal and enforcement instruments, as well as diplomatic means.
It is necessary to further develop a comprehensive, united, and coherent European human rights vision and action.
A thorough reflection on this will allow us to better use our instruments in promoting and protecting human rights as an integral element of the EU’s foreign policy. There will never be a stronger EU in the world without a powerful human rights policy.
About the author:
Nacho Sánchez Amor MEP is Socialists & Democrats spokesperson on human rights. Meglena Kuneva is a former EU Commissioner and ambassador to the Council of Europe.
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Authorities in France and Spain have taken action against an organised crime group involved in trafficking of cannabis. Some members of the network belong to the same family. Eurojust coordinated and supported the action, which led to the arrest of 12 suspects and the seizure of several luxury items.
The case was opened at Eurojust in April 2022 at the request of the French authorities. Two coordination meetings were hosted by the Agency to facilitate judicial cooperation, including the execution of two European Arrest Warrants and one European Investigation Order in Spain and the preparation of the joint action day.
During the joint action day on 13 October, 12 suspects were arrested, 9 in Spain and 3 in France. Eleven places were searched in Spain and five in France. Seizures include EUR 45 000 in cash, as well as 12 vehicles.
The following authorities took part in the operations:
• France: Tribunal Judiciaire de Paris and Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (Narcotics Unit)
• Spain: Juzgado de Instrucción (Investigative Court) Nº 8 in Málaga, Fiscalía Provincial (PPO) in Málaga; Policía Nacional (Group 1 UDYCO Costa del Sol Málaga)
By Prof. Lucija Mulej
It is a great privilege to be amongst distinguished thinkers and architects of the future we all co-create. Admitting worries for common good since contemporary world tensions and energetic crisis are colliding with humanitarian questions, we reflect assurance, decision. Hope.
That atmosphere is profoundly radiant in the great 15-century priory of green entourage and reflections of river Rhone one must admire. Scholars, thinkers, and diplomats gather in this prestigious surrounding. The Swiss University of Geneve is today designated as a profound establishment of dialogue, research, and political culture, inviting diversity and inclusion. University upholds privilege of exceptional keynote speakers of different backgrounds. Among them are former presidents, prime ministers, thinkers, Nobel prize laureates and other personalities with distinguished careers and experience.
Adding to his series, in early October 2022, prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic conducted and moderated two distinguished days of fresh insights, noble ideas, and stamina by believing in the power of dialogue. Excellency Heinz Fisher, former Austrian State President, was the first guest. H.E. Fisher presented the narrative of WWII, primarily portraying his younger days at school:
“In my childhood, in primary school, we had to greet our teacher with “Heil Hitler” every morning. Can you imagine the climate of that era in most delicate youth?”, he stated.
President Heinz Fischer was born on 9 October 1938 in Graz, Styria, Austria. This young boy was brough up in detrimental Nazi dictatorship, while his parents, father as a civil servant, Esperanto teacher, opposer of contemporary political predominance, discussed the perils and horrendous consequences of sadistic Nazi regime only in Esperanto, what gave us just a blink of precepting the devastating times of that era. Why Esperanto?
“The totalitarian regimes are all blind for what is alive and spontaneous. A child is open. His testimony though innocence and truthfulness could send someone to working camps. It was dangerous to say anything against and Esperanto was revealing. And safe”.
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. In early 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years, to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany.
“This era was a time of darkness, spiritual suffering, and loss of common sense in the nation’s aspirations and hope. Inner light was dimmed. This great suffering was dormant in the previous phases after the collapse of Austro-Hungarian Empire and afterwards”.
H.E. Fisher argued the importance of historical and longitudinal line of data. Deepen knowledge of world events rebuilds and reshapes basic and grounding facts and angles the foundations from where one can estimate occurring consequences. E.g., creating stable national identity, retrenching all negative aspects of nationalisms, seems to be impossible without nascent phases of democratic development:
“Each phase of the process takes its own time. Without historic perspective and broader context, one cannot ever understand the present tendencies”.
Excellency Fisher spoke about major historic events, like 1st republic of Austria, which is essential to understand succeeding historical acts. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy on 30th October 1918, the provisional national assembly of German Austria elected a State Council (Staatsrat) executive, which itself appointed a state government with the Social Democratic politician Karl Renner as head of the State Chancellery with three main political parties—Social Democrats, the Christian Social Party (CS) and German Nationalists (Greater Germans). As acting executive body, it remained in office until the Constitutional Assembly of the Austrian Fist Republic on 15th March 1919.
From 5th March 1933 onwards, the Christian Social chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß continued to rule by suppressing the National Council parliament.
“In the course of the Austrian Civil War on 1st May 1934, the authoritarian Federal State of Austria was implemented. All political parties were banned, except for the Fatherland’s Front supporting Dollfuß’ Austrofascist government”.
The Federal Government ceased at the Anschluss (the incorporation of Austria into Nazi Germany) on 13th March 1938.
As well Second Republic added the missing jigsaw and corelated some major events and historic figures, naming just few. Second Republic, whereon 27thApril 1945, a provisional Austrian national unity government was formed, with important datum 20th December 1945, when Austrian Constitution was officially re-enacted with ÖVP founder Leopold Figl, forming the first post-war Federal Government. Interesting is “The Victim Theory” (German: Opferthese), encapsulated in the slogan “Austria – the Nazis’ first victim”, which was the ideological basis for Austria under allied occupation (1945–1955) and in the Second Austrian Republic until the 1980s. According to the founders of the Second Austrian Republic, the 1938 Anschluss was an act of military aggression by the Third Reich. The “victim theory” formed in 1949 insisted that all the Austrians, including those who strongly supported Hitler, had been unwilling victims of the Nazi regime and were therefore not responsible for its crimes.
Austria, the “land that nobody wanted”, along the many years, aside pitfalls and victories in discourse and coordinated action, gained its neutral status in tangled historic context.
Austria is bound to neutrality by the 1955 Austrian State Treaty and its constitution, which prohibits entry into military alliances and the establishment of foreign military bases on Austrian territory. Austrian neutrality is an enforced neutrality.
“The territory of Austria was occupied by allied forces until 1955. In 1955 the Soviet Union, in the Moscow memorandum, demanded Austria’s neutrality on the model of Switzerland”.
All the countries with which Austria had diplomatic relations, ratified the Austrian State Treaty.
Today, in reinforcing the culture of dialogue, Austria is a special country with strong culture, music, literature, and profound history. Latest interest is also a great devotion of our guest.
President Fisher, lawyer and professor always admired history and his narrative is profound. Lectures gathered us in conscious awareness how to tackle subtle and deeply sensitive diplomatic questions, while reality is often yielding no traces of support, neither hint of solutions. What matters is integrity and character. And personal, private acolytes we meet on the paths, like colleagues, siblings, parents, and spouses, are indispensable. H.E. wife, First Lady Ms. Margit Fisher was gracing audience with her presence and kindness as well.
H.E. Fisher served his country for many years. He took office as 11th State President of the Republic of Austria on 8th July 2004 and was re-elected for a second and last term on 25th April 2010, leaving office on 8th July 2016.
Excellency Heinz Fischer studied law at the University of Vienna, earning a doctorate in 1961. Apart from being a politician, Fischer also pursued an academic career and became a professor of Political Science at the University of Innsbruck. After two terms as Federal President of the Republic of Austria and more than 40 years in public office, Heinz Fischer retired in July 2016 as Head of State and was succeeded by Prof. Alexander Van der Bellen.
Today H.E. Fisher is active in many boards and collaborates with vanguard crucial figures. As he already did in his early career days: “I am proud being a co-founder of Amnesty International Austria, and Editor of many magazines for Political Sciences”.
In January 2017 Heinz Fischer was named president to the Board of the Institute for Human Science and in August 2017 was appointed as co-chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.
Excellency Fischer wrote several books in the field of political science and contemporary history. He was among the first speakers under the auspices of so-called ‘Executive Master in Intl. Relations and Global Politics’. Lecture series will host current and former heads of states or government Nobel prize laureates, and other influencers in the world of politics, economy, security and energy.
About the author:
Prof. Lucija Mulej, Ph.D is an author, columnist, professor and creator of the non-technological innovations (such as her own method: Connectivity of Intelligences 4 Q )
The Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Dato’ Nadzirah Osman hosted a Malaysian culinary event at the Rumah Malaysia (Ambassador’s Residence) in Wassenaar on 7 October 2022. The event was attended by Dutch dignitaries, Ambassadors and members of the Ambassadors’ Spouses Association (ASA), ASEAN Ladies Circle, members of the Dutch media, as well as representative of a local oriental supermarket chain in the Netherlands.
The event featured Tourism Malaysia’s Ambassador for Food and Culture, Chef Dato’ Ismail Ahmad who demonstrated the preparation of three types of Malaysian dishes — Nasi Ulam (Mixed Herbs/ Salad Rice), Kari Daging (Beef Curry), and Kuih Ketayap (Crêpes with Sweet Coconut Fillings). Chef Ismail also amazed the guests with his pulled tea (popularly known as the Tarik in Malaysia) making skills. Few guests showed their cooking skills by trying the recipe.
The cooking demonstration was followed by a luncheon where guests indulged in sumptuous Malaysian delicacies prepared by Chef Ismail and members of the Ladies Association of the Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague (PERWAKILAN The Hague).
In her welcoming remarks, Dato’ Nadzirah mentioned that Malaysia is renowned not only for its beautiful landscape, sandy beaches, pristine clear waters, and biodiversity-rich flora and fauna but also for its wide array of culinary treasures.
“These culinary treasures are an important element of Malaysia’s intangible cultural heritage. As a multi-ethnic and multicultural country, Malaysian cuisine tells the stories of Malaysia, its people, culture, and traditions.” She said.
She also mentioned that “before the pandemic, gastronomy tourism generated RM10.5 billion, 13.3% of total tourism revenue in Malaysia.
“In 2021, Malaysia successfully designated Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. This recognition from UNESCO is in line with Malaysia’s plan to cultivate elements of innovation and creativity in elevating the gastronomy tourism ecosystem towards sustainable outcomes and positive socio-economic impact.”
She ended her remarks by stating that “as a gastronomical paradise, travellers can connect with Malaysia by immersing themselves in its food, history, people, culture, and environment.”
The event received excellent reviews from all the guests. Guests were also gifted with a recipe booklet signed by Chef Ismail. Guests were also gifted with a recipe booklet signed by Chef Ismail.
The Embassy of Malaysia in The Hague has been actively promoting Malaysia as a tourism and gastronomy destination. Malaysian fruits and food products have entered the Dutch markets and have begun to gain popularity among the locals.
| Uniting for systems change to achieve clean water and sanitation for all in Africa |
| ACCRA, GHANA | 18 OCTOBER 2022 – The Government of Ghana, IRC and UNICEF are challenging systems thinkers and public experts to advance a strong and clear agenda for system strengthening if African governments are to achieve and sustain the ambitious targets for water, sanitation and hygiene services for all by 2030. In March 2000, African leaders signed up to the vision of an Africa where there is sustainable access to drinking water and sanitation that are safe and adequate to meet basic needs of all by 2025. 22 years on, 395 million African still lack access to safely managed drinking water and 504 million live without safe sanitation services. While there remains a huge deficit in infrastructure, many of the available facilities are inadequately managed, breakdown prematurely, or are poorly regulated, underfunded, and fall short of the dignified public service standards put forward in the human right to water and sanitation. So why has so little progress been made during the past 20 years? The response is that without strong and resilient systems that work well, the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Africa, as elsewhere, fails. Systems are all around us, delivering essential services that we rely on. Education, health, road traffic – in each case, we interact with these systems daily. When they work well, systems are unnoticed by the people they serve. When they don’t, the failure is obvious: the flight is cancelled, the electricity shuts down, the tap opens but no water comes out. |
“We are all very aware of the complex systems and interrelationships the water and sanitation sector have with our economies. The All systems go Africa symposium provides the platform to make key strategic decisions that will deliver better value to the people we serve. I am convinced that with your inputs, this symposium will be a turning point for the water, sanitation, and hygiene sector in Africa.” said Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources of the Republic of Ghana.
The All systems go Africa symposium happening from 19-21 October hosted by the Government of Ghana in Accra, and organised in partnership with IRC and UNICEF, provides Africa the opportunity to kick-start a continental agenda that will focus efforts towards achieving effective and resilient governance, management and operating systems for water, sanitation and hygiene.
The Hague, October 17, 2022 – The Ambassador-Designate of the United States of America to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Shefali Razdan Duggal, will present her credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander on Wednesday, October 19.
Shefali Razdan Duggal was nominated by President Biden to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands on March 11, 2022. Her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 14, and she was sworn in on September 20.
Ambassador-Designate Razdan Duggal is a San Francisco Committee member of Human Rights Watch, serves on the Leadership and Character Council at Wake Forest University, and is on the National Advisory Board of Inside Washington at Miami University of Ohio. Most recently, Razdan Duggal served on the National Finance Committee of Joe Biden for President 2020 and was a National Co-Chair of Women for Biden. She has also served as a Deputy National Finance Chair at the Democratic National Committee.
Previously, Razdan Duggal served on the National Board of Directors for Emily’s List 2014-2020. She was a Presidential Appointee to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council 2014-2018 and continues to serve as a Western Region Advisor to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. She has held a variety of positions in several national-level political campaigns.
A Kashmiri born in Haridwar U.P. India, Razdan Duggal moved to the United States at a very young age and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She has a B.S. in Mass Communication, with a minor in Political Science, from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and an M.A. in Media Ecology from New York University. Razdan Duggal believes in authenticity, kindness, and service. She is married with two children.
