On 14 November, Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga paid a one-day working visit to the Netherlands. The program included bilateral discussions with Ferdinand Grapperhaus (Minister of Justice and Security), Stef Blok (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Jan Anthonie Bruijn (President of the Senate), Ladislav Hamran (President of Eurojust) and Christophe Bernasconi (Secretary General of The Hague Conference on Private International Law).
At the end of the day Minister Varga participated in a panel discussion at De Balie in Amsterdam with Member of the European Parliament Sophie in ‘t Veld and assistant professor Ferenc Laczó about the rule of law in Hungary and its position in the EU.
On December 14, the Hungarian Choir The Hague will give a Christmas concert in The Hague. The choir, led by Kata Kovács, a singer and music teacher, has about 30 members, both children and adults.
The choir will be joined by musicians on the guitar, flute and piano.
The Embassy of Brazil in the Netherlands, Imagine Film, Rialto Film Theater Amsterdam and Oficine are proud to announce the official avant-première of the Brazilian film The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão (A vida invisível) by Director Karim Aïnouz winner of “Un Certain Regard” Prize at the Cannes Festival 2019.
The avant-première will take place at Rialto Film Theater Amsterdam (Ceintuurbaan, 338), on the 4th of December, starting at 19h, followed by a live music presentation by the duo Lilian Vieira & Daniel de Moraes and drinks and bites offered by the Brazilian Embassy.
The entrance is reserved to ticket holders. Tickets can be acquired in advance through
Ambassador Mohammed Al Kuwari & Ghorfa SG Abdulaziz Al Mikhlafi – Picture by Ghorfa.
Wednesday, 27 November 2019, Berlin, Germany: Qatar’s top envoy to Germany, H.E. Ambassador Mohammed bin Jaham Al Kuwari, has only been in office but a few days, however, he already took his time to pay a introductory call upon the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Secretary-General, Abdulaziz bin Othman Al Mikhlafi, to discuss manners to further develop the economic ties between Qatar and Germany, and to buttress up enterprises from both sides.
Ambassador Al Kuwari was accredited before German Federal President Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday, 21 November at Bellevue Castle. He arrived to Germany after having served as his homeland’s chef de mission to Spain.
In the picture H.E. Mr. Tigran Balayan, Ambassador of Armenia, H.E. Mr. Dilyor Khakimov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan and Anahit Chalikian, Counsellor at the Armenian Embassy during the testing.
The Armenian Embassy in The Netherlands and the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia, in collaboration with Diplomat Magazine and Royal Beverages Group & Drink Rituals, organized a wine tasting at Crowne Plaza in The Hague. The event targeted especially wine experts, distributors and sommeliers.
In 2016 the government of Armenia recognised the production of high quality wine and brandy as a priority sector of their economy, and it started organising tasting of Wines of Armenia around the word. China, Germany, Belgium were recently touched by this international wine tour, with the Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia participating in tasting competitions and international wine exhibitions not only for experts, but also for the public.
Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia also works in the field of wine education for local and international professionals, as well as for the population living in wine regions. Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia supports viticulture and wine projects around the country.
Wines of Armenia.
For instance, the Foundation created a new legal framework for the production of Wines of Armenia, and it initiated a marketing and tourism campaign promoting these Wines in the local and international market.
Since its creation in 2016, Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia has accomplished a great number of projects and missions abroad, bringing the attention of thousands of people to their unique wines, working constantly in improving the quality of wine production, raising the winemaking reputation and competitiveness of the country, contributing to develop Armenian wine culture, and promoting export of wine and the wine consumption culture in Armenia.
Jevgenia Davidyan, from Drinkrituals serving wine to the guests.
Lianna Abelyan, Head of International Projects, and Frunzik Harutyunyan, Deputy Director, Head of Viticulture and Winemaking Department, came together from Yerevan with fourteen of the best wine produced in their country; sparkling, whites, rosés and reds – all unique products to be introduced to the Dutch market.
Frunzik Harutyunyan, Deputy Director, Head of Viticulture and Winemaking Department during his presentation of Wines of Armenia.
Harutyunyan started his presentation with visual images and a film showing the wine zones and wine production, as well as the beginning of the Armenian tradition on wines. He explained the historic roots of the Wines of Armenia, passing by the more than 300 original varieties only found in their territory. As a producer and wine expert himself, his presentation was lively, authentic and rich in information and personal comments. He showed the particularity of each wine to the many experts, highlighting the original and unique flavours of the Armenians wines based on the grapes varieties only growing in Armenia. And that is exactly what makes the uniqueness of Armenian wine’s aroma and flavours.
Wines of Armenia’s testing.
From the sparkling Karas, a brut with some citrus and flowering flavours produced by the winery Tierras de Armenia, to the white Tushpa White by Tushpa Wine Cellar, a wine with creamy flavours produced in the legendary and biblical land of Ararat, where also the absolute fabulous Armenian brandy is produced, to the fruited taste of Takar Red Classic by the Armenia Wine company, or our favorite Kataro Dry Red, Khndoghni by Anush winery – the tasting experience was unique.
Well-known vinologists, sommeliers, wine bloggers and wine critics, wine connoisseurs and wine lovers took part in this wine tasting that officially lasted from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm – although people kept re-tasting and talking until late. It was certainly a good occasion to come together and discover new products and tastes.
This event was a good occasion for sommeliers and distributors to come together and discover new products and tastes. We received good reviews about the Wines of Armenian’s quality – surely another important step to the conquest of the Dutch wine market for Armenia. And it was certainly a successful evening.
On 4 November 2019, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji, addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to present the Court’s annual report, detailing the Court’s activities, ongoing cases, key judicial decisions and reparations processes. In his address to the UNGA, as well as in all his meetings, President Eboe-Osuji stressed the need for sustained cooperation and global support for the Court.
In his address, the President first expressed the Court’s appreciation to the UN for the “continued, invaluable support and assistance that the organisation provides to the ICC”. This broad-ranging assistance is “truly critical for the Court’s work,” the President said.
While expressing the Court’s gratitude for the close cooperation received from many States, the President underlined that the lack of successful cooperation “presents a major obstacle to the Court’s ability to carry out its mandate”. He recalled that more than half of the outstanding arrest warrants relate to situations referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the UN Security Council.
“It remains unacceptable that allegations of criminal conduct of the gravity implicated in these cases are not properly heard before a court of law. It is unacceptable from the point of view of the victims, it is unacceptable from the point of view of the international community, and it is unacceptable from the point of view of the rule of law,” the President stated, urging the Security Council to take concrete measures to ensure compliance with the Court’s requests for cooperation.
Referring to controversies and “direct political threats issued against the Court” in the context of the Afghanistan situation, the President said: “the Court must do its work undeterred by these threats and controversies, whether from civil society members acutely disappointed about judicial decisions they do not like, or from anxious state officials intent on preventing judicial decisions they do not want. The international community and every one of its members must ensure that threats of any kind are not made to the independence that the Court needs to serve its mandate to humanity.”
President Eboe-Osuji reiterated the ICC’s essential values and dividends to the world: “With a permanent international criminal court now in place, even the most powerful men can no longer be certain that they will escape unpunished, if they commit (against their fellow humans) the heinous acts that the Rome Statute forbids.” The President further highlighted the ICC’s correlative value of deterrence. “This is a value that cannot be emphasised strongly enough. There are, indeed, many reasons to insist that the mere existence of this permanent judicial mechanism for accountability does truly serve – at the very least – as an inconvenient obstacle to freewill on the part of those inclined to commit inhumane crimes on a scale that is massive or widespread.”
The President also insisted that “there can be no sustainable development, where conflicts, atrocities and fear reign supreme. […] The effects of conflict impede growth not only in the countries directly embroiled in war; they also impede regional development in addition to the migration problems that they generate.” “All of this is to say that preventing conflicts and the atrocities they breed, and addressing them purposefully and unapologetically through the rule of law, comprise an objective with far-reaching significance for the most critical aspects of human life: including economic development”, he stated.
Finally, the President urged all States that have not yet done so to join the Rome Statute, the Court’s founding treaty: “Each ratification adds another brick to the wall that protects humanity from the gravest crimes imaginable. Each ratification helps reduce the space for impunity,” he said.
During his visit to New York, President Eboe-Osuji is holding meetings with a number of senior United Nations officials, as well as members of the diplomatic community. He will be briefing the New York Working Group of the Bureau of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, as well as Ambassadors of the Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries and the Group of African States in New York. At these meetings, the President will engage in discussion on the Court’s activities and challenges as well as ways to enhance the functioning of the Rome Statute system as a whole, including measures recently taken to expedite the Court’s proceedings.
H.E. Mr. Gamaliel Nkurunziza has been named the new Ambassador of the Republic of Burundi to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The new Ambassador – a Law graduate – is taking up his first post abroad after professional experience in his country’s judiciary and foreign affairs sectors.
The Republic of Burundi has a new Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The post previously occupied by H.E. Ms. Vestine Nahimana has now been assigned to a new Ambassador, H.E. Mr. Gamaliel Nkurunziza, who has already started to take up his duties in The Hague in late 2019.
Born in Burundi’s Ngozi Province in 1978, Mr. Nkurunziza holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, and he has had different professional experiences in his country’s bureaucracy. From 2005 to 2014, he has held several positions in the country’s judiciary. Notably, he has worked in his Ngozi Province, first as Magistrate, and later as Attorney General at the Province’s Appeal Court. Moreover, he has also occupied different positions as Substitute Prosecutor and Prosecutor in other Provinces across Burundi. During these times, Mr. Nkurunziza has also held the Presidency of the Red Cross in Kayanza Province for three years (2011-2013).
After this experience in the judiciary, Mr. Nkurunziza moved into the governmental sector, becoming an Advisor to Burundi’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and also joining the Independent National Commission for Human Rights in Burundi as a Commission Member (2014-2018). After this experience, Mr. Nkurunziza joined his country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked as Director General in charge of Diaspora, Non-Governmental Organizations and Non-Profit Organizations until 2019, when he was named Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Burundi in the Netherlands.
The diplomatic community of the Netherlands warmly welcomes Ambassador Nkurunziza and wishes him a pleasant experience in The Hague!
Tuesday, 26 November 2019, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germay: Mayor and President of the Senate of Bremen, Dr. Andreas Bovenschulte welcomed the Ambassador of Ethiopia to Germany, Mulu Solomon Bezuneh at 3 p.m. for her inaugural visit to the city-state. Accordingly the Town Hall was flagged.
The Ambassador signed the city-state’s Golden Book in the Upper Hall of the Town Hall. Thereafter an tête-à-tête was held between Mayor Dr. Bovenschulte and Ambassador Bezuneh in the Güldenkammer.
Ambassador Bezuneh was thereafter accompanied by Honorary Consul Thomas Gerkmann to the Bremen City-State Diet and the Bremen Chamber of Commerce (IHK for Bremen and Bremerhaven), where the chef de mission held a round table discussion on the future of the East African country.
In October, the news that Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2019 for his peace policy towards his neighbour Eritrea caused worldwide headlines.
Minister of State Dr. Florian Herrmann & Marshall of the Voivodship of Lublin, Jarosław Stawiarski – Picture by Bayerische Staatskanzlei.
Monday, 25 November 2019, Munich, Bavaria, Germany: the Marshall of the Voivodeship of Lublin, Jarosław Stawiarski, paid a visit to the Bavarian Minister of State for Federal and European Affairs and Media, Dr. Florian Herrmann at the State Chancellery. The Voivoideship of Lublin is a region located in southeastern Poland, and named after its capital, the historical city of Lublin.
Marshall Stawiarski is a former Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism of Poland.
Prof. Christopher Brett, President of International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, Dr Robert Mikulak, the former Permanent Representative of the United States to the OPCW, and Cheng Tang, an expert on chemical demilitarisation from the People’s Republic of China, received 2019 OPCW-The Hague Award.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands —25 November 2019 — The OPCW-The Hague Award was presented to three recipients today during a ceremony held during the Twenty-Fourth Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. The award recognises individuals and institutions that have made an outstanding contribution towards the goal of a world permanently free of chemical weapons.
During the ceremony, OPCW’s Director-General, H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, congratulated the award recipients and stated: “The winners of this award have earned our admiration through their sustained and devoted efforts in chemical disarmament and the peaceful uses of chemistry. Our mission is an enduring one. It requires constant vigilance and action. This year’s recipients will surely inspire others to take up this noble mission.”
The Award, which is also supported by the Municipality of The Hague, highlights the deep-rooted collaboration between the OPCW and its host country, the Netherlands, in countering the threat posed by chemical weapons and honouring actors involved in implementing the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
OPCW
In her remarks, the Deputy Mayor of the City of The Hague, Saskia Bruines, said: “I am extremely proud to be able to present this prestigious award here in The Hague. We are celebrating the special work of the OPCW, the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize winner. This important international organisation has been located in The Hague for over twenty years. The mission of the OPCW can be traced back to the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899 where a ban on certain chemical weapons was declared. Now, a hundred and twenty years later, and with the help of this year’s winners of the 2019 OPCW- The Hague Award, we are closer than ever to a world free of chemical weapons.”
Dr Robert Mikulak, the former Permanent Representative of the United States to the OPCW, stated: “The CWC establishes the very important norm, which prevents chemical agents being used in warfare. Science can and has been misused and perverted, and I have found ways to counter that by bridging the gap between scientists and politicians. The OPCW-The Hague Award will help me to continue this important work.”
Dr Robert Mikulak (United States of America) is an eminent expert on chemical and biological weapons arms control and the former Permanent Representative of the United States to the OPCW from 2010 to 2015. Dr Mikulak has made substantial contributions to chemical disarmament through his extensive involvement in the negotiations of the CWC, and his work as the US representative to the OPCW Preparatory Committee. Currently, he is a member of the OPCW Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and is an expert advisor on chemical and biological weapons issues at the United States Department of State.
Mr Cheng Tang, an expert on chemical demilitarisation from the People’s Republic of China, said: ‘’We are now living in an era of unprecedented scientific advancement and technological innovation with equally unparalleled access to, and diffusion of, scientific knowledge. As science can both improve and potentially undermine the ability to maintain an effective disarmament regime, it is imperative to strengthen the science review process and evaluate its implications for the Chemical Weapons Convention.”
Mr Cheng Tang (People’s Republic of China) is an expert on chemical demilitarisation. He is currently the Chair of the OPCW Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and an advisor to the Chinese National Authority. Involved in the text negotiations of the CWC in Geneva from 1990 to 1992 as well as the removal and destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons, Mr Tang has actively worked for the goal of a world free of chemical weapons.
The award for the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) was accepted by President-elect Prof. Christopher Brett. He said: “IUPAC is extremely honoured to be a recipient of the highly prestigious OPCW-The Hague award. It represents recognition of IUPAC’s strong and lasting cooperation with OPCW to serve humankind through contributing knowledge and advances in the science and technology of chemistry at the worldwide level, helping to achieve the goals of CWC, as well as providing OPCW with the tools and materials for informing society about the responsible uses of chemistry.”
The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international federation of chemists that was established in 1919. Consisting of members, associates, and affiliate institutions from around the world, the organisation played an instrumental role in the development and promotion of The Hague Ethical Guidelines on Chemistry. IUPAC has actively cooperated with the OPCW to produce educational materials, teaching modules and joint-OPCW symposia on CWC related topics. A strong advocate for the peaceful uses of chemistry, IUPAC has provided extensive and longstanding support to the OPCW in promoting the objectives of the CWC.
In 2013, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons.
To preserve the legacy of this achievement, the OPCW established the OPCW-The Hague Award in collaboration with the Municipality of The Hague in 2014.
The OPCW-The Hague Award recognises individuals and institutions that have made an outstanding contribution towards the goal of a world permanently free of chemical weapons.
