Italian music and flavours at Europol

Editor
-
0
Italian music and flavours at Europol

Italian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Andrea Perugini, Italian pianist, Daklen Difato and Europol Executive Director, Ms. Catherine de Bolle.


“Italy is among the highest exporter of food products, naturally, the question of food safety becomes relevant. Europol, not only fights crime in Europe but also contributes to the safety of food-related products in Europe. The Italian Republic has been cooperating with Europol for a very long period and will continue to commit itself to the security of Europe. Tonight, with Italian food and music, we bring flavor to Europol!” H.E. Mr. Andrea Perugini, Ambassador of Italy to the Netherlands.

By Wei Hung.

Italy blends history, culture, and music like no one else, a perfect balance in each of its dimensions. The Italian Embassy, in Europol, fashionably presented all three elements giving everyone not only a feast of flavors but a feast for our ears as well.

Ambassador Perugini during his welcome remarks.

Among our audience, diplomats representing various Embassies and Mrs. Catherine De Bolle, the Executive Director of Europol were present. During Daklen Difato‘s performance, he serenaded the audience from contemporary Italian music into Schumann’s romantic era.

The young Italian prodigy played a handful of masterpieces such as Chopin’s Fantasia op.49 and Prokofiev’s Sonata n.7 op.83. He was, without a doubt, the spotlight of the night.

Ms. Catherine De Bolle, Europol Executive Director.

He started playing the piano by the age of seven and attended the Conservatory of Music “E.R. Duni” in Matera by the time he was eight. Moreover, he graduated from the musical conservatory at the age of 13 (with 22 being the norm)! His remarkable achievements could be seen all around the globe, from Tel Aviv, Nice, The Hague, to Washington DC.

Difato’s music performance not only reverberated through these cities but also in our ears tonight, a truly mesmerizing experience. In an exclusive interview with Difato himself, he told us he never actually pictured himself going professional, not to mention, perform at all these big cities.

However, he embarked on this musical journey when his teacher realized his potential and talent as a pianist.

Daklen Difato, Italian pianist prodigy.

But, the piano is not his only passion, he is currently also a student of aerospace engineering, who enjoys mathematics as much as the piano, and hopes to pursue both his musical career and aerospace engineering side by side.

Italian Gastronomy & Concert at ESTEC

Editor
-
0
Italian Gastronomy & Concert at ESTEC

In the picture Letizia Elsa Maula (clarinet) and Mario Rio (cello).

By Nynke van der Heide.

In honour of the 4th edition of the Week of Italian Gastronomy, the Italian Embassy organized a concert in the evening of the 18th of November.

This special event took place at the biggest European Space Agency site of Europe: the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk.

The Week of Italian Gastronomy, took place from the 18th until the 24th of November 2019 with culinary and cultural events hosted throughout the Netherlands. “Food Education: the Culture of Taste” was this year theme, emphasizing the importance of the quality of produce and a balanced lifestyle. 

The Italian Gastronomic Week in The Hague at European Space Research and Technology Centre.

The evening began with a few opening remarks by Dr. Franco Ongaro, the Director of Technology, Engineering and Quality and Head of ESTEC in which he welcomed the many esteemed guests. Ms. Verónica Ferrucci, First Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian Embassy representing H.E. Ambassador Mr. Andrea Perugini, followed by stressing the strong connection between food and culture, and the important role music has in this process.

She introduced the duo Letizia Elsa Maula and Mario Rio: together the Philia Duo. An allusion to the Greek word “Philia” meaning “brotherly love” or the Aristotelian translation of “friendship”. The intriguing combination of clarinet and cello created an extraordinary element in the evening. 

  • Ms. PIna Alivernini, Commercial Attache, Embassy of Italy.

The concert was divided in four different parts taking the audience on a journey through time beginning at Mozart and ending at Connesson in 1994. The first piece, duet for violin and cello Wo027 by Beethoven, was especially transcribed for clarinet.

Ms. Verónica Ferrucci, First Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Italian Embassy, representing H.E. Ambassador Mr. Andrea Perugini. and Italian musician Letizia Elsa Maula.

It was strongly influenced by the Sturm und Drang movement which became visible in the interaction between the cello and clarinet. It looked like a fierce but merry dialogue.


The third piece, sonate for clarinet and cello by Poulenc, brought us back in more modern times. The piece was a perfect example of the melodic gift that Poulenc was known to have. The last piece of the concert, Disco Toccata, was created by the French composer Connesson and was the only song originally made for clarinet and cello duo. The modern tunes made for a complete concert experience.

After a big applause, the guests were invited to the reception where they could enjoy authentic Italian Panzerotti and Tareni wines from the Sicilian region. The guests can look back at a very successful evening with enchanting music created by two very talented artists, delicious Italian cuisine and many colleagues to share the evening with. 

Italian gastronomy and wines.

Photography by Catherine Dailey and Nynke van der Heide.

H.E. Mr. Andrés Terán Parral is Ecuador’s Ambassador in The Hague

Editor
-
0
H.E. Mr. Andrés Terán Parral is Ecuador’s Ambassador in The Hague

In November 2019, H.E. Ambassador Andrés Terán Parral has presented his credential to H.M. the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, officially becoming Ecuador’s top representative in The Hague. This new post comes on the heels of a successful diplomatic career of over 35 years.

In late 2019, the diplomatic community of the Netherlands has welcomed a new member: H.E. Mr. Andrés Terán Parral, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The new Ecuadorian Ambassador, a law graduate from the Universidad Internacional del Ecuador, is an extremely experienced diplomat, with a career of over 35 years in a number of different posts.

Mr. Terán Parral started to work for Ecuador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981, thus beginning a career that led him to take increasingly high-level positions, alternating between Ecuador’s capital city and other countries throughout the world. 

During his first stints in Quito, Ambassador Terán Parral covered a vast array of different roles. Starting in in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he worked as Third Secretary at the Department of Cultural Promotion (1983), Desk Officer for the US and Canada (1989-1991), Undersecretary of Bilateral Affairs (1990-91), as well as in the Office of the Vice Minister (1991-1992). In between these roles, he held positions at Ecuador’s embassies in Paraguay (1984-1989) and Spain (1992-1997).

In the late 1990s, Mr. Terán Parral also served as Head of the Office of Diplomatic Coordination for Ecuador’s Vice Presidency (1998) and Head of Protocol for the Presidency (2000), before moving again abroad, serving at Ecuador’s embassies in Belgium (2001-2004) and the United States (2004-2006).

In the mid-2000s, Ambassador Terán Parral took up a number of new positions, serving as Legal Advisor of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2006), Under Secretary General of the Ecuadorian Central Bank’s Board of Directors (2007), and Chief of Staff of the Foreign Minister (2008), before moving to his country’s embassy in Uruguay (2009).

In November 2009, Mr. Terán Parral was then chosen by his government to attempt a rapprochement with the government of Colombia amidst a diplomatic crisis – an attempt that succeeded, as the two countries restored diplomatic ties the following year.

In March 2011, Mr. Terán Parral was finally promoted to highest diplomatic rank and named Ambassador to Canada, the country where he stayed until 2015, when he returned to Quito to serve as Director of International Affairs at the Office of the Prosecutor General. In 2016, he returned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Director for South America, before being appointed Vice Minister in June 2018. Finally, in September 2019, the Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno asked Ambassador Terán Parral to represent his country in the Netherlands, where he is currently serving as Ambassador.

Ambassador Terán Parral was born in Lima (Peru) in 1960, and grew up across four different Latin American countries (Argentina, Brazil, El Salvador, and Ecuador). He speaks fluently four languages – English, French, and Portuguese, in addition to his Spanish mother tongue. Throughout his life, the Ambassador has received high-level decorations in Ecuador, Chile, Spain, and Brazil. Ambassador Terán Parral is married to Mrs. María Rosa Egüez, a clinical psychologist, with whom he has three children.  

International migrant trafficking network dismantled

Editor
-
0
International migrant trafficking network dismantled

the national authorities in Germany (Federal Police Department) and Romania (Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism and National Police) took part in a simultaneous action against an organised criminal group trafficking migrants from the Middle East.

The German Federal Police initially carried out the investigation with the Romanian national authorities and were later joined by UK and Hungarian investigators. National authorities from Germany, Romania, Hungary, the UK and Turkey further looked into the activities of 36 people accused of trafficking at least 580 migrants, earning more than EUR 2 million for their services.

Photo © Shutterstock

The traffickers and their victims travelled from Iran, Iraq and Syria, via Turkey and Greece, to Romania, where they were loaded into containers and transported on trucks via Hungary and the Czech Republic into Germany. This form of transport is potentially fatal for the migrants.

A joint investigation team (JIT), with financial and logistical support provided by Eurojust, was formed in November 2018 among Germany, Romania, the UK and Hungary, with the participation of Eurojust and Europol. The JIT was instrumental in the success of the investigation and the action day. Two coordination meetings were held at Eurojust to prepare for the action day. Europol supported the actions by analysing data.

During the action day, 78 police officers from Germany and 65 police officers from Romania searched 13 houses in Germany and Romania. Four people were detained in Romania and one person was detained in Greece. The police seized 14 cell phones, 2 computers, bank account documentation and various pieces of identification.

In related actions, four drivers were sentenced in Germany to terms ranging from one year and eight months to five years and three months. Another driver is standing trial in Hungary. The main organiser was arrested on a German European Arrest Warrant in London earlier this year by German and UK police. His extradition is pending. At the same time, the Turkish Police arrested 14 suspects.

National authorities:

Germany: Office of the Public Prosecutor Weiden in der Oberpfalz

Romania: Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism – Central Structure; Romanian National Police

UK: Crown Prosecution Service; Home Office Immigration Enforcement

Hungary: District Office of Public Prosecution Mosonmagyaròvàr

ICC judges authorise opening of an investigation into the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

Editor
-
0
ICC judges authorise opening of an investigation into the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

ICC judges authorise opening of an investigation into the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

On 14 November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) authorised the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for the alleged crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar (“the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar”). ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III is composed of Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia, Presiding, Judge Robert Fremr, and Judge Geoffrey Henderson.

This authorisation follows the request submitted on 4 July 2019 by the Prosecutor to open an investigation into alleged crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction committed against the Rohingya people from Myanmar. 

The Chamber also received the views on this request by or on behalf of hundreds of thousands of alleged victims. According to the ICC Registry, victims unanimously insist that they want an investigation by the Court and many of the consulted alleged victims ‘believe that only justice and accountability can ensure that the perceived circle of violence and abuse comes to an end’. The Chamber recognised all the individuals and organisations that assisted, guided and advised alleged victims throughout this process.

The Chamber concluded that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over crimes when part of the criminal conduct takes place on the territory of a State Party. While Myanmar is not a State Party, Bangladesh ratified the ICC Rome statute in 2010. Upon review of the available information, the Chamber accepted that there exists a reasonable basis to believe widespread and/or systematic acts of violence may have been committed that could qualify as the crimes against humanity of deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population. The Chamber found no need to assess whether other crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction may have been committed, even though such alleged crimes could be part of the Prosecutor’s future investigation. 

Noting the scale of the alleged crimes and the number of victims allegedly involved, the Chamber considered that the situation clearly reaches the gravity threshold. According to the supporting material, an estimated 600,000 to one million Rohingya were forcibly displaced from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result of the alleged coercive acts.  Noting the victims’ views, the Chamber agreed with the Prosecutor that there are no substantial reasons to believe that an investigation into the situation would not be in the interests of justice.

Consequently, Pre-Chamber III authorised the commencement of the investigation in relation to any crime, including any future crime, as long as: a) it is within the jurisdiction of the Court, b) it is allegedly committed at least in part on the territory of Bangladesh, or on the territory of any other State Party or State accepting the ICC jurisdiction, c)  it is sufficiently linked to the situation as described in the present decision, and d) it was allegedly committed on or after  the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute for Bangladesh or other relevant State Party.

Decision Pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute on the Authorisation of an Investigation into the Situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Italian archaeological trafficking group dismantled

Editor
-
0
Italian archaeological trafficking group dismantled

Photo © Carabinieri, IT

An international police operation carried out today, supported by Eurojust and Europol, dismantled an international organised crime group involved in large-scale trafficking of Greek archaeological items looted from Calabria, Italy, resulting in 23 arrests and 103 searches and seizures, yielding approximately 10 000 archaeological goods.

The investigation, which began in 2017, revealed that illegal excavations were managed by a well-structured organised crime group (OCG) carrying out all phases of the trafficking. The OCG, led by two Calabrians living in the province of Crotone, included looters, fences, intermediaries and mules operating out of different Italian regions. The key facilitators from Italy, France, the UK, Germany and Serbia were operating from Djion, Munich, London and Vršac, coordinating the supply chain. This looting, carried out over the course of several years, caused considerable damage to the Italian cultural heritage.

Eurojust supported the execution of the European Investigation Orders and arranged a coordination centre to follow the action in real time via dedicated and secure lines of communication. The coordination centre enabled the execution of measures, including arrests, searches and seizures, immediately and simultaneously in the five countries, and the timely exchange of information and coordination of all actors involved, including investigative judges, prosecutors and law enforcement authorities.

Europol supported the investigation by coordinating the information exchange, holding several operational meetings, preparing the action day and providing on-the-spot analytical support in Italy to cross-check operational information against Europol’s databases.

National authorities:

IT: Carabinieri

DE: Bavarian State Police (Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt (LKA))

FR: Office central de lutte contre le trafic de biens culturels (OCBC)

UK: Metropolitan Police, London

Serbia: Serbian Criminal Investigations Directorate

ICC President delivers annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture in Washington, D.C.

Editor
-
0
ICC President delivers annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture in Washington, D.C.

On 14 November 2019, the President the International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, delivered the third annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University, in Washington, D.C., United States.

During his lecture, titled “The US and the ICC”, the President recalled the message of the USA Chief Prosecutor at the Nuremberg proceedings after the World War II, Robert H Jackson, who underscored the “indispensability” of international law “to a world that plans to live in peace.”

President Chile Eboe Osuji stressed that “when international law operates to make our world a little better for common humanity in the long run, it would have worked to our national advantage, though it may not seem like it in the short run”.

“Justice plays its important part in helping to deter those conducts and events that drive mass migration or refugee flows. It does so by exerting the needed pressure against those conducts. And that is one more reason that compels sustaining and supporting the ICC – and not subverting it,” the President stated.

In his remarks, the ICC President expressed his disappointment at the threats made against the Court by the United States Government in the context of the situation in Afghanistan. “It truly confounds the mind to think that such a development would be something that could, in the strangest of happenings, be associated with the Government of the United States – a country that the world has grown used to seeing as the most prominent lighthouse of the rule of law and respect for judicial independence”, he said.

The President however welcomed the fact that influential groups and individuals within the U.S. had condemned the threats against the ICC and called upon their government to cooperate with the Court. The President ended his lecture with a call upon the United States to join the Rome Statute of the ICC.

 “The US and the ICC”: Annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture by ICC President Chile Eboe-Osuji

Video of the Annual Lantos Rule of Law Lecture     

Opening of Transverse Wave at me Collectors Room

Editor
-
0
Opening of Transverse Wave at me Collectors Room

Friday, 15 November 2019, me Collectors Room, Berlin, Germany: the opening of the ongoing exhibition ‘Transverse Wave’ that brings together Rashid Al Khalifa, Mary Bauermeister and Simon Stockhausen took place with numerous guests partaking from the national art scene, world of diplomacy, aristocracy and national celebrities. 

The title Transverse Wave is a poetic metaphor for the effects to which the exhibition aspires. A “transverse wave” consists of oscillations that occur perpendicular to the direction of energy transfer. Initiated from one side, after an interval it reaches the opposite side, creating a connection that can in turn be imagined in the reverse direction.

The principle of the wave and the connection inherent in it doesn’t just occur as light or sound waves; it also recurs in the creation of the material used for the stone reliefs, in the design principles of the artworks, and in the composition’s auditory features.

Featuring the work of Mary Bauermeister (b. 1934 in Germany) and Rashid Al Khalifa (b. 1952 in Bahrain), the me Collectors Room Berlin presents two artists who were not only socialized in different cultural realms; they also approach their artistic work from opposite ends of the spectrum. Whereas Bauermeister’s work is composed of found, mostly organic materials that nonetheless were previously involved in both natural and social processes, Al Khalifa uses synthetic materials derived from the industrial realm.

Because of their consistent, gridded structures and the selected substances, his objects suggest a Minimalist aesthetic with an austere seriality. Bauermeister’s works likewise exhibit constructive processes, but they attempt to organize naturally grown materials; or, as in the case of the “Light Sheets,” chance was the decisive element in creating these structures.

For further information:
https://www.me-berlin.com/transverse-wave-16-11-2019-31-01-2020/lang/en/

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNacEsfgNQEu8zsmi8068RQqEF1iNe1b84azjcULsS4PQlFAUIR9xUk_vp1GfA-fQ?key=WXFudW4tSnZKMTdEaXotOE1wWmkyeVNnQlhacUZR…

Security dialogue vis-à-vis Bavaria from US side

Editor
-
0
Security dialogue vis-à-vis Bavaria from US side

Dr. Florian Herrmann, DCM US Embassy Robin Quinville, GC Meghan Gregonis, Brig. Gen. Christopher Norrie – Picture by Bayerische Staatskanzlei.

Monday, 18 November 2019, Munich, Bavarian State Chancellery, Germany: State Minister Dr. Florian Herrmann, Head of the State Chancellery and Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs and Media, welcomed the US Deputy Chief of Mission Robin Quinville, US General Consul Meghan Gregonis and the Commander of the 7th US Army Training Command Brigadier General Christopher R. Norrie to the state’s seat of government for a strategic defence dialogue with the USA. 

The transatlantic partnership between Bavaria and the USA thrives on intensive exchange and a trusting cooperation. According to the State Minister “we experiencing challenging times worldwide with new power relations.

The latter makes partners such as the United States, with whom we share our unshakeable values and positions, all the more important”. 

For further information:
https://www.bayern.de/service/fotoreihen/?frid=in121576&fbclid=IwAR159IvlX0ZtsFV471Y8rikJ_IZB-BB69E4JSKekZFUCCGqGBScQGt6Y7jc

US General Consulate in Munich: https://de.usembassy.gov/our-relationship/cg-munich/

Réaction du Procureur de la CPI, Fatou Bensouda, à la décision d’autoriser l’ouverture d’une enquête sur la situation au Bangladesh/Myanmar

Editor
-
0
Réaction du Procureur de la CPI, Fatou Bensouda, à la décision d’autoriser l’ouverture d’une enquête sur la situation au Bangladesh/Myanmar


Je salue la décision prise hier par les juges de la CPI de faire droit à ma demande d’ouvrir une enquête sur la situation en République populaire du Bangladesh/République de l’Union du Myanmar.  

Les juges de la CPI ont accepté mon analyse selon laquelle il existe une base raisonnable permettant de croire que des moyens coercitifs qui pourraient être qualifiés de crimes contre l’humanité de déportation et de persécution pour des motifs d’ordre ethnique et/ou religieux auraient été employés contre la population Rohingya.

La décision prise hier autorise l’ouverture d’une enquête officielle sur des crimes relevant de la compétence de la Cour, qui auraient été commis à compter du 1er juin 2020, en partie du moins sur le territoire du Bangladesh, ou sur le territoire d’autres États parties, tel qu’indiqué dans la décision. 

Il s’agit d’une avancée importante qui envoie un signal positif aux victimes d’atrocités au Myanmar et ailleurs.

En qualité d’organe chargé des poursuites, et grâce à notre travail, nous espérons pouvoir rendre justice aux victimes, dès lors que les conditions liées à notre compétence sont remplies. 

L’objet de mon enquête sera de faire éclater la vérité. Mon bureau œuvrera désormais à la réussite de son enquête indépendante et impartiale. 

Pour ce faire, nous comptons sur l’appui et la coopération sans réserve des États parties, de la société civile et de nos autres partenaires dans notre quête commune en faveur de la justice pénale internationale. 

Le Bureau du Procureur de la CPI mène des examens préliminaires, des enquêtes et des poursuites à propos du crime de génocide, des crimes contre l’humanité, des crimes de guerre et du crime d’agression, en toute impartialité et en toute indépendance. Depuis 2003, le Bureau enquête sur plusieurs situations relevant de la compétence de la CPI : en Ouganda, en République démocratique du Congo, au Darfour (Soudan), en République centrafricaine (deux situations distinctes), au Kenya, en Libye, en Côte d’Ivoire, au Mali, en Géorgie, au Burundi et en République populaire du Bangladesh/République de l’Union du Myanmar. Le Bureau conduit également des examens préliminaires à propos des situations en Colombie, en Guinée, en Iraq/Royaume-Uni, au Nigéria, en Palestine, aux Philippines, en Ukraine et au Venezuela.

Pour en savoir plus sur les « examens préliminaires » et les « situations et affaires » portées devant la Cour, veuillez cliquer ici et ici.

Source : Bureau du Procureur | Contact : OTPNewsDesk@icc-cpi.int

1...354355356...880Page 355 of 880