Two main fundraising events will be the highlights of the campaign. On Friday January 17 2020, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, at the Italian Cultural Institute in Amsterdam, the Poorters van Venetië will host a buffet dinner and an evening seminar to discuss the current situation in Venice, possible solutions to the flood emergency and artistic projects carried out by the Poorters, with the participation of renowned Italian and Dutch speakers and an introduction by the Ambassador of Italy.
On Friday January 31 2020, from 7:00 PM, recorder player InĂŞs d’Avena and harpsichordist Claudio Ribeiro will present at the Keizersgrachtkerk in Amsterdam their latest album, “Anonimo Venexian”, featuring world-premiere recordings of their recent baroque discoveries from Venetian archives. Among these findings is a new sonata attributed to Antonio Vivaldi.Â
Registration to one or both the events is possible via the website www.redvenetie.nl.
Proceeds from the campaign will be managed by the Poorters van Venetië, a cultural ANBI, and support restorations carried out by Italian conservators.
Conclusions of the meeting of prosecutors on regional co-operation in war crimes proceedings, in Sarajevo 17-19 December 2019
The Hague,27 December 2019 – From 17 to 19 December, the Chief Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gordana Tadić, hosted a high-level meeting of the prosecutors from the region on co-operation in war crimes proceedings.
The participants included the State Attorney of Croatia, Dražen Jelenić, the Chief War Crimes Prosecutor of Serbia, Snežana Stanojković, Prosecutor Serge Brammertz of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism, representatives of the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office of Montenegro, and of the Brčko District, district and cantonal prosecution offices in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This high-level conference, which follows the May 2019 conference in Belgrade, was convened and organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with support of the governments of the United Kingdom and Italy.
The discussion focused on regional cooperation between prosecutors in war crimes cases. At the conclusion of the meeting, the prosecution offices represented made the following joint statement reflecting their main conclusions and commitments.
The participating offices agreed that there is still a backlog of pending war crimes cases and that more effective regional cooperation is vital to achieving more justice for the victims. The participating offices reconfirmed their strong commitment to bringing to justice all perpetrators of war crimes without regard to nationality.
Reflecting on progress since the previous conference held in May 2019 in Belgrade, the participating offices committed to ensure that technical meetings are held prior to initiating the transfer of cases to resolve possible challenges and ensure that transferred cases can be successfully prosecuted by the office receiving the case. It was agreed that following the transfer of cases, there must be constant communication and mutual assistance throughout all phases of the proceedings between the prosecutors from the office that transfers the case and those from the office that receives it. The participating offices were informed of the beginning of the process of transfer of some cases from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serbia and Croatia respectively.
With the purpose of ensuring that war crimes cases are successfully prosecuted after transfer from one country to another, the participating offices are making a joint appeal to all victims and witnesses to support the transfer of cases and agree to testify in trial proceedings conducted in the neighbouring countries where the cases are transferred. The participating offices further committed to encourage witnesses in the transferred cases and to provide them with all support within their competence. They also called upon relevant national authorities to ensure that witnesses are provided all necessary protective measures and support.
The participating offices also noted the challenges that have arisen in the transfer of cases to-date, and agreed to continue technical co-operation with the Mechanism Office of the Prosecutor as a means to analyze obstacles and problems and to resolve issues.
The participating offices also discussed other areas where improvements can be made in regional cooperation, particularly in coordinating investigations, or conducting joint investigations where legally possible. It was agreed that better cooperation between prosecutors prior to the issuance of indictments would increase effectiveness and efficiency, and the likelihood of successful prosecutions in the country that conducted the investigation or in the state where the case was transferred to. It was also concluded that there are no barriers to the participating offices working together in a coordinated manner from earlier stages in proceedings, including through joint investigative teams where legally possible, and to jointly identifying concrete cases suitable for joint efforts and co-ordination.
As hosts of the conference, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina noted that it has the largest number of pending war crimes cases in the region to process. It offered to exchange updated information on cases in which suspects or accused are not available with the other participating offices. In that regard, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina invited all the prosecution office in the region to bilateral discussions to determine the most appropriate jurisdiction for prosecuting concrete cases.
With the reestablishing of the Government of the Republic of The Philippines Negotiating Panel (GRP) president Rodrigo Duterte is set on peace as he always has done, in the long lasting conflict with the NDFP/NPA. As a sign of goodwill Duterte ordered a nationwide ceasefire from 23 December until 7 January 2020. Shortly after the president also announced the ending of the martial law in Southern Philippines imposed in 2017 in response to a rebellion by Islamic State militants in the city of Marawi.
To put the ceasefire in effect Duterte also ordered the Department of National Defense, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police “to issue an official declaration” to all armed units and agents for them to observe the truce, according to presidential spokesman Salvador Panela.
In a joint statement signed in Utrecht (The Netherlands) by the GRP representatives Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III and Hernani Braganza, and National Democratic Front of The Philippines (NDFP) represented by Luis G. Jalandoni, senior adviser NDFP negotiating panel and Fidel V. Agacaoili, chairman NDFP negotiating panel, both parties mention that “the ceasefires are intended to generate a positive environment conducive to be holding of informal talks preparatory to the formal meeting to resume peace negotiations”.
However in a interview with ABS-CBN senior consultant of the NDFP Jose Maria “Joma” Sison, who lives in The Netherlands, came up with several preconditions before the peace process could even start.
President Duterte who remains highly popular among the Philippines people, invited Joma Sison to a man-to-man talk in Manila, giving his guaranty he will not be arrested. This while the NPA (the armed wing of the NDFP) reportedly staged two separate attacks in Camarines Sur and Iloilo just hours after the holiday truce took effect, resulting in the death of a soldier.
The president’s is set on everlasting peace by again offering negotiations after ending the peacetalks in march 2019 following its collapse.
A criminal organisation  smuggling  approximately 1 000 migrants from Pakistan and India into various EU-countries  was dismantled by the French and Italian  authorities in good cooperation, with the support of Eurojust and Europol.
One arrest was carried out in France and ten arrests in Italy, with two persons arrested on the basis of European Arrest Warrants. Eight premises were searched and ten phones and various documents were seized in Italy.
Eurojust held three coordination meetings to support the investigations in France and Italy and to arrange for the arrests. Eurojust financed and facilitated the setting up of a joint investigation team between the French Investigative Judge of the Specialised Jurisdiction of the Tribunal of Grand Instance of Lyon and the Prosecution Office of Torino.
The operation was concluded with the support of the OCRIEST and BMR 73 and 74 Services of the French National Border Police and the Polizia di Stato – Squadra Mobile of the Questura of Turin. Eurojust also helped to resolve outstanding jurisdictional issues. Europol provided additional support during the operation.
Authorities estimate that between 2018 and 2019, the organised criminal group earned a profit of EUR 1 million. In two places in Italy, safehouses were found, in which 34 irregular migrants from Pakistan were hiding. They have been brought to safety and a procedure for their identification has been started.
Authorities in Hungary and Germany, with the active support of Eurojust and Europol, have dismantled a criminal gang, suspected of blowing up three automated teller machines (ATMs) in the eastern part of the German State of Hesse.
In a coordinated joint action, approximately 20 premises were searched in Hungary and Germany and pieces of evidence, as well as assets originating from the crime, have been seized. Three out of eight suspects were arrested in Germany. Five more suspects have been interrogated, four in Hungary and one in Germany.
From 2016 onwards, the organised criminal group (OCG) has been suspected of blowing up or trying to explode cash machines in the State of Hesse, with an estimated illegal profit of EUR 285 000, and causing heavy damage to the surroundings of the ATMs. The OCG operated by breaking open the front part of the ATM and pouring explosive gas into the exit port of the machine, where the money usually comes out. With a pipe or a tube, the gas was subsequently passed into the safe of the machine and then ignited, with the explosion opening the vault of the ATM.
A Eurojust-supported joint investigation team was set up in the summer of this year between the Hungarian and German authorities. Eurojust further organised two coordination meetings, the second meeting to prepare for the joint action.
The operation was led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Hajdú-Bihar County in Hungary and the German General Prosecutor’s Office of Frankfurt am Main, together with the National Bureau of Investigation of the Rapid Response and Special Police Services (KR NNI) and the police department of Mittelhessen in Gießen, Germany. Europol supported the Hungarian authorities on the ground in Hungary, with one officer, as well as two German investigators, taking part in the actions in Hungary.
H.E. Mr. Fikrat Akhundov is the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He began his term on December 26th, 2019.
Mr. Akhundov was born in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku. This is where he attended the Azerbaijan State University of Languages under the Faculty of German and English languages. After pursuing higher education for seven years, he eventually obtained a Master’s degree in 1990.
After completing his education, Mr. Akhundov did not begin a career in foreign service straight away. He first served in the military from 1985 to 1987 as a soldier in the Border Troops. Having fulfilled his mandatory military service, he then worked in the private sector from 1990 to 1999 at the Azerbaijan Deposit Bank. During this time, he cooperated with Wirtgen and Coke consulting for the Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia (TRACECA) project.
Afterward, Mr. Akhundov finally started his career as a diplomat in 1999. He first served as Second Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and participated in the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission in the same year. From late 1999, he served in the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Austria and the Permanent Representation of Azerbaijan to international organizations in Vienna. Here, he held the positions of Second, then First Secretary until 2005.
After returning to his country, Mr. Akhundov was appointed Head of the Western Europe Department in the MFA. He maintained this role for four years until 2009 when he began another term abroad at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Germany. Here, he served as First Secretary until 2016. Having completed his term, he briefly returned to Baku for one year and was assigned Deputy Head of Department of the MFA’s Personnel Department. It was not long after that he embarked on another term outside of the country at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Bulgaria, serving as First Secretary and Counselor for two years.
When Mr. Akhundov returned home in early 2019, he took on the role of Advisor in the Eastern European Office of the MFA until he came to the Netherlands.
Aside from German and English, Mr. Akhundov also speaks Russian.
The diplomat community in The Hague sends a warm welcome to Ambassador Akhundov and wishes him all the best in his new term.
During the meeting, the existing bilateral relations were acknowledged, and the further intensification of contacts were discussed.
In 2018, exports to Vietnam reached a volume of almost 24 million euros, while imports reached a peak of 52 million euros. Since 2004, the Office of the Delegate of German Business in Hanoi has had a State Representation of Saxony-Anhalt, which offers information, advisory, mediation, support and organizational services for companies from Saxony-Anhalt and Vietnam. Delegation trips to Vietnam are also organized on a regular basis. Most recently, Saxony-Anhalt’s Economics and Science Minister Prof. Dr. Willingmann visited Vietnam from 19 to 25 November with a delegation. Two cooperation agreements were concluded.
In the summer of 2019, the Magdeburg Chamber of Skilled Crafts conducted a further training project with vocational school teachers and trainers from companies in Vietnam at its vocational training centre.
The Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art Halle are cooperating with universities in Vietnam. 288 students from Vietnam were enrolled at the universities in Saxony-Anhalt in the winter semester 2018/19.
In 2013, the town twinning between Wernigerode and HĂ´i An was concluded, which among other things is characterised by regular mutual citizen meetings and a climate partnership that has existed since 2016.
Several friendship associations in Saxony-Anhalt are dedicated to spreading Vietnamese culture, expanding German-Vietnamese contacts and supporting and integrating Vietnamese citizens living in Saxony-Anhalt.
Friday, 15 November 2019, DĂĽsseldorf, NRW, Germany: Premier Armin Laschet received the 40th Governor of the US state of Nebraska, Pete Ricketts, for talks in the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia. Topics included a deepening of economic relations in the fields of agriculture, mechanical engineering and chemicals, an exchange on the current political situation in the USA and on the US presidential election in 2020, as well as on current issues of European policy, in particular the customs debate between the European Union and the USA. Â
As per statement Premier Laschet said: “Nebraska, as one of the largest agricultural producers in the USA, is an important market for North Rhine-Westphalian companies that have established a strong presence in the state. In agriculture, chemistry and mechanical engineering in particular, there are many opportunities for cooperation with Nebraska. With Governor Ricketts, we welcome a friend of Germany and have convinced transatlanticists to come to North Rhine-Westphalia.
Governor Peter Ricketts: “Germany is a close friend and ally of the USA. I had a pleasant and constructive discussion with Premier Armin Laschet today and am grateful for the warm hospitality. The Federal State of Nebraska is looking forward to further economic cooperation with North Rhine-Westphalia and to deepening our scientific and cultural contacts”.
Governor Ricketts (Republican Party), accompanied by an economic delegation and three cabinet members, is currently visiting Germany, one stop is also North Rhine-Westphalia. Here the governor visits the mechanical engineer Claas in Harsewinkel, Westphalia, Evonik Industries in Essen and the city of MĂĽnster to become acquainted to the city of the Peace of Westphalia.Â
On November 14, 2019, Governor Ricketts had already invited representatives from North Rhine-Westphalia to a reception at the Industrie club DĂĽsseldorf.
Nebraska-NRW relations
In Nebraska, one of the granaries of the USA and also called “The Cornhusker State”, 1.9 million people live on approximately 200,000 square kilometres (North Rhine-Westphalia in comparison: 34,098 square kilometres). More than 90 percent of the land in Nebraska is used for agriculture. The capital is Lincoln. Several North Rhine-Westphalian companies are active in Nebraska, including Claas, Bayer and Evonik Industries. Just last July, Evonik opened its “Vermaris” production site in Nebraska, a joint venture with the Dutch chemicals group DSM. Around 40 percent of the U.S. population has German ancestors, most of whom emigrated to the Midwest in the 19th century.
Congratulations to the new Prime Minister of Cuba.
Diplomat Magazine takes this opportunity to sincerely congratulate H.E. Mr. Manuel Marrero Cruz, first Prime Minister of the country since 1976 when the figure was abolished by the Cuban government now reinstalled by the new constitution.
Marrero Cruz assumed office on Saturday, 21 December 2019. Here at FIT Cuba 2019 last May in La Habana with Diplomat Magazine’s publisher Dr. Mayelinne De Lara, he was the host of the annual Cuban international Tourism Congress serving his country as Cuban Minister of Tourism.
Manuel Marrero will take under his responsibilities some of the President administrative tasks.Â
H.E. Mr. Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister of Cuba with Dr. Mayelinne De Lara, Diplomat Magazine’s Publisher.
In the picture H.E. Mr Million Samuel Gebre, Ambassador of Ethiopia, H.E. Ms Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Alotaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, H.E. Ms. Maria Isabel Gomes, Ambassador of Angola, H.E. Mr. Lounès Magramane, Ambassador of Algeria.
H.E. Ms. Laura Dupuys Lasserre, Ambassador of Uruguay, H.E. Mr. Nicolas P. Plexidas, Ambassador of Greece, H.E. Ms Kateřina Sequensová, Ambassador of Czeck Republic, Mr Hidehisa Horinouchi, Ambassador of Japan and Mrs. Sabine Horinouchi, H.E. Mr Amaral Sumith Nakandala, Ambassador of Sri Lanka.
The Peace Palace was the venue for an extraordinary welcome ceremony of newly arrived ambassadors. The ceremony took place on Monday 9 December 2019 and was organized by the Carnegie Foundation and Diplomat Magazine.
Featured on the program were the ambassadors who presented their credentials to HM King Willem Alexander in late 2019.
Among those attendance of this special welcome ceremony was the Ambassadors of Angola, Croatia, Czech Republic, UAE, Qatar, Japan, Algeria, Greece, Zambia, Guatemala, Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Ethiopia, just to mention a few.
The Ambassadors were cordially welcomed by Mr. Erik de Baedts, General Director of the Carnegie Foundation- Peace Palace and Treasurer of the Hague Academy of International Lawand Dr. Mayelinne De Lara, Publisher of the Diplomat Magazine.
A visit of the Peace Palace by Mr. Erik de Baedts.
The program also featured a tour of the Peace Palace. The director took his guests on a tour of the palace and provided them with detailed information. The tour included the Grand court room, Japanese Room and the small court room.
Mr. Erik de Baedts and the group of new ambassadors at the Japanese Room.
It concluded near the gallery in the huge Russian Vase Room with a speech by the director, followed by a toast and group picture on the marble staircase.
Harpist Carla Bos.
The harpist Carla Bos entertained the guests at the event with her stirring performance. Furthermore, the Peace Palace with its beautiful gardens and carillion provided the perfect ambience for what was indeed a pleasant afternoon, and everyone at the event left the venue in high spirits.
Brief history of the Peace Palace.
In 1900 the Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens and the American diplomat Andrew Dickson White proposed to build a “peace palace” in The Hague. International disputes should be legally reviewed there. This had already been discussed at the Peace Conference in that city.
The American had persuaded his friend in the United States, benefactor Andrew Carnegie, to finance the construction. Carnegie (1835-1919) was a steel magnate who had sold his companies in 1901 for 485 million dollars. He did not use that money for his relatives, because “they started arguing about it”, but for improving the world. “A man who dies rich, dies in shame,” was his motto. He donated 2,509 libraries and the only Peace Palace in the world.
Mr. Erik de Baedts welcome ambassadors at the Grand Court Room.
The International Court of Justice ICJ
The Court has had its seat in the Peace Palace in The Hague since 1946. From 1922, its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, occupied the same premises, made available to it by the Carnegie Foundation, which owns and administers the edifice.
Built between 1907 and 1913 for the Permanent Court of Arbitration thanks to a donation from Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish-born industrialist who made his fortune in the United States, the Peace Palace is situated in seven hectares of parkland in the heart of the city.
Peace Palace welcome to new ambassadors 2019.
The granite, sandstone and red-brick building designed by the French architect Louis Cordonnier and topped by an imposing roof of greyish slate is in a predominantly neo-renaissance style. The facade, overlooking the lawns, features a series of figures that evoke justice and peace. On the left, the clock tower with its chimes rises to a height of 80 metres. Inside, woodwork, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestries and art objects presented by the States which participated in the Hague Peace Conferences reflect the diversity of the world’s cultures.
A museum of the history and work of the institutions housed in the Peace Palace was inaugurated in May 1999 by Mr. Kofi Annan and Judge Stephen M. Schwebel, the then United Nations Secretary-General and President of the Court respectively. It is situated in the southern wing of twing of the building.
H.E. Ms. Laura Dupuys Lasserre, Ambassador of Uruguay, Dr. Mayelinne De Lara and H.E. Ms. Maria Isabel Gomes, Ambassador of Angola.
Hosting the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice, the Palace is home to one of the world’s largest libraries of public international law (the Peace Palace Library, which is public, unlike the Court’s library) and hosts the summer courses of The Hague Academy of International Law.
Guided tours take place on weekends and during holidays.
As a souvenir of the special occasion, ambassadors received a plate with a replica of the Peace Palace.
