ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I rejects Comoros’ request for judicial review of the Prosecutor’s decision not to open an investigation
Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (‘ICC’) issued on September 16 its decision rejecting the request submitted by the Government of the Comoros seeking a judicial review of the Prosecutor’s decision not to proceed with an investigation with respect to crimes allegedly committed in the context of the 31 May 2010 Israeli interception of the Humanitarian Aid Flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip.
By way of background, on 14 May 2013, the Union of the Comoros – a State Party to the Rome Statute – referred to the ICC Prosecutor the situation concerning ‘the 31 May 2010 Israeli raid of the Humanitarian Aid Flotilla bound for Gaza Strip’.
On 6 November 2014, the Prosecutor decided not to initiate an investigation, as she considered that the potential case(s) likely to arise following an investigation would not be of ‘sufficient gravity’ to justify further action by the ICC. On 16 July 2015, Pre-Trial Chamber I requested the Prosecutor to reconsider her decision, and did so again on 15 November 2018, having found that the Prosecutor had failed to properly reconsider. Pre-Trial Chamber I’s decision of 15 November 2018 was confirmed on appeal. On 2 December 2019, following reconsideration, the Prosecutor once again reaffirmed her position that no potential case arising from the situation would be sufficiently grave to justify further action by the ICC.
In the decision issued today, Pre-Trial Chamber I found that the Prosecutor did not genuinely reconsider her 6 November 2014 decision not to investigate. The Chamber found that the Prosecutor failed to correct the errors identified by the Chamber in the 16 July 2015 decision and committed new errors in her assessment of the gravity of the potential case(s).
Nonetheless, the Chamber decided not to request the Prosecutor to reconsider her decision again. Pre-Trial Chamber I held that, based on the guidance received from the Appeals Chamber, it was unclear whether and to what extent it may request the Prosecutor to correct the errors identified by the Chamber. Pre-Trial Chamber I considered that the current jurisprudence of the Appeals Chamber did not establish with sufficient clarity the exact distribution of prerogatives between the Prosecutor and pre-trial chambers.
MPs Haraly Weyel, Jan Nolte and Chairman Dr. Robby Schlund – Picture by MP Haraly Weyel.
Thursday, 17 September 2020, Berlin, Germany: The Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany, H.E. Mr. Sergej Jurjewitsch Netschajew was welcomed at the Bundestag (Federal Parliament) by the Chairman of the German-Russian Parliamentary Group, Dr. Robby Schlund and five further deputies from the Alternative for Germany Party, including the expert on defence affairs, Jan Nolte.
The conversation took place in a difficult period of German-Russian relations, however, the members of parliament focused on the importance of economic ties, particularly bringing the Nord Stream 2 project to completion, meant to increase the overall annual capacity up to 110 billion m3 in gas deliveries to various EU countries.
All in all, the participating deputies called upon the German and European governments to act with prudence in the case Alexei Nawalny in order not to damage the important relations vis-à-vis the Russian Federation.
Ambassador Netschajew is in office in Germany since 2018, is a career diplomat who speaks fluent Russian, German, and English. He has represented his country as Ambassador to Austria (2010-2015) and Consul General in Bonn (2001-2003).
Fotografiska Am Tacheles – Image by Yornning Richter
Fotografiska is due to open a fourth museum in 2022. The museum will house 5,500 square meters in the historic Kunsthaus Tacheles building in Berlin. The architects Herzog & de Meuron have been assigned to carry out a modern renovation. The opening is expected in late 2022.
Kunsthaus Tacheles is listed as a cultural heritage site. It has therefore been decided in close consultation with the responsible authorities that the façade and certain rooms in the building will be restored. Damages from the war, as well as artistic choices made over the past 80 years, will be retained and even made visible.
Fotografiska was founded by the brothers Jan and Per Broman in Stockholm in 2010. In 2019, additional museums were opened in New York and Tallinn. Today Fotografiska is owned by several partners and the Berlin-based Yoram Roth is the majority owner:
— As my hometown, Berlin was always a dream location for Fotografiska. Today, Berlin is one of the most important cities in the world of photography, with leading museums, academies, and galleries. My wish is to redefine the classical concept of the museum: I want it to be a cultural center that is also part of the cultural scene as a whole.
Fotografiska does not want to be a repository of art in silent, holy halls, but instead a place of vibrant, creative interaction and promote constructive dialogue with the community outside its doors. Simply entertaining our audience with photography is not enough to my mind: Fotografiska wants to foster and initiate changes. innovation, inclusion, inspiration, and sustainability are core elements of our work in this regard.
In the years after the fall of the Wall, Tacheles was home to a group of artists who thought outside the box. It is time to continue that effort: Fotografiska is a community open to all – just like Berlin, says Yoram Roth.
The vintage aesthetics of a historic Montblanc Egyptian writing instrument combined with modern accents.
Egyptomania is inspired in the period when archaeological excavations reached their peak in the 1920s with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, they sparked a veritable Egyptomania in Europe. Even Montblanc could not escape the fascination and designed a fountain pen with an octagonal shape and engravings in Egyptian style.
Inspired by this writing instrument, Montblanc presents the new Heritage Egyptomania collection with two different editions. They feature authentic hieroglyphics, gold-plated fittings in a vintage look and a 14 K gold nib with embossed scarab motif. The characters roughly mean “mountain of white stone” and thus represent a paraphrase of “Montblanc”.
Montblanc Heritage Egyptomania Special Edition Ink
Like the rest of the world, the Dutch travel industry was hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. With almost no tourists around, businesses in Amsterdam’s popular red-light district have reported a 90% loss in revenue, and the situation is similar across the country. In the hopes of saving these businesses, the Dutch tourism board NBTC is encouraging locals to travel domestically rather than abroad, along with the Netherlands’ 75,000 expats.
This aligns with NBTC’s Perspective 2030 tourism plan, which aims at making “all of the Netherlands attractive”. Locals are more likely to look beyond the country’s tourist hubs, which may help with Perspective 2030’s goal of putting “more cities and regions on the map as attractive destinations.” Would-be Dutch travellers are now looking towards individual and socially distanced activities across the Netherlands to occupy their holiday time and innovative tour guides like Mr Local himself, Willem Versteegh, might just have the answer: audio tours.
Audio tours offer a self-guided and zero interaction method of travel. Tour-goers use their own smartphones and headphones, and the tour does the rest as the narration guides them through the most iconic and overlooked places in the city or town they’re exploring. And with audio tour companies like VoiceMap, travellers would be supporting the local tour operators who created the tours and the small businesses that they visit en route.
While VoiceMap has four neighbourhood specific tours in Amsterdam as well as an introduction to the city, it also has a number of tours in neighbouring towns like historical walks around The Hague and Utrecht. They also have a stroll through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Canadian War Cemetery in Holten and a tour in Hattem. “Hattem is a picture-perfect, pocket-sized slice of the Netherlands, and easy to get to,“ says two-time VoiceMap tour creator Annette Welkamp.
While the future of travel remains uncertain, what is clear is that there is an opportunity for sustainable tourism to grow and flourish with the help of technology. A New York Times article on the future of travel predicts that tourism will restart locally, with locals wanting to explore their own backyards before returning to overseas travel. Large group experiences have already started transforming into smaller, private offerings in order to accommodate cautious travellers, and this might be a lasting change that, in the Netherlands, could be a change for the better.
VoiceMap’s Dutch tours at a glance
Vondelpark & Old West Neighbourhood
Tour summary Explore Amsterdam’s Vondelpark and the diverse Old West Neighbourhood Main attractions the Vondelpark, Vondel Church, Kate Ten Market and De Hallen Amsterdam Type of tour walking
Language English and Dutch Length 60 minutes Where Amsterdam
Castles, canals and good folk in Utrecht
Tour summary Walk alongside canals and castles in one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands Main attractions the Huis Oudaen, Utrecht University and some of the 330 lantern sculptures around the town Type of tour walking
Language English Length 60 minutes Where Utrecht
An Amsterdam introduction: from fishing hamlet to trading centre
Tour summary Explore the origins of Amsterdam, from fishing village to trading powerhouse Main attractions the Amsterdam Central Station, Our Lord in the Attic Museum, and the Old Church Type of tour walking Language English Length 60 minutes Where Amsterdam
Windmills, bakeries and possibly ghosts in Hattem
Tour summary Be charmed by Hattem’s history, good food and quaint Dutch atmosphere Main attractions the Molen De Fortuin, the Anton Pieck Museum and the Nederlands Bakkerij Museum Type of tour walking Language English Length 45 minutes Where Hattem
Red Light District
Tour summary Take a peek behind the curtain of Amsterdam’s Red Light District Main attractions the Dam Square, Oude Church and New Market Type of tour walking Language English
Length 35 minutes Where Amsterdam
The Commonwealth War Graves Canadian War Cemetery
Tour summary Discover the stories of WWII Canadian soldiers on this short cemetery walk Main attractions the Holten Canadian Cemetery Information Center, Stone of Remembrance, and the Cross of Sacrifice Type of tour walking Language English Length 30 minutes Where Holten
Exploring the Historical Centre of The Hague
Tour summary Hit the bricks on this journey through the historical heart of The Hague Main attractions the Binnenhof, Mauritshuis and Escher in The Palace museums Type of tour walking Language English
Length 30 minutes Where The Hague
A Tasty Stroll Around The Cool Spots of the Pijp
Tour summary Meander through Amsterdam’s quaint and cool Pijp area to find local hangouts Main attractions the Albert Cuyp Market and the Monument Samuel Sarphati Type of tour walking Language English
Length 30 minutes Where Amsterdam
Amsterdam West Specialty Coffee Spots
Tour summary Cycle through Amsterdam and get your java fix from some notable coffee spots Main attractions the Ten Kate Market Type of tour cycling Language English
Length 20 minutes Where Amsterdam
About VoiceMap
VoiceMap is a location-aware audio tour app for Android and iOS that gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace. The app uses your location to play audio automatically, at exactly the right time and place. You can start the tours whenever you’re ready and pause whenever you like. When you start moving again, playback will too. It also gives you turn-by-turn directions, making it much easier to put your phone away and immerse yourself in your surroundings, not the screen. We’ve helped passionate locals, journalists, novelists and podcasters create more than 600 tours in over 200 cities across the world.
For more information on VoiceMap please call +44 20 8638 8644 or email hello@voicemap.me
Published by AD Haagsche Courant / AD 18-09-2020 Leo van der Velde / Translated by Afaf Zoughbi, Embassy of Lebanon.
World Record: In one day along all Ambassadors in The Hague.
“I thought: I can do that too,”.
Arman Angishan (25) Member of Diplomat Magazine, set a new Guinness World Record yesterday. On his bike, he visited 36 Embassies in The Hague in one day and had his picture taken with the Ambassador or his Deputy. At the Embassy of Albania, with Ambassador Adia Sakiqi, he broke the old record of 33 Embassies.
Angishan: “I’ve always wanted to set a record”. “Then I noticed this in the Guinness Book and I thought: I can do that too ”. Together with Kejda Revaj, photographer of Diplomat Magazine, the glossy, written by and for Ambassadors and other Diplomats in The Hague. The first Embassy visited by the junior Legal officer was the Embassy of Vatican at Carnegielaan. There he was received by Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, the Apostolic Nuncio (Ambassador).
The same happened, across the street, on Tobias Asserlaan, with the Ambassador of Japan Mr. Hidehisa Horinouchi. On his bike tour Arman was accompanied by Mr. August Zeidman, tour leader, and 4 witnesses, volunteers who note down the times. During a tryout on Sunday, it became apparent that the distances between addresses were close enough to make the record feasible. Though many visits could be registered in the International area and villas on the Johan de Wittlaan behind the Peace Palace, Dr Mayelinne De Lara, publisher of the Magazine and Website with the same name, was very concerned before the event.
“We had to wait a long time for the registrations but suddenly all the confirmations came in. Glad that it worked, knowing that strict Corona safety measures had to be followed”.
Until yesterday, the record of the most visited Embassies in 24 hours was held by Omar Ouaili (Morocco) who could visit 33 Embassies in London, on 26 March 2019.
Women Ambassadors Group at Clingendael. Photography by Jay Pangilinan.
On 15 and 16 September, a training on “International Negotiations: How can they be most effective?” took place at the esteemed Clingeldael Institute in the Hague for several ambassadors from the Women Ambassadors Group in The Netherlands.
The coordination between the three parties: Director of Clingendael Academy, Mr. Ron Ton, the Head of the Women Ambassadors Group in the Netherlands, Yemeni Ambassador H.E. Ms. Sahar Ghanem and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, produced a training designed for a joint group of women Ambassadors and women directors of the Dutch MFA, and funded by the Dutch MFA.
The training targeted those who operate in an international context and may encounter situations that require negotiations in order to solve complex issues. It also provided participants with important insights and skills to be more successful as an international woman negotiator with emphasis on the political context of negotiations and the extra challenges women face.
The training was performed by the Director of the Academy, Ron Ton and the Coach at the Academy, Ms. Mara van der Meer. By the end participants received a certificate of participation.
Michaelle Jean and António Guterres, UN-Secretary-General – Picture courtesy of The Rt Hon Michaëlle Jean.
Thursday, 17 September 2020: A novel High-Level Commission begins today with an inaugural digital meeting that is to provide guidance and advocate for meaningful follow-up to the commitments outlined in the Nairobi Statement on ICPD25 held back in November 2019. The commitments highlight the UNFPA’s ‘three zeros ‘; zero unmet need for family planning, zero preventable maternal mortality and zero sexual and gender based violence.
The Nairobi Summit marked the 25th anniversary of the ICPD Programme of Action from Cairo in 1994. The ICPD Programme of Action was adopted by 179 governments and laid out a far-sighted plan for advancing human well-being that places human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights – which means the right to decide with whom and when to have children and how many – at the centre of the global development agenda. Denmark co-hosted the Nairobi Summit in 2019 along with the government of Kenya and UNFPA. The Danish crown princess, Mary, joined the commission.
The new High-Level Commission brings together high-level representatives from academia, research, civil societies, human rights activists, private sector, parliamentarians and youth leaders from around the world. The co-chairs are the former President of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete and former Francophonie secretary general and governor general of Canada, Michaëlle Jean.
Ambassador Dr. Jong Bum-goo and Premier Reiner Haseloff – Picture by Staatskanzlei Sachsen-Anhalt, Burkhard Rulf.
Wednesday, 16 September 2020, Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany: Premier Dr. Reiner Haseloff received the Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea in Germany, H.E. Dr. Jong Bum-goo, for his inaugural visit to the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt.
During the meeting in the State Chancellery, the state chief of government and his diplomatic guest discussed the economic ties between the two countries and possibilities for developing bilateral relations.
Premier Haseloff recalled his visit to Korea in 2014 and likewise discussed current developments in both countries, including how to deal with the pandemic situation. Ambassador Jong was also interested in the experiences of Saxony-Anhalt in the course of German reunification.
In 2019 Saxony-Anhalt imported goods worth around 252 million euros from South Korea. Exports to South Korea reached around 153 million euro last year. This makes the Asian state an important trading partner for Saxony-Anhalt.
Some South Korean investors are also active in Saxony-Anhalt: Only recently, the Hanwha Group (headquarters in Seoul) announced that it would invest 125 million euros in the next three years to expand the research capacities of Hanwha Q-CELLS GmbH in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld. At the Thalheim site, the company conducts research and manufactures solar modules, among other things. Part of the investment is intended to advance the development of the next generation of photovoltaic systems and to support the desired energy turnaround.
The two universities in Saxony-Anhalt and the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art in Halle maintain professional contacts with university institutions in South Korea.
The Bauhaus Dessau Foundation has been working with the Paju Typography Institute (PaTI) Seoul since 2012 to jointly reflect on and update the historical Bauhaus stage as an educational model for movement-oriented teaching formats. This work also became part of the 2014/2015 exhibition “Mensch.Raum.Maschine – Bühnenexperimente am Bauhaus” (Man.Space.Machine – Stage Experiments at the Bauhaus) curated by Torsten Blume and Christian Hiller for the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, which was shown at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (MMCA) Seoul and attracted 120,000 visitors. As a result of the cooperation, a German-Korean shared residency programme was developed with the MMCA. In addition to the cooperation with the PaTI, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation also advises and supports the publishing house Ahn Graphics in the conception of publications on the historical Bauhaus and its reception in South Korea.
The German Partition Marienborn Memorial has welcomed two delegations from South Korea in recent years: On 25 May 2017, a delegation from the DMZ Museum visited the memorial and the border memorial Hötensleben. The organisation was done by Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea Office Seoul. In May 2018 a delegation of the South Korean Ministry of Justice visited the memorial, organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Berlin.
H.E. Ms. Frances Lanitou has served as Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with parallel accreditations to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from 2020 until present day. Ambassador Lanitou presented her credentials to the King of the Netherlands on September 16, 2020 and to OPCW on November 4, 2020.
Before this, she served as Ambassador of the MFA Economic Diplomacy Project for Strategy Development and Capability Building from 2016 until 2020.
Ambassador Lanitou has also served as the Ambassador of Development Cooperation including during Cyprus Presidency of EU Council (second half of 2012) from 2010 to 2013, as well as Ambassador of the Republic of Cyprus to Hungary with parallel accreditations to Bosnia Herzegovina and Moldova from 2006 until 2010.
Furthermore, Ambassador Lanitou has worked as the Deputy Head of Mission of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, the Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Cyprus to the United Nations HQ in New York, as well as the Representative of Cyprus to the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the UNGA from 1993 to 2004.
Ambassador Lanitou has also served as a member of the Cyprus Delegation to the CSCE Helsinki Follow-Up Meeting and Summit in 1992.
Regarding education, Ambassador Lanitou has received a BA in Philology from the University of Athens in Athens, Greece, a MA in English from Columbia University in New York, United States of America, a LLM in International Humanitarian Law from the University of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland, a MSt in International Relations from Cambridge University in Cambridge, United Kingdom, as well as an MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship from HEC Paris in Paris, France.
Ambassador Lanitou is fluent in Greek (her mother tongue), English (bilingual), French (university level), and German (basic).
Ambassador Lanitou has also worked in banking and teaching before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus in 1991.
