Germany contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims

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Germany contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims

Germany sends an important message of support for reparative justice with €110,000 contribution to the Trust Fund for Victims

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) takes great pleasure in announcing that in 2021, the Government of Germany has pledged a voluntary contribution of €110,000 to the TFV this year. This contribution demonstrates Germany’s strong support and commitment to the reparative justice function of the Rome Statute. It is earmarked to the TFV’s reparations mandate, in particular in Al Mahdi case to support the collective reparation measures aiming at the rehabilitation and maintenance of protected buildings, in close coordination with UNESCO.

Speaking on Germany’s unwavering support to the Rome Statute and the Trust Fund, H.E. Mr. Dr. Cyrill Jean Nunn, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Netherlands said,  “Germany is very happy to contribute €110,000 to the important work of the Trust Fund of Victims for the benefits of the victims of mass atrocities and their families.“

TFV Executive Director Pieter de Baan thanked the Government of Germany saying “Germany’s contribution to the TFV is sending a strong signal of support to the Trust Fund’s mandate, in particular in reparations proceedings.  Our sincere appreciation goes to Germany  for its continued commitment to enable victims overcome their harm from international crimes, and to achieve dignity and resilience.”

Luxembourg reaffirms its support to the Trust Fund for Victims

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Luxembourg reaffirms its support to the Trust Fund for Victims

The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) is grateful to acknowledge Luxembourg’s voluntary contribution of €35,000. Luxembourg has been a regular donor to the TFV since 2005. This year’s contribution reaffirms the strong support of Luxembourg to the TFV’s reparative mandate, and illustrates its long-standing commitment to reparative justice within the Rome Statute system.

Speaking on Luxembourg’s support to the work of the TFV, H.E. Jean-Marc Hoscheit, Ambassador of Luxembourg to the Netherlands, said « Luxembourg considers that victims must be at the center of our concerns and it is important that they not only have the right to an effective remedy, but also that they obtain reparation for the crimes they have suffered. Therefore, Luxembourg regularly contributes to the budget of the Trust Fund for Victims, whose activity is essential for the work of the Court. Luxembourg invites all States to support the Trust Fund for Victims. »

Welcoming the donation, the TFV Executive Director Pieter de Baan thanked the Government of Luxembourg saying “The TFV notes with sincere appreciation Luxembourg’s regular voluntary contributions and its continued engagement with the work and mandates of the TFV and the ICC. As an expression of trust and recognition, Luxembourg’s consistent support to the TFV illustrates the importance of the Rome Statute, and of reparative measures for victims to be one of its core elements.”

To date, the TFV is implementing four reparations ordered by the ICC, the Lubanga, Katanga, Al Mahdi and Ntaganda cases. The convicted persons in these cases were all found to be indigent and the TFV has responded to the ICC’s requests to consider complementing the payment of the reparations awards. The TFV has also engaged in the fifth reparations proceeding in Ongwen since the beginning of 2021.

Under its assistance mandate, the TFV provides medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, education, income-generating activities, and livelihood support. The TFV is continuing with its programmes in Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire,  Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. The TFV will soon launch new assistance programmes in Georgia, Kenya and Mali early 2022.

Royal Lalanga Fononga presents tangible project to Tonga’s Regal Couple

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Royal Lalanga Fononga presents tangible project to Tonga’s Regal Couple

Friday, 10 December 2021, Kingdom of Tonga: Their Majesties King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u visited a building site to view the foundations of what shall be the first house to be constructed locally using imported Ferronickel slag from New Caledonia as alternative to sand. The latter is deemed as a promising alternative in the production of green concrete for structural applications. 
The three-bedroom house is currently being built in the township of Fangaloto under the aegis of the Royal Lalanga Fononga Foundation. 

Diplomat Viliami Lolohea discovered the alternative material based out of Ferronickel in 2016 when he attended a workshop in New Caledonia on the impact of natural disasters such as flooding, and sand erosion on most Pacific Island countries. He was astounded to realise that New Caledonia was making bricks with slag. The depletion of sand in Tonga became a major concern in 2016 with increasing demands for sand for customary burials, for buildings and road construction, and with increasing erosion throughout the isles.

Locally produced bricks – Kingdom of Tonga.

Lolohea also set up the ‘Royal Lalanga Fononga Foundation’, registered in Cyprus, with himself as president and an international board, including Joseph Borghese (Honorary Consul of Tonga in Cyprus), Bart Doornbos (Netherlands), Pelenise Alofa (Kiribati) and Aliena Lolohea (The Netherlands/Tonga), and Henri Estramant (Germany). 

The Royal Lalanga Fononga means ‘The Weaving of Our Journey’ in English, and describes itself as “an international NGO for the South Pacific”. It made their first order of 40 tons of ferronickel slag from New Caledonia last year. The foundation is in the process of applying for funds in order to to finance a study as to the feasibility to providing slag as a substitute for sand for climate change adaptation and community projects. 

For further information 

From Extraction to Regeneration: The Tongan Solution to Global Sustainability:https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2020/12/19/from-extraction-to-regeneration-the-tongan-solution-to-global-sustainability/

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Images courtesy of NGO “Royal Lalanga Fononga (“The Weaving of Our Journey”) – First Secretary Viliami Lolohea, High Commission of Tonga to the United Kingdom, non-resident embassy to Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Denmark, the Russian Federation, the European Union, etc. 

Islande verse sa première contribution au Fonds au profit des victimes

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Islande verse sa première contribution au Fonds au profit des victimes

Le Fonds au profit des victimes (FPV) de la Cour pénale internationale (CPI) a le grand plaisir d’annoncer qu’en 2021, le gouvernement de l’Islande a versé sa toute première contribution volontaire d’un montant de 10,000 euros au Fonds avec l’intention de le faire pendant trois années consécutives. Cette reconnaissance par l’Islande du mandate et des activités du FPV illustre son soutien et son engagement à faire de la justice réparatrice une réalité significative pour les survivants de crimes relevant de la compétence de la CPI.

S’exprimant sur la contribution de l’Islande au Fonds, S.E. Thórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörd Gylfadóttir, ministre des Affaires étrangères et de la Coopération internationale au développement, a déclaré que “chaque crime d’atrocité concerne des victimes et des survivants dont les droits humains ont été violés de la pire des façons. Le Fonds au profit des victimes a été créé pour apporter assistance et réparation à ces victimes et à leurs familles. Nous sommes fiers de verser notre première contribution volontaire au Fonds, soulignant ainsi le soutien indéfectible de l’Islande à la Cour pénale internationale.”

Se réjouissant de ce don, le Directeur exécutif du Fonds, Pieter de Baan, a remercié le Gouvernement de l’Islande en déclarant que “le FPV exprime sa sincère gratitude à l’Islande pour sa première contribution volontaire et la confiance qu’elle manifeste à l’égard du Fonds dans ses efforts et son engagement envers les victims des crimes les plus graves.” De Baan a souligné l’importance de cette contribution, et de celle de nouveaux pays donateurs pour permettre au Fonds de remplir son mandat. Il a ajouté : “La première contribution de l’Islande envoie un message puissant pour inciter les autres pays à soutenir notre mission, par tous les moyens possibles. Nous nous réjouissons de poursuivre notre engagement et notre partenariat avec l’Islande.”

Les contributions volontaires permettent au Fonds au profit des victimes d’apporter une valeur réparatrice aux victimes de crimes relevant de la compétence de la CPI par le biais d’indemnités de réparation et d’activités d’assistance.

À ce jour, la CPI a rendu quatre ordonnances de réparation dans les affaires Lubanga, Katanga, Al Mahdi et Ntaganda. Les personnes condamnées dans ces affaires ont été jugées indigentes et le FPV a répondu aux demandes de la Cour d’envisager de compléter le paiement des indemnités de réparation. Le FPV s’est également engagé dans la cinquième procédure de réparation dans l’affaire Ongwen depuis début 2021.

Dans le cadre de son mandat d’assistance, le FPV fournit des traitements médicaux, une réhabilitation psychologique, une éducation, des activités génératrices de revenus et un soutien aux moyens de subsistance. Le Fonds poursuit ses programmes en République centrafricaine (RCA), en Côte d’Ivoire (CIV), en République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et en Ouganda. Le FPV lancera en outre de nouveaux programmes d’assistance en Géorgie, au Kenya et au Mali début 2022.

Peace Palace Tours

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Peace Palace Tours

During the Christmas vacations, tours of the Peace Palace will take place almost daily

These are the first tours the Carnegie Foundation can offer at the Palace since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Since there will be no sessions of the courts during the Christmas vacations, tours of the palace can be organized during this period.

A guide will tell participants all about the building, the institutions housed there and the works of art with which the palace is decorated. During the tour, visitors will visit the Great Hall of Justice, the Small Courtroom and the Japanese Room and thus get an impression of the most beautiful rooms in the building.

Tickets cost €14.50 per person, and admission is free for children up to and including 7 years of age. Wearing a face mask and presenting a coronavirus entry pass is obligatory.

More information and tickets: https://www.vredespaleis.nl/visit/guided-tours/?lang=en

Peace Palace, Copyright Carnegie Stichting – Vredespaleis

President Agius briefs UN Security Council

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President Agius briefs UN Security Council

President Agius briefs UN Security Council on progress of Mechanism work

Arusha, The Hague, 13 December 2021– The President of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (Mechanism), Judge Carmel Agius, today presented the Mechanism’s nineteenth progress report to the United Nations Security Council.

President Agius commenced his address by reflecting upon resolution 2529 (2020), adopted by the Council following its third review of the Mechanism’s work, and which the Mechanism views as a tool by which it can gauge its performance. This resolution has remained at the forefront as the Mechanism strives to fulfil the requests of the Council contained therein. In this regard, the President informed the Council of the strong progress made during the reporting period, noting that resolution 2529 (2020) has largely been implemented.

President Agius highlighted the timely delivery of three judgements that had been projected for June of this year: the appeal judgement in the Mladić case, as well as trial judgements in the Stanišić and Simatović case and the Nzabonimpa et al. contempt case. He credited this achievement to the remarkable efforts of Mechanism Judges, staff and Defence teams and their determination to overcome obstacles that could have derailed the cases. The President signalled to the Security Council that, as a result of the favourable performance during the pandemic, the Mechanism has entered a new chapter in its operations. The core driver of the Mechanism’s activities – its pending judicial caseload – is now limited to appeal proceedings in the above-mentioned cases and the trial in the case against Félicien Kabuga.  

Turning to the Mechanism’s continued efforts to enhance effective and transparent management, President Agius referred to the hard work done to implement of the outstanding recommendations of Office of Internal Oversight Services and, in particular, the steps taken to combine strategic thinking of the three organs on the future of the Mechanism’s numerous remaining functions.

Next, President Agius informed the Security Council of a major breakthrough in the longstanding situation of the acquitted or released persons who have been living in a safe house in Arusha.  On 15 November 2021, a milestone agreement was concluded between the Republic of Niger and the United Nations to relocate of all nine of these persons to the territory of the Republic of Niger. This agreement has already been implemented with respect to eight of the nine persons concerned. The President expressed his deepest gratitude to Mechanism Registrar, Abubacarr Tambadou, for his exceptional efforts in securing this outcome, and to the Republic of Niger, currently presiding over the Council, for its “outstanding assistance and demonstrated commitment to international justice”.

Finally, in discussing the need for continued State cooperation with the Mechanism, the President once again called on the Republic of Serbia to fulfil its international obligations, by arresting and transferring to the Mechanism, Petar Jojić and Vjerica Radeta.

In concluding, President Agius underscored the Mechanism’s determination to “keep achieving results that defy these challenging times” and its undoubted “resolve to do everything within its power towards the optimal fulfillment of its mandate”.

Kazakh and Saxony-Anhalt ready to intensify ties

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Kazakh and Saxony-Anhalt ready to intensify ties

Wednesday, 8 December 2021, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany: Premier Dr. Reiner Haseloff welcomed the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dauren Karipov, on his inaugural visit to the State Chancellery. Both interlocutors exchanged views on current topics and talked about business, culture and science.

Last year, companies from Saxony-Anhalt exported goods worth around 20.3 million euros to Kazakhstan. Conversely, goods worth 27.7 million euros were imported from Kazakhstan to Saxony-Anhalt in 2020.

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences maintain diverse bilateral relations with partner institutions in Kazakhstan. Partnerships exist, for example, in the fields of electrical engineering, industrial engineering, agriculture and ecotrophology, as well as on topics such as the use of agricultural resources and climate adaptation.

In 2019, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg established a contact office in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as the university’s first office abroad, which forms the starting point for the university’s activities in Central Asia.

For further information

 
Government of Saxe-Anhalt: https://europa.sachsen-anhalt.de/internationales/aktuelles-international/antrittsbesuch-des-botschafters-von-kasachstan/
Embassy of Kazakhstan in Germany: https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa-berlin/press/news/details/298489?lang=de&fbclid=IwAR3m9ho-3MhI-nfvim9fth0zU2soNML4cu5UiZHWdirgf6bZLGFuHS-oMew

ICC Prosecutor appoints Special Adviser on Mutual Legal Assistance

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ICC Prosecutor appoints Special Adviser on Mutual Legal Assistance

ICC Prosecutor Mr Karim A.A. Khan QC appoints Special Adviser on Mutual Legal Assistance

Further to the recent appointments of twenty Special Advisers, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr Karim A.A. Khan QC, has appointed Mr Yoshimitsu Yamauchi of Japan (Bio) to serve as Special Adviser on Mutual Legal Assistance pursuant to article 42.9 of the Rome Statute.

This new appointment, in line with past indications by the Prosecutor, is aimed at creating a network of experts representing different regions of the world with cultural, linguistic, and gender diversity, with specific portfolios and expertise to reinforce the Office of the Prosecutor’s capabilities to effectively and efficiently discharge its mandate under the Statute, and to strengthen specialisation on a wide range of issues and priority areas identified by the Prosecutor.

“Mutual legal assistance is the cornerstone of the Rome Statute system and crucial to fostering complementarity and the effective delivery of the Court’s mandate. I am therefore delighted that such a prominent expert from Japan has joined the group of experts who have accepted to serve as my Special Advisers. I am very pleased to welcome Mr Yamauchi and to have him join my team, and look forward to benefit from the valuable experience he has amassed in advancing mutual legal assistance in various countries around the world. His rich expertise and the perspectives he will bring to the table will undoubtedly assist me and my Office as we endeavour to increase our effectiveness and harness the dividends of deeper cooperation and partnerships with States in the fight against impunity for atrocity crimes”, stated the Prosecutor.

Special Advisers to the Prosecutor are persons with outstanding professional credentials and expertise in their fields. They provide advice to the Prosecutor within their respective mandates as Special Advisers and may assist in training initiatives of the Office. They work on a pro bono basis and are required to sign a confidentiality agreement and are bound by the ‘Standards of Conduct’ stipulated in, inter alia, Annex I to Administrative Instruction ICC/AI/2016/002.

Ambassador Calzadilla, Welcome Back to The Hague

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Ambassador Calzadilla, Welcome Back to The Hague

On the occasion of his presentation of credentials to His Majesty King William Alexander of the Netherlands, the Ambassador of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, H.E. Mr. Roberto Calzadilla Sarmiento hosted a concert with the renowned Bolivian guitarist Pirai Vaca, which took place at the embassy premises in The Hague.

H.E. Mr. Roberto Calzadilla, Ambassador of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

It was a unique occasion to listen to Bolivian music from a very famous artist to celebrate Ambassador Calzadilla’s return to The Hague. He is a career diplomat serving as ambassador in the Netherlands from 2008 until 2013. That year he was appointed as ambassador to the United Kingdom.

Previous to his posting in the Netherlands, he served as Bolivia’s ambassador to Portugal, in charge of Asia, America, Africa, Oceania and of the Department of Summits at the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bolivian guitarist Pirai Vaca.

Between 2000 and 2004, he served as a Permanent Representative to the United Nations International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Ambassador Calzadilla was one of six ambassadors founders of Diplomat Magazine Netherlands.

The concert was very well attended with ambassadors and authorities celebrating his return to the Hague.

The Soviet Field of Honor

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The Soviet Field of Honor

By H.E. Mr. Alexander Shulgin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation
in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Russian Embassy in the Netherlands pays particular attention to the maintenance of «The Soviet Field of Honor», the only Soviet memorial complex in the Netherlands, in good order. The remains of 865 Soviet soldiers who died during World War Two in various parts of the Netherlands and in Germany are buried there.

«The Soviet Field of Honor» was officially opened on November 18, 1948. Originally, 101 Soviet soldiers who had died in the nearby concentration Camp Amersfoort were buried there. All of them were mainly from Central Asia (Uzbekistan). The Germans had captured and brought them to the Netherlands in September 1941 to convince the Dutch to join their side in the battle against the USSR. Despite that the Nazis bullied and tortured them, the will of the brave Soviet soldiers was not broken. When the Germans realized that their plan had failed, the prisoners were shot.

«The Soviet Field of Honor».

After the war the remains of other 764 Soviet soldiers who found their final resting place far away from their home were also transferred to «The Soviet Field of Honor».

I would like to stress that the Russian Embassy in the Netherlands closely follow the development on «The Soviet Field of Honor». Despite the logistical difficulties that arose from the spread of coronavirus infection in the Netherlands, I am pleased to announce that the phased replacement of all the 865 gravestones (planned for the period from 2019 to 2021), was successfully completed on time. One of the reasons for this was the necessity to put the new recovered data on the gravestones of the Soviet soldiers, and to comply with the relevant provisions of the legislation of the Netherlands, according to which gravestones must be replaced every 60 years.

The new stones are almost identical in size with the old ones. Most of them are engraved with the name, surname, date of birth and death of a fallen Red Army soldier.

I’m pleased to inform you this project was financed jointly by the Russian and the Dutch side, the Embassies of countries – former Soviet Union republics, with the involvement of the private investors. In particular, The Russian Federation has allocated 300,000 euros for the three year period (2019-2021).

«The Soviet Field of Honor», the only Soviet memorial complex in the Netherlands.

 The Russian Embassy in the Netherlands annually holds commemorative events on the territory of «The Soviet Field of Honor» memorial complex, including the celebration of Defender of the Motherland Day (February 23) and the Great Patriotic War Victory Day (May 9). We intend to continue to provide all possible assistance in preserving and maintaining the memorial complex «The Soviet Field of Honor» in excellent condition.

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