Romania Contributes RON 48,000 to Future OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – 13 July 2020 – The Government of Romania has contributed RON 48,000 to a special Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Trust Fund to support the project to upgrade the current OPCW Laboratory and Equipment Store. This project will result in the construction of a new facility, the OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (“ChemTech Centre”).
The contribution was formalised during a ceremony today between OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, and the Permanent Representative of Romania to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Brândușa Predescu, which was held at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
Ambassador Predescu remarked: “The voluntary contribution is renewed proof of Romania’s strong support for the principles and goals of the Chemical Weapons Convention. We believe that in an ever-changing security environment the new ChemTech Centre will play a significant role in consolidating the Organisation’s ability to address chemical weapons threats and in supporting capacity building, thus contributing to our goal of enhancing global peace and security. ”
The Permanent Representative of Romania to the OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Brândușa Predescu and OPCW Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias.
The Director-General expressed: “I thank the Government of Romania for this contribution to the new OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology that will further build the capabilities of our Member States to achieve a world free of chemical weapons. The continued commitment of OPCW Member States to this important project during these unprecedented times is especially meaningful.”
Director-General Arias appealed to all OPCW Member States in a position to make voluntary contributions to do so. He further emphasised the important role the new ChemTech Centre will play in strengthening the OPCW’s ability to address chemical weapon threats and enhance capacity building activities. He highlighted that “all contributions, regardless of size, are greatly appreciated”.
So far, forty-three Member States and the European Union have contributed or pledged to contribute financially to the ChemTech Centre project, and a considerable amount has been raised to date.
By H.E. Mr Elmar Mammadyarovthe Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan
On July 12, the armed forces of Armenia attempted to attack, using artillery, in order to seize positions in the direction of Tovuz district along the state border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The attack of the enemy forces was prevented by retaliatory measures. As a result of the combat, three servicemen of the Azerbaijani army were killed and four were injured.
This provocative act of the Armenian armed forces should be seen as a continuation of the recent actions and statements of the leadership of aggressor state Armenia, which serve to increase tensions in the region.
Armenia, which has reflected its aggressive policy in the country’s national security strategy, openly demonstrates that it aims to seize new positions and increase tensions in the region instead of eliminating the consequences of the conflict and withdrawing its occupying forces from the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan.
This provocation by Armenia casts serious doubt on the essence of the negotiations mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs on the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenia is trying to involve third countries in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict with such provocative actions. Nevertheless, the position of the international community on Armenia’s aggressive policy is quite well known.
All provocations of the enemy forces will be adequately prevented from this time onward as well.
Armenia bears full responsibility for such provocative actions that serve to aggravate the situation.
With an impressive 25 years diplomatic career behind him, Dr. Mark Anthony Pace is Malta’s new Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Diplomat Magazine and the whole diplomatic community welcome him in this new experience!
From the shores of the Mediterranean to those of the North Sea: this is the latest relocation of Dr. Mark Anthony Pace, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Malta in the Netherlands. For the last four years, Dr. Pace has been his country’s top representative in Tunis. Now, he will play the same role in The Hague, serving as Malta’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Ambassador Pace brings with him 25 years of experience in Malta’s diplomatic corps. After gaining a Diploma of Notary Public (1993) and a Doctor of Laws degree (1995) from the University of Malta, he quickly joined the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (MFEA) in La Valletta, where he worked as Second Secretary at the Multilateral Affairs Directorate.
While already serving in his country’s diplomatic corps, Dr. Pace decided to dedicate some time to studying, and earned a MA degree in Social Sciences (1998) from the University of Amsterdam. With this new diploma in mind, in 1999 he was promoted to the role of First Secretary and assigned to the Ministry’s Bilateral Relations Directorate in La Valletta, before moving to his first posting abroad – in Moscow – in 2000.
Dr. Pace’s appointment in Moscow was the first of many postings abroad that would follow in his career. Over the next 15 years, indeed, he spent most of his time outside Malta, working at his country’s representations in Washington D.C. (2003-2006, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Maltese Embassy), Strasbourg (2008-2011, Deputy Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe), Brussels (2011-2012, Representative in the Maghreb/Mashreq Working Group at the Council of the EU), Ramallah (2012-2015, Representative of Malta in Palestine), and eventually Tunis (2016-2020, where he served as Malta’s Ambassador).
This long series of postings abroad was interrupted only twice for short postings at the MFEA’s in La Valletta – first in 2006, when Dr. Pace worked for two years as Deputy Director at the Ministry’s Protocol Directorate, and then in 2015, when he took up the role of Head of Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Ambassador Pace speaks an outstanding number of languages. Besides being fluent in Maltese, English, Italian, and French, he has also a working knowledge of Dutch, Russian and Spanish.
H.E. Mr. M. Riaz Hamidullah is the new Ambassador of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He presented his credentials to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander on July 20th, 2020.
Mr. Riaz earned a bachelor’s and postgraduate degree in Economics in India and Bangladesh. He later joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 1995 and served a good part of his career in the area of multilateral economic diplomacy. Regarding his assignments abroad, he first served at the Bangladesh Permanent Mission to the UN in New York from 1999 to 2003. It was not long afterward that he become a mid-career political officer at the Bangladesh Mission in New Delhi, India from 2003 to 2005.
In the period between 2005 and 2011, Mr. Riaz focused on South Asian regional cooperation. This includes a three-and-a-half-year stint as Director in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Secretariat in Kathmandu. While holding this position, he dealt with, inter alia, regional agriculture and rural development, transport connectivity, the SAARC Development Fund, and the development of regional projects. In addition, he contributed towards the development and reorganization of SAARC institutions and processes.
In 2012, Mr. Riaz moved on to becoming the Director-General in charge of European and EU Affairs at the Bangladeshi MOFA. He guided Bangladesh’s economic engagements with several European countries and the country’s entry into the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process. From 2013, Mr. Riaz served as the Director-General in Multilateral Economic Affairs for three years, during which he worked on sustainable development, climate change, migration, development finance, and blue economy, among other things.
He also shepherded Bangladesh’s engagement in a range of multilateral processes like the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, Mr. Riaz served as the lead interlocutor and negotiator on the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact on the ready-made garment (RMG) and textile industry vis-à-vis the US and EU, as well as matters related to the Responsible Business Conduct. Furthermore, he has anchored Bangladesh’s engagement in the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor (BCIM-EC).
From 2017, Mr. Riaz served as the point man on Bangladesh’s engagements at the World Economic Forum (WEF). Simultaneously, he served as the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka from August 2016 to July 2020. Following this term, he took over as the Ambassador-designate of Bangladesh to the Netherlands on July 6th, 2020.
Mr. Riaz is interested in matters of development, technology, global business, and work issues, which is showcased throughout his career as a diplomat.
The diplomat community in The Hague sends a warm welcome to Ambassador Riaz and wishes him all the best in his new term.
On 14 July 2020, the trial in the case The Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud opened before Trial Chamber X of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu (Mali). Trial Chamber X is composed of Judge Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua, Presiding Judge, Judge Tomoko Akane and Judge Kimberly Prost.
The trial’s opening started with the reading of the charges against Mr Al Hassan. The Chamber was satisfied that the accused understood the nature of the charges. The accused decided not to plead guilty or non-guilty to the charges at this stage of the trial.
The Court’s Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and Senior Trial Lawyer Gilles Dutertre took the floor for opening statements. The hearings will continue tomorrow 15 July 2020, with the end of the Prosecution’s opening statement.
The trial is scheduled to resume on 25 August 2020, when the Prosecution will begin to present its evidence and call its witnesses before the judges. At their requests, the Legal Representatives of Victims and the Defence will make their opening statements at the beginning of the presentation of their evidence, once the Prosecution has concluded the presentation of its case.
Due to the current situation linked to Covid-19, the public gallery was open to a limited number of representatives of the media, the diplomatic community, and the public.
In the picture, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Belgium, H.E. Mr Philippe Goffin and the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 9 July 2020 — The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Belgium, H.E. Mr Philippe Goffin, met today at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
The Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister congratulated the Director-General and the Technical Secretariat for their efforts to ensure a world free of chemical weapons. He remarked: “The return of Belgium to the Executive Council for the next two years comes at an important time, during which the OPCW is facing increasingly difficult circumstances. As the use of chemical weapons cannot go unpunished, the publication of the first report of the Investigation and Identification Team is an important first step towards accountability. The OPCW can continue to count on the support of Belgium.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Belgium, H.E. Mr Philippe Goffin and The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias during a meeting at the OPCW headquarters.
The Director-General briefed the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence on the OPCW’s progress in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as on the work of the Investigation and Identification Team. Following Belgium’s €2M contribution to the new OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology in 2018, the Director-General also provided a status update on the project. Both the Director-General and the Minister acknowledged the need to intensify international cooperation and assistance to promote the peaceful application of science and technology in chemistry.
The Director-General underlined the deep ties between Belgium and the OPCW and remarked: “Belgium has my sincere gratitude for its unwavering commitment to the goals of the Convention and for its support to the OPCW. We look forward to continued cooperation with Belgium to ensure that chemical weapons become a thing of the past.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence of Belgium, H.E. Mr Philippe Goffin and The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias.
Starting in 2020, Argentina’s Embassy in the Netherlands has a new Ambassador: H.E. Mr. Mario Oyarzábal. A Law graduate and professor, just prior to his current position he has been working as Legal Adviser for Argentina’s Foreign Ministry.
H.E. Mr. Mario Oyarzábal is the new Ambassador of the Argentine Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as well as Buenos Aires’ Permanent Representative to the International Organizations in The Hague. The new Ambassador brings with him working experience not only in his country’s foreign service, but also in the domain of international law.
A Law graduate from University of La Plata (1991) and Harvard Law School (2006), since 1995 Mr. Oyarzábal has been Adjunct Professor at University of La Plata – a job that he maintains, although being currently on leave. Over the decades, he has written/edited four books and more than forty scholarly articles on international law, and in 2020 he has been delivered a special course at The Hague Academy of International Law.
Mr. Oyarzábal’s experience with Argentina’s foreign service started in 1997 and involved a number of different positions. For two times, he was posted in New York, USA – first as Deputy Consul (1998-2005), and then as Deputy Permanent Representative before the UN Security Council (2013-2014). Moreover, he has been Agent and Legal Counsel of Argentina before the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, as well as a Delegate to the International Maritime Organization, the International Seabed Authority, UNCITRAL, UNIDROIT, and The Hague Conference on Private International Law. Most recently, he worked as Legal Adviser to the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
Ambassador Oyarzábal is also Member of several renowned institutions, such as the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission established by AP I of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, and the Panel of Arbitrators of ICSID. He is Arbitrator and Conciliator under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as Argentine Commissioner to the International Whaling Commission.
Besides being fluent in Spanish and English, Ambassador Oyarzábal also speaks some French and Portuguese, and he can read both Italian and German. He is married to Daniel Hallman, a photographer originally from the United States.
On July 8th, 2020, H.E. Mr. Pham Viet Anh presented his credentials to H.M. King Willem Alexander, thus officially becoming Viet Nam’s Ambassador to the Netherlands. Ambassador Pham arrives in The Hague after over 20 years of experience in his country’s diplomatic services.
A double Bachelor graduate from University of Hanoi, both in French Language and Civilization (1985) and in History (1994), between 1987 and 1997 Mr. Pham spent a decade researching on Ho Chi Minh ideology at Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, while at the same time earning a diploma from the Institute of International Public Administration of Paris in 1996.
With such a diverse academic background, in 1997 Mr. Pham decided to join his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He started as a Desk Officer at the Directorate of State Protocol, where he worked for four years (1997-2001) before being posted in Algeria, where he worked at the Vietnamese Embassy with the rank of Second and First Secretary (2001-2005).
Following the experience in North Africa, Mr. Pham returned to Hanoi, where joined the Ministry’s Organization and Personnel Department. There he worked first as Assistant Director-General (2006-2008), and then as Deputy Director-General (2008-2010, 2015-2016). In the same period, Mr. Pham also piled up further academic experience, this time by earning a Master degree in International Relations at Viet Nam’s Diplomatic Academy (2011), as well as further experience abroad, by serving as Minister Counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in France (2011-2014).
In 2017, Mr. Pham was then appointed Director-General at the Ministry’s Chief Inspection body – a role that he maintained until 2020, when he moved to The Hague to become his country’s Ambassador. As a new experience is beginning for Ambassador Pham, Diplomat Magazine and the whole diplomatic community of the Netherlands extend to him a warm welcome!
In a message to the leaders of the G20, organisations representing forty million health professionals note that the recent levels of death, disease and mental distress “could have been partially mitigated, or possibly even prevented by adequate investments in pandemic preparedness, public health and environmental stewardship”.[1] They advocate learning from these mistakes. We should no longer allow pollution to kill seven million people every year and climate change to continue unabated.
The message of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in its Manifesto for a healthy recovery from COVID-19 is essentially the same, but the following six prescriptions are more detailed.[2] As they concern the health of each of us, they deserve serious consideration.
1) Protect and preserve the source of human health: Nature.
This might be the most difficult point, because it requires a fundamental change in our view of nature. Humanity, especially its so-called developed part, has far too long believed that nature can be exhausted and ignored with impunity. The current pandemic might be a relatively small “reminder of the intimate and delicate relationship between people and planet” in comparison to the potential consequences of climate change, pollution and the loss of biodiversity.[3]
2) Invest in essential services, from water and sanitation to clean energy in healthcare facilities.
A rapid transition to clean energy would not only help to meet the Paris climate goals, but also improve air quality. The resulting health gains would easily repay the cost of the investment.
4) Promote healthy, sustainable food systems.
One of the biggest causes of ill health are unhealthy diets that increase the risks of obesity and diabetes. Following WHO dietary guidelines would save millions of lives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
5) Build healthy, liveable cities.
Walking, cycling and using public transport instead of cars could reduce air pollution and road accidents – and reduce the number of deaths (three million a year!) caused by physical inactivity.
6) Stop using taxpayers money to fund pollution.
The price of fossil fuels is kept low by subsidies and by ignoring the damage caused by these fuels. If governments ended these subsidies and when the damage caused by fossil fuels would be taken into account, the price of these fuels would become high enough to halve the number of deaths from outdoor air pollution and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than a quarter.
On a personal level, most people will probably choose better health over economic growth, but politicians tend to be more interested in economic growth than in public health. Will Covid-19 change that?
There is a tendency amongst opinion leaders in this country to publicly distance themselves from the International Criminal Court. The ICC would be too slow in its proceedings, and the lack of involvement by the superpowers like China, Russia and the USA makes the whole operation rather meaningless. High time to admit it. I listened to a radio broadcast the other day on Dutch station BNR , with 3 serious names from the Dutch public scene, including a well known lawyer in criminal matters, on the fortunes and misfortunes of the ICC. They all concluded that the case for the ICC had failed. In their view the road of international criminal justice had not led anywhere, and it was time to find alternative solutions to re-establish peace and justice after conflict.
I was more than baffled by that finding. Surely, one can critisize certain features of the ICC, and notably that it is pretty slow to come to its verdicts. But to conclude that international criminal justice can no longer be part of the answer to conflict – whether international, or within the borders of a state – is absolutely beyond me.
This court, the International Criminal Court, is the expression of the will of the world’s nations (minus a few) that there should be no safe havensand no impunity for the worst crimes one can imagine: war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. That common thinking is clearly laid down in the preamble to the Rome Statute of 17 July 1998, as can be highlighted by the following sentences. First comes the recognition “that such grave crimes threaten the peace , security and well being of the world” , and thenthe preamble states
Affirming that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community must not go unpunished and that their effective prosecution must be ensured by taking measures at the national level and by enhancing international cooperation,
Determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes …
The International Criminal Court now has the backing of 123 state-parties, including all the european nations, many african nations, South America, , and a good part of Asia- Pacific. It is highly regrettable that the major powers in the world (China, USA, Russia) have not signed up to the ICC, and it is even more regrettable that our western allies in the USA have decided to actively campaign against the Court, based on the fear that the ICC will one day come to judge the behaviour of the american military and its leadership. But to conclude from that situation that the whole idea of international criminal law is flawed, is unfounded and too easy. A lot has been achieved in this field – look at the ICTY – and a lot has still to come. The ICC has 28 cases sofar, and there are 9 preliminary examinations (including Palestine, Colombia and Ukraine). I note that Omar Bashir is more or less on his way from the Sudan to the Hague, the Sudanese government at last following up the request of the Security Council.
Hashim Thaci, instituut Clingendael.(Den Haag 23-04-18) Foto:Frank Jansen
Kosovo Chambers
It is of particular interest to note that – surprisingly – the USA recently applauded the prosecution of the current president of Kosovo Hashim Thaci for crimes committed in the years 1998-1999 before the Kosovo specialist chambers in the Hague. According to the british newspaper The Guardian of 24 June 2020 the US secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in March to Thaci that he supported the work of the Kosovo Court. The obstruction of the work of the court, Pompeo said “would leave a permanent spot on Kosovo, its commitment to the rule of law would be under question, justice for victims would be denied, and Kosovo’s furture would be blurred.”
This is the text of someone who gives the impression to believe in the role of criminal justice. Very interesting to note that this comment – positive about the function of an international, if hybrid criminal court – comes from the same country that actively seeks to undermine the work of the International Criminal Court. I find that not easy to reconcile. My view is that the objections are purely politically inspired , and could be withdrawn at a later moment and under a different administration. Would the preamble I cited from the Rome Statute not appeal to everyone ?
City of Peace and Justice
The Hague is proud to be the international city of peace and justice, and was even given the title of “the legal capital of the world, the epicentre of justice and accountability” (words spoken by UN SG Ban Ki Moon in the Peace Palace in 2013). If that is the case, and I think it is, we should be ready to make our voices heard in matters like these, and reflect on them in public.
I was happy to read the president of the Assembly of State Parties, the South Korean O Gon Kwon , brought out a stiffly worded statement in relation to the new measures by the USA against the ICC “These measures are unprecedented. They undermine our common endeavor to fight impunity and to ensure accountability for mass atrocities. I deeply regret mesures targeting Court officials, staff and their families “( Press release ASP, 11 June 2020) .
About the author: Steven van Hoogstraten, is a Former Director of the Carnegie Foundation.
