The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, on Friday 20 September 2019 concluded a two-day working visit to Kigali, Rwanda, where he participated in a capacity building programme for the Rwandan judiciary on international criminal law as well as held bilateral meetings with officials to promote dialogue and closer relations between the ICC and Rwanda.

The ICC President encouraged Rwanda to become a party to the Court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute, in order to enlarge its universality.

The training session in which President Eboe-Osuji participated forms part of a broader capacity building programme for the Rwandan judiciary organized by the International Development Law Organization in cooperation with the Supreme Court of Rwanda. The programme is aimed at strengthening the capacity of judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers working in the Rwandan judicial system to deal with complex cases of genocide or crimes against humanity transferred to Rwanda from the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) or from other national jurisdictions.

“I am delighted to have had this opportunity to share with Rwandan colleagues some of my personal professional experience as well as the practice of the ICC in the adjudication of international crimes. I was impressed by the level of commitment and professionalism shown by the judges, registrars and legal officers participating in the training, and I hope that my contribution has helped in some small way to strengthen the capacity of the Rwandan judiciary to address these crimes effectively through its domestic courts”, President Eboe-Osuji said.

The training session focused on practical lessons learned and the resolution of specific challenges frequently faced by the judicial bench in the management of international crimes trials. The ICC President’s participation was well received, and members of the national judiciary who participated in the programme expressed their desire for a continuation of such engagements.

During his visit to Kigali, President Eboe-Osuji paid courtesy calls to the Chief Justice of Rwanda, Prof Sam Rugege, as well as the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Hon. Johnston Busingye, and held very positive discussions with them on questions of common concern related to the fight against impunity for the gravest crimes under international law.

In these meetings, the ICC President expressed the view that Rwanda could make immense contributions to the global fight against impunity by joining the Rome Statute. “The world has a lot to learn from Rwanda, which has made amazing achievements in rebuilding the country following the 1994 genocide, including the reconstruction of the judicial system after the genocide had decimated the nation’s legal profession”, he said. During the bilateral discussions, there was general agreement between the President and his interlocutors on the importance of cooperation, exchange of best practices, continuing dialogue and enhancement of mutual understanding.

President Eboe-Osuji also visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where he had a tour of the permanent exhibition regarding the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and laid a wreath in memory of the victims.

ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, ICC President Chile Eboe-Osuji, Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico HE Martha Delgado Peralta, Ambassador of Mexico HE José Antonio Zabalgoitia and Representative of Jorge Marín’s art studio Elena Catalán unveiling the artwork donated to the Court September 12, 2019. ©ICC-CPI

On September 12, 2019, the Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms Martha Delgado Peralta, and the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, unveiled an artwork donation from the Government of Mexico to the ICC during a Ceremony held at the seat of the Court in The Hague, The Netherlands. The artwork realised by artist Jorge Marín is a statue in lost wax bronze titled “Wings of Mexico”. 

“A parallel can be drawn between the Wings of Mexico and the search for Justice that is the leitmotif of the International Criminal Court,” said Mexican Vice Minister Martha Delgado Peralta during the Ceremony. “Just as these wings are only completed by the addition of a physical body, the Court serves as the body through which Justice is shaped and ultimately fulfilled.”

Thanking the Government of Mexico for this artwork donation, ICC President Eboe-Osuji stated: “Among the donations made to the ICC, the Wings of Mexico are unique in that they are an interactive piece of art. They are accessible to every person on the street. The same way justice and the rule of law should be accessible to everyone.”

This donation is a demonstration of Mexico’s support for the work and objectives of the Court.  Since the move to its new permanent premises in December 2015, the ICC received artwork donations from the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Japan, Republic of Korea, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Senegal, Slovenia and Tunisia, representing their cultural heritage as well as reflecting the mandate of the Court. 

In the picture His Excellency Venu Rajamony, Ambassador of India Admiring the Laxman’s work together with Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari.

By Catherine Dailey.

On Friday, October 4, His Excellency Venu Rajamony, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, inaugurated the “R.K. Laxman, The Uncommon Man” exhibition at the Gandhi Center in The Hague. The subjects on display include art, caricature, humor and political cartoons. Most have been included in Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari’s recently published book of the same title, a compilation features a collection of works since 1948. 

Professor Nirmala Sharma, Director of the Gandhi Center, introduced the Ambassador, opened the evening program and welcomed distinguished international and Indian guests to the exhibition of Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman (b. 1921), “India’s best known and most revered political cartoonist.”  

Ambassador Rajamony spoke briefly about R.K. Laxman’s work and alter ego, the “common man.” The “common man” cartoons appeared daily in “The Times of India” for more than fifty years, and the Ambassador stated that Laxman “was one of the greatest and most iconic cartoonists of India—a man who chronicled the history of post-independent era through art.”

With a few simple brush strokes, Laxman drew his signature creation, the bespectacled “common man”, a symbol of “the quintessential Indian, ” which is considered to be among the most widely recognized and celebrated cartoon characters in the world.

Guests included Dr. Dharmendra Bhandari, who is to be largely credited for bringing the exhibition to The Hague.  In his introductory presentation, Dr. Bhandari commented that, “international political figures including British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher and former US Presidents Richard Nixon, Barack Obama and others, were featured prominently in Laxman’s cartoons.  He further mentioned that political figures, and other personalities, were often flattered by how they were depicted in Laxman’s beloved cartoons.

“Though Laxman’s cartoons are highly recognizable by India’s general public; very few people know “Laxman the artist,” as much of his work in this genre was unpublished, said Bhandari. From his beloved Lord Ganesha, to temples and landscapes, crows and other animals; Laxman employed watercolors, pastels and ink to tackle a variety of subjects. His oeuvre even included nudes, drawn when he was young and still relatively unknown,” he continued.

Laxman’s work, has even received praise by a former President of India, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, who once remarked that, “Laxman’s works speak, more than a thousand words.” 

Laxman recreated the personalities of political leaders, men of both peace and war, litterateurs, actors, musicians and famous sportsmen. As an artist, he relied upon memory, not photographs, to depict his well-known subjects. By means of humor, he gave life to his subjects on paper and chronicled his times as a political and social critic. From trade or technology to cricket, Laxman’s creations were unique. His used cartoon illustrations to capture the essence of political leaders–their characters, politics and egos and even their futures, day after day for decades. 

Former Deputy Mayor of The Hague, Mr. Rabin Baldewsingh, was among the other distinguished guests who attended the opening.  Mr. Baldewsingh also gave a few prepared remarks—noting that the work of a political cartoonist can be likened to the health of a miner’s “canary in a cage.”

Laxman, used little more than a pen and ink to sketch artistic representations of challenging, even discomforting, subjects in his world and the world at large. The former deputy mayor noted that Laxman’s cartoons, like the work of any political cartoonist, are a significant indicator of the freedoms enjoyed by citizens in any healthy democracy. 

Top level representatives from the The Hague’s international judicial institutions, local representatives from the Indian community in the Netherlands and other guests from the community were also present to open the exhibition, which will remain on public display until October 12, 2019. 

The Prince of Wales attended commemorative events in the Netherlands for the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem on Saturday September 21.

In September 1944, more than 35,000 British, American and Polish airborne troops landed behind enemy lines in Arnhem by parachute and glider, launching Operation Market Garden. It is today considered the largest airborne operation in history.

His Royal Highness began the day with a commemorative service at Ginkel Heath with HRH Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands. Their Royal Highnesses both laid wreaths and viewed a wave of parachute drops onto the heath, including soldiers from The Parachute Regiment, of which The Prince is Colonel-in-Chief. They both also had the opportunity to meet veterans and their families.

The Prince visited St. Eusebius Church, which was heavily damaged during the battle, to mark the recent restoration works to the tower. After unveiling a plaque outside the church, Prince Charles, visited an exhibition of art on the Battle of Arnhem on display inside the church, produced by local schoolchildren. 

Later during the day, he attended the Polish Airborne Commemorative Service in Driel, where His Royal Highness laid a wreath. Following the service, Prince Charles visited the local church to view a display on the Polish contribution to Operation Market Garden, including personal belonging of General Sosabowski, who commanded the Polish paratroopers.

In Oosterbeek, The Prince met members of the Army Air Corps, of which His Royal Highness is Colonel-in-Chief, and visited the replica Horsa glider. During the Battle of Arnhem, around 600 gliders landed in the municipality of Renkum, next to Arnhem.

These silent aircraft were used to carry fully armed and equipped airborne soldiers and to supply materials to the front.

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Photography by Richard Nicolaas van Vliet.

The Hague, Netherlands — 24 September 2019 — The Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, delivered a keynote address about international efforts to eliminate chemical weapons and the need for a robust culture of security and deterrence at the 13th CBRNe Protection Symposium held in Malmö, Sweden on 24 September.

In his keynote address, Director-General Arias expressed the need to be agile and vigilant in the face of new technologies and emerging challenges that could threaten the global norm against chemical weapons.

He underscored how “dealing with new uncertainties, challenges, and risks must take centre-stage” and that we should look to our collective experience and knowledge gained from years of implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) to inform our responses to current and future scenarios. The Director-General further emphasised, “The need for international cooperation and coordination has never been greater,” and he stated that “complacency cannot be an option.”

Other aspects covered during Director-General Arias’ address included OPCW’s progress and achievements, and the construction of the new OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology (“ChemTech Centre”) to strengthen the Organisations’ capabilities to fully address new and emerging chemical weapons threats, as well as to support capacity building in OPCW Member States.

H.E. Mr Oji N. Ngofa, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , his mother in law and spouse Mrs Diepriye Oji Ngofa.

By Roy Lie Atjam.

The Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria H.E. Mr Oji N. Ngofa and spouse Mrs Diepriye Oji Ngofa organized a reception marking the 59th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Nigeria on Thursday, 3rd October 2019.

The official Independence Day is on 1st October 1960. Ambassador Ngofa thanked them for being there. Nigeria aspires to achieve an egalitarian society founded on social justice, equity and rule of law.

Ambassador  Ngofa expressed “I am sincerely honored by your presence at this occasion where we show loyalty and devotion to our country. I regard you all as true friends of Nigeria.”

 Lets take a look at some of the remarks made on this festive occasion. “Permit me to inform you that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nigeria and the Netherlands in 1966, the cordiality as accentuated by high level visits between us has grown in leaps and bounds. His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari was here last year while the Prime Minister, His Excellency Mark Rutte is scheduled to visit Nigeria in November. These high level visits are catalysts for business opportunities and networking.

In order to have structured bilateral relations, Nigeria and the Netherlands signed mutually beneficial instruments to guide their interactions. The active ones especially on investment protection, bilateral consultations, migration etc will be reinforced while dormant ones will be resuscitated. It is gratifying to note that the Netherlands has continued to be one of our major global trading partners. We do not take that for granted as we are poised to leverage on Dutch legendary expertise in food and agriculture, security and water management to expand frontiers of our business relations. 

Ambassador Ngofa further related, It may interest you to know that Nigeria is Africa’s leading consumer of rice, one of its largest producers and simultaneously one of the largest importers in the world. However, coupled with other plans and the Anchor Borrowers Programme of our Central Bank, the narrative is changing. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), rice production in Nigeria has increased from annual average of 7.1 million metric tonnes between 2013 and 2017 to 8.9 million metric tonnes in 2018. The revolution in agricultural sector is geared towards attaining food self-sufficiency and entrenching export promotion and import substitution regimes.

Rights steps have been taken by the present administration to make Nigeria investment friendly and competitive. This includes setting up of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) which has seen the upscaling of the country in 24 places from 169^thposition to 146^thin World Bank’s global Ease of Doing Business index. Therefore, it is not a coincidence that Nigeria is ranked among top 20 improvers in Doing Business for the year 2020 by a World Bank Report that will be released on 24^thof this month.

Nigeria, like the rest of the world is confronted with global security challenges of terrorism, cybercrime, etc. Peculiar security challenges to Nigeria and its immediate neighbours are clashes between farmers and herders. Nigeria addresses the problem through international cooperation and setting up of the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) aimed at combating trans-border crime and insurgency.

 Our gallant military officers have inflicted crushing defeat on Boko Haram and have considerably curtailed their activities in the North-East of the country. The administration, apart from other measures, is also adopting traditional mechanism with cooperation of traditional rulers to resolve disputes between cattle rearing communities and farmers.

The economy of a country also thrives if the canker of corruption which unjustly enriches a few and deprives many is reduced to its barest minimum. The anti-corruption crusade of government flagged off fiscal sector reforms to plug leakages. The whistleblowing policy, increased oversight of MDAs, Treasury Single Account System, creation of Asset Tracking and Management Project as well as bilateral agreements with friendly countries for repatriation of stolen funds have been levers of hope against accumulation of ill-gotten wealth.

I would like to use this opportunity to acknowledge and commend the government of the Netherlands for ongoing development cooperation projects across Nigeria. Equally remarkable is capacity building initiative of awarding Nuffic scholarships to Nigerian students, lecturers and professionals in relevant disciplines at various institutions of higher-learning. It is also apposite to commend the decision of the Dutch government for upgrading its Embassy Office in Lagos to a Consulate. 

In the comity of Nations, Nigeria reaffirms her commitments to the maintenance of international peace, rule of law, fair trade precepts of WTO, achieving carbon emission targets, reform of the UNSC and global partnerships in the fight against organized crimes, irregular migration and human trafficking.

Last but not the least, allow me to mention that, we have a robust Nigerian community of professionals, businessmen/women and students making enormous contributions individually and collectively to the socio-economic development of Nigeria and the host community. The Nigerian community has been a pillar of support to the Embassy complementing fulfilment of its mandate by also attracting investment to Nigeria through business fora it has created. The establishment of the Nigeria Diaspora Commission by the government is a recognition of your immeasurable contributions.”

A performance by children depicting Nigerian’s diversity, a vocalist and a Nigerian dinner-buffet concluded the festive evening attended by many ambassadors and diplomats, Dutch friends of Nigeria and the Nigerian community.