The Fight against Anti-Semitism in the OSCE region

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The Fight against Anti-Semitism in the OSCE region

The Albanian Presidency of the OSCE organized on 4-5 February 2020 in Tirana, the High Level Conference on the Fight against Anti-Semitism in the OSCE region. It was attended by official delegations from OSCE participating States, representatives of international organizations and civil society, etc. 

The high-level conference, which marks the first activity of its kind of the Albanian Presidency, provided an opportunity for dialogue and discussion among participants on current challenges and good practices related to the fight against anti-Semitism, while also examining the possibilities of interaction between states. OSCE participants to promote tolerance and non-discrimination. The conference also addressed the role of civil society in addressing anti-Semitism manifestations as well as the inalienable importance of educational programs in helping to combat this phenomenon.

The full information about the conference can be accessed here: https://www.osce.org/chairmanship/445474 

Another important activity organised by the Albanian Parliament which also took place in 2020,  can be found in the following link: https://balkans.combatantisemitism.org/​​

The Albanian Parliament, in partnership with the Movement Against Anti-Semitism and the Agency for Jews of Israel, organized the first Balkan Forum Against Anti-Semitism, on 28 October 2020. The forum took place after the adoption by the Albanian parliament of the Resolution “On the adoption of the usable definition of anti-Semitism, defined by the International Alliance for the Remembrance of the Holocaust”, in the plenary session on 22 October. 

Guests and special speakers at the Forum were US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and European Parliament President David Sassoli https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUPi-2fmhxc 

The Forum was attended and addressed by the Prime Minister of Albania, Mr. Edi Rama, Speaker of the Assembly, Mr. Gramoz Ruçi, Chairman of the SP Parliamentary Group, Mr. Taulant Balla, Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Mrs. Mr. Vjosa Osmani, Speaker of the Parliament of Northern Macedonia Talat Xhaferi, Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Mr. Aleksa Bečić, Speaker of the Parliament of the State of Israel, Mr. Mr. Yariv Levin, United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Engel Moratinos, United States Senator for Nevada, Mrs. Mr. Jacklyn Rosen, United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism Mrs. Elan S. Carr, Minister of Diaspora Affairs of the State of Israel; Mr. Omer Yankelevich, President of the Center for Jewish Influence Robert Singer, President of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Mr. Isaac Herzog, Chairman of the Board of the Congress of Eurasian Jews, Mr. Aaron Frenkel, as well as activists in the global fight against anti-Semitism.

For more information please open the link below:

https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/resources/rescue-of-jews-in-albania-through-yad-vashem-files.html#:~:text=Among%20the%20Nations-,The%20Rescue%20of%20Jews%20in%20Albania%20Through%20the%20Perspective%20of,the%20Righteous%20Among%20the%20Nations&text=Since%20the%20inception%20of%20the,as%20Righteous%20Among%20the%20Nations

International Holocaust Remembrance Day The Hague, 2021

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International Holocaust Remembrance Day The Hague, 2021

By John Dunkelgrün.

The Hague proudly calls itself the International City of Peace and Justice. For over a century it has been the home of the International Court of Justice and the Peace Palace. It is home to the ICC, the ICJ, the OPCW, and many other international organisations and conferences.

Several years ago, Rabbi Katzmann of the orthodox Jewish Community in The Hague initiated the idea that this City of Peace and Justice should commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a UN designated day to remember and learn from the horrors of the Shoah. Together with the City of The Hague, the Embassy of Israel and the The Hague Jewish Cultural organization CHAJ, he established International Holocaust Remembrance Day The Hague, which each year plans a conference in the Academy Hall of the Peace Palace.

The IHRD-TH conferences would focus on the influence of the Holocaust on international law and justice. This year, the third in the series, the subject of the conference was “compensation”, with a keynote speech by Stuart E. Eisenstat, special advisor to the White House on Holocaust issues, and former US ambassador to the EU. There were speeches by Mr Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, President of the ICJ, Mr Jan Van Zanen, the mayor of The Hague, Mrs Marion Ein Lewin, and Rabbi Katzmann. Of course this year the conference had to be digital. The advantage of this, is that one can still view it on Youtube (IHRD The Hague 2021).

On March 21st it will be 70 years since the establishment of the “Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany”. The Conference followed an agreement between Conrad Adenauer, then Chancellor of the Bundesrepublik Deutschland and Mr Nahum Goldman, President of the International Jewish Congress, in which Mr Adenauer declared that Germany, then the Bundesrepublik, bore material and moral responsibility for the misdeeds of its predecessor, Nazi Germany.

The Dutch Government then hosted a conference in Kasteel Oud Wassenaar between representatives of the Claims Conference, the State of Israel, and the Bundesrepublik. Initially this conference was met with much opposition both in Israel and in Germany. Six short years after the war, emotions still ran very deep.

The first days, even weeks, the atmosphere was chilly, even though the German representatives were known to have  been actively anti Nazi. However over the many months that followed, once the others started to trust that the German delegation genuinely wanted to find an equitable solution, a good working relationship developed. In the end an agreement was reached (and signed in Luxemburg) in which Germany agreed to pay compensation to individual Holocaust victims and to the State of Israel for settling half a million Holocaust refugees.

It was recognised by all parties that any reparation payments would be symbolic as the true suffering, material, personal and psychological, could never be compensated.

According to the agreement, the Bunderrepublik committed to supply the State of Israel with goods and services valuing 3.5 billion marks over a period of 12 years. Part of the agreement was the German assurance to enable personal reparations too, as well as the return of property to its legal owners. In order to follow through on this agenda, an additional sum of 450 million marks was promised.

The significance of this conference on international law is immense. For the first time in history a nation admitted liability for crimes against individuals and undertook to compensate them. For the first time too, a nation undertook to compensate  a state that didn’t even exist at the time of the crimes. For (I think) the first time a state negotiated a major agreement with an international NGO.

This conference, aptly held on the outskirts of what was later to be called the City of Peace and Justice heralded an important step in the direction of a world directed by the rule of law.

Please watch the videos on Youtube:

“IHRD The Hague 2021”

How would the world be without the United Nations?

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How would the world be without the United Nations?

Diplomat Magazine Podcast – Episode 1

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[bbp-single-forum id=58478]

Hablemos de Derecho Internacional

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Hablemos de Derecho Internacional

A Rose is a Rose exhibition against FGM

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A Rose is a Rose exhibition against FGM

The Banquet of Ukemochi.

6-27 February 2021: A Rose (is A Rose) is a non-profit art project that draws the attention of a wide audience to the issue of female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice many young girls still suffer today. The aim is to generate funds to help fight FGM.  

The artist and curator Dodi Reifenberg developed his first thus named project, A Rose (is A Rose), in the summer of 2015, followed by another with HOHENTHAL UND BERGEN Gallery in 2016. This year’s exhibition is available online only due to the aforementioned restrictions imposed by COVID-19. The proceeds from the sale of artwork(s) in the exhibition this year will go to Evelyn Brenda and her organization Kajiado Rescue Centre. They fight female genital mutilation and offer refuge to girls affected by it (more than 200 million women worldwide suffer from the consequences of genital mutilation).  

The exhibition opened on February 6, 2021, the International Day Against FGM, and will feature 101 internationally renowned and emerging young artists. From previous exhibitions in 2015 and 2016, some 60.000 euros was raised from the sale of artworks, the Desert Flower Center at the Waldfriede Hospital in Berlin Zehlendorf received half of the proceeds, the remaining half went to the artists.  

This year, similarly the Kajiado Rescue Center in Kenya will receive 50 per cent of the proceeds and the remainder will go to the artists, some of whom will also donate their allotted amount. With 1000 euros, a girl in Kajiado Rescue Center can have a home, schooling, food and health care for a year.

We are proud to present the film Dishonour by Terrence Turner on our website gallery. A special event created by the group Hedoné for our exhibition will also only available to view online. This exhibition project is supported by the Stiftung Kunstfonds, Neustart Kultur and Bauwert AG. 

For further information: 

http://aroseisarose.eu

———

Artwork ‘The Banquet of Ukemochi’ by Philalethes – Courtesy of the artist

Order of the Union for Zaki Nusseibeh

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Order of the Union for Zaki Nusseibeh

Order of the Union for Dr Zaki Nusseibeh – Picture by MOFAIC UAE

Wednesday, 10 February 2021, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Deputising for the UAE President, His Highness The Crown of Abu Dhabi, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, presented HE Dr. Zaki bin Anwar Nusseibeh with the Order of the Union. The country’s Vice President, Prime Minister and Emir of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was present for the bestowal. 

Dr. Zaki Nusseibeh was awarded the Order of the Union recognising his many years of cultural and diplomatic commitments for the UAE. It was further announced that Dr. Nusseibeh departs his position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to become Advisor for Cultural Affairs at the Presidential Court of the UAE. 

Nusseibeh is currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, member of the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Diplomatic Academy and Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University. 

For further information:
https://www.uaecabinet.ae/en/details/cabinet-members/his-excellency-zaki-anwar-nusseibeh

Shakhboot Al Nahyan becomes Minister of State

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Shakhboot Al Nahyan becomes Minister of State

Wednesday, 10 February 2021, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: HE Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan bin Mubarak bin Mohammad bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has been appointed Minister of State at the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation alongside Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar. 

Sheikh Shakhboot began his diplomatic career as Emirati Ambassador to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). He is an avid equestrian, former President of the Emirates Equestrian Federation and son of the incumbent Minister of State for Tolerance and Coexistence, HE Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. 

Sheikh Shakhboot holds a BA in applied science and applied media studies from the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi and a graduate diploma from Dr. Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy (erstwhile Emirates Diplomatic Academy). Shakhboot first joined the Foreign Ministry in 2013.

During his ambassadorial tenure, Sheikh Shakhboot bint Nahyan focused on establishing synergies between the socio-economic visions of the leaderships in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. He is likewise credited with stimulating further channels of trade between the two GCC countries. 

For further information:
https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/ar/

Picture by MOFAIC – UAE

Anniversary of Diplomatic Service in Russia

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Anniversary of Diplomatic Service in Russia

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

On February 10, Russia celebrates the diplomat’s day. This holiday was introduced back in 2002 by the President Vladimir Putin to celebrate the anniversary of  establishment of the first foreign office in our country in 1549, called ‘Ambassadorial Prikaz’, which became the prototype of the modern Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Russian diplomacy can be proud of its rich history. Diplomats served their Motherland for dozens of generations: heroically defended the interests of state during wars and armed conflicts, they made efforts to settle disputes and ensure peace on the planet, and significantly contributed to the liberation of Europe from the Nazi invaders during the Second World War.

Russian diplomats, relying on the glorious traditions laid down by their predecessors, are still working to resolve the most important global and regional problems. The Russian Foreign Ministry actively participates in the development of the international agenda and maintains a dialogue with foreign partners on the basis of international law, provisions of the UN Charter, principles of equality and mutual respect, in order to ensure security and stability on the world arena.

The priorities of the Russian MFA, embassies and permanent representations are to create favorable foreign policy conditions for the sustainable socio-economic development of Russia, and to protect the rights of Russian citizens and compatriots abroad. Our diplomacy is working to build a truly equal and mutually beneficial cooperation with all counterparties. We strive to defend the key role of the UN, to consolidate the international community in the fight against the threat of terrorism, and to strengthen the foundations of strategic stability and non-proliferation regimes for weapons of mass destruction.

Speaking about the Embassy of the Russian Federation in The Hague, here we do our best to strengthen our amicable relations with the Netherlands. Our mission abroad is to establish political contacts and ensure mutually beneficial conditions for economic and cultural exchange with the host country. The Consular section of the Embassy provides all necessary assistance to Russian citizens residing in the Netherlands and the subjects of the Kingdom in matters of entry into the territory of Russia.

At this difficult times, when the world is facing a new challenge – the COVID-19 pandemic – it is of special importance to unite diplomatic efforts in the face of a common calamity. Russia is therefore open to constructive cooperation in order to jointly defeat the new coronavirus infection.

The Ambassador of Romania H.E. Mr. Lucian Fătu

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The Ambassador of Romania H.E. Mr. Lucian Fătu

H.E. Lucian Fătu has presented his letters of credence as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Kingdom of The Netherlands to H.M. King Willem-Alexander on the 10th of February, 2021.

After being admitted to the Diplomatic Service in 1992, Lucian Fătu ranks currently as Minister Plenipotentiary.

Between 2013 and 2019, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the Hellenic Republic.  Previously, he held the same office in the Republic of Finland, with additional accreditation to the Republic of Estonia (2006-2011), and in the Republic of Lithuania, with additional accreditation to the Republic of Latvia (2001-2004). His initial foreign postings included London, as Deputy Head (2000-2001), and Washington, D.C., as political officer (1995-1999).

In the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, Lucian Fătu was National Coordinator for the EU Danube Strategy, with the rank of Director General (2012), Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (2011-2012), Deputy Director General of the EU Department (2004-2005), Director for Western Europe (2000), and Deputy Director for North America (1999).

After completing his tour of duty in Helsinki, where he served as Dean of the Diplomatic Corps between 2010 and 2011, Lucian Fătu received the highest Finnish recognition, when he was awarded Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Finnish Lion.

Lucian Fătu was born in Bucharest on June 2, 1959, is married and has three children. He holds a BA in Civil Engineering from the Bucharest Polytechnic Institute (1979-1984), and M.A. degrees in Political Science from the National School for Political and Administrative Studies in Bucharest (1990-1992), and in European Integration from the Limerick University in the Republic of Ireland (1991-1992).  Lucian Fǎtu speaks English and French.

H.E. Mr. Jian Tan is China’s new Ambassador in The Hague

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H.E. Mr. Jian Tan is China’s new Ambassador in The Hague

On February 10th H.E. Mr. Jian Tan has taken up his new role as top diplomat of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in The Hague, where he will serve his country both as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and as Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Ambassador Tan brings with him over thirty 30 years of experience in his country’s foreign service as well as with the United Nations.

Born in March 1965 in Jiangsu, Mr. Jian Tan earned a Master’s in Diplomacy and Trade and joined the PRC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in 1987 as a Staff Member. There, he worked for two stints in the Department of International Organizations and Conferences (1988-1991, 1994-2001), raising through the Department’s ranks up to the role of Director.

In the meanwhile, Mr. Jian Tan also made successful experiences as a diplomat abroad, first as Attaché at the PRC’s Embassy in Indonesia (1991-1994), and then as Counsellor at China’s Permanent Mission to the UN Office in Geneva, Switzerland (2001-2007). Mr. Tan’s experience at the UN continued further after his long post in Geneva, as he took up the role of Special Assistant to the UN Under-Secretary General for Economic and Social Affairs (2007-2011).

In 2012, Mr. Jian Tan returned to Beijing, first as Deputy Director-General of the MFA’s Department of International Economic Affairs (2012-2017), and then as Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (2011-2017). Then, in 2017, Mr. Jian Tan received his first nomination as Ambassador, being tasked to represent his country in Ethiopia, where he remained until 2020.

Ambassador Tan is married, with a son.

Now, it is time for Ambassador Jian Tan to represent his country in the Netherlands. Diplomat Magazine and the whole diplomatic community welcomes him and wishes him the best for his new experience!

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