In the picture Kenzo Takada. By michell zappa – edited from Kenzo Takada & HelĆ“.
As per LVMHĀ statement the Nipponese luxury house ofĀ KenzoĀ has appointedĀ Felipe Oliveira BaptistaĀ as its novel Creative Director effective as of 1 JulyĀ 2019.
āWe are delighted to welcome Felipe Oliveira Baptista as the new Creative Director of Kenzo. His innovative and modern creative vision and well-rounded artistic approach will enable Kenzo to reach its full potential while respecting its unique heritageā, addedĀ Sylvie Colin, Kenzo CEO.
Born in the Azores, Portugal, Felipe Oliveira Baptista graduated from Kingston University in London. He began his career in fashion in Milan before moving to Paris where he settled, working initially forChristophe Lemaire. In 2002, he won the Grand Prix at the HyĆØres International Festival of Fashion and Photography, a partner of LVMH.
Kenzo was founded in 1970 by Franco-Japanese designer Kenzo Takada.
In the picture Ambassador Dr. Badr Ahmed Mohamed Abdelatty (Egypt), Ambassador Dr. Mustapha Adib (Lebanon), Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Kemal Madbouly, Federal Minister of Economy and Energy, Dr. Peter Altmaier, Ambassador Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Thani (Qatar).
25-27 June 2019, Berlin, Germany: The 22ndĀ Arab-German Business ForumĀ yet again offered a platform for German and Arab representatives from business and politics.Ā
More than 600 participants gathered in Berlin for the functions. The partner country this year was Egypt. In a keynote speech, the Prime Minister of the Arab Republic of Egypt,Ā Mostafa Madbouly, addressed the solid economic relations between Germany and Egypt.
Ambassador Ahmad Chafra (Tunisia), Ambassador HH Prince Faisal Al-Farhan Al Saud (Saudi Arabia), Dr. Peter Ramsauer, President of Ghorfa.
Germany is a role model, strategic partner and long-standing friend. With numerous ministers and more than 100 representatives of the Egyptian economy, the Prime Minister travelled to Germany for the Economic Forum.
Year after year, Ghorfa manages to bring together representatives of both sides, that is, politics and business. On the German side, it was Dr. Peter Altmaier, Federal Minister of Economy and Energy, that opened the forum.
In January 2017, the OCG members broke into a warehouse in Feltham, UK, in which the books were stored, with their ownersā permission, to be shipped for display at a book fair in Los Angeles. The books, which belonged to individuals from various EU countries, included rare first editions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The OCG members, who were of Romanian nationality, stole the books by avoiding all security systems and left the UK together with the stolen books.Ā
Eurojust and Europol facilitated the close cooperation between the judicial and law enforcement authorities of Romania, the UK and Italy, which resulted in bringing down this notorious OCG. Eurojust, the EUās Judicial Cooperation Unit, supported the execution of several European Arrest Warrants issued by the UK authorities towards Romania.
Eurojust effectively coordinated the parallel national investigations into the case and provided substantial financial and logistical support to the joint investigation team, which was set up in 2017.
During 3 coordination meetings, held at Eurojust in The Hague, and 4 operational meeting at Europol, all countries involved swiftly exchanged case-related information and evidence, solved judicial issues as they arose, and decided on the best place to prosecute.
The Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the Romanian National Police, the UK Metropolitan Police Service Specialist Crime South and the Italian Carabinieri Special Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage participated in todayās joint action.
BRI is the framework of Chinaās trans-continental, multi-dimensional, and pluri-billionaire grand strategy. As explained in the reportA Study of ICT Connectivity for the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): Enhancing the Collaboration in China-Central Asia Corridor, published by the United Nationsā agency ESCAP, this projectās aims are: ā(1) To enhance policy coordination; (2) To improve infrastructure connectivity; (3) To reinforce trade and investment cooperation; (4) To move forward with financial integration; and (5) To support people-to-people collaborationā.
To achieve these objectives, three sets of BRI tools stand out among Others:
firstly, joined by 97 states, the AIIB represents the BRIās financial backbone. Challenging the Western, short-termed and consumerist development model, the AIIBās mission is that of sponsoring infrastructures growth.;
secondly, Chinese cosmopolitanism tianxia ā literally, āall under Heavenā ā is the BRIās ideological cover. This construct reflects a purpose for a ācommunity of shared destiny for mankindā. Indeed, it aims at building a world order where nations live in a trade- and exchange-induced āharmonyā. Contrarily to US liberal universalism, tianxiamakes no demands on the domestic political system of BRIās partners;
thirdly, a return to 19thcentury-styled geopolitical revisionism such as territorialism in the South China Sea, increasing military spending and the quest for a blue-water navy to patrol the Indian Ocean it will potentially provide the iron fist to the BRI.
Beijingās image of this order is Sino-centric. This leads to some critical questions: is BRI synonym with Chinese empire? Although āempireā has both positive and negative connotations, in its neutral meaning it is a conflation of economic with (geo-)political dynamics. Therefore, is the BRI merely a commercial plan?.
According to Colin Flint and Cuiping Zhu, the BRI has to be seen through the lenses of a āāsingle logicā of competition in the capitalist world-economyā, where āļ¬rms and states are connected as the former seeks to maximize proļ¬ts while states (i) seek to ācaptureā that economic activity within their borders, (ii) make global connections that maximize the beneļ¬ts of global economic ļ¬ows for their ādomesticā economy, and (iii) intertwine economic agendas with geopolitical goalsā.
This picture describes well Beijingās āGo Westā strategy. The driver of this outward looking approach is blamed by some upon Chinaās overaccumulation crisis begun in the early 2000ās. As explained by Balihar Sanghera and Elmira Satybaldieva, āeconomic decentralisation created a fragmented national economy, in which local governments engaged in anarchic competition to attract foreign direct investment. This nurtured overinvestment and uncoordinated construction of redundant production capacity and infrastructureā. This was exacerbated by the Great Recession and the decline in export towards the West.
Within such a framework, China considers Central Asia and Eurasia as strategic regions. Indeed, these territories lie at the crossroad of important trade routes but also contain abundant reserves of natural resources such as oil, gas, minerals and metals.
Indeed, in the last six years Chinaās BRI has made an impressing impact in the Eurasian continent, as it transpires from the report Chinese Grand Strategy in the Eurasian Heartland, published by SKOLKOVO ā Institute for Emerging Market Studies (IEMS).
Two of the six BRIās economic corridors pass through the region, connecting China to the European Union and the Middle East. Eurasian Heartlandās trade with China has been growing at double-digit rates over a number of years. It has reached $140bn in 2018, spreading across over 160 projects mainly in Russia and Kazakhstan, the largest economies in the region. Indeed, these two countries have received 65% of all Chinese money directed to Central Asia.
Market dynamics and global trends define Sino-Russia relations. Both traditionally Western-oriented economically, in times of crisis like nowadays they see each other as the centre of an alternative international order. That explains why China invested $70bn dollars in the Power of Siberia pipeline construction project, and in the intensification of Sino-Russian economic cooperation in Arctic LNG projects. China, like Russia, is interested in exploring the Northern Sea Route since Western-imposed sanction hit Moscow Russia. Also the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is seen essential for China in Central Asia to provide Chinese company with access to regional market.
Kazakhstan ā after Russia ā is the largest country in the region, very rich in those mineral resources and fertile lands that China needs. Xi Jinping choose its capital, Nur-Sultan (former Astana), to launch the BRI in 2013. Since then, the Belt and Road Initiative has become one of the most important enablers of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). It transformed the country in a regional infrastructure hub and led to the creation of a Special Economic Zone around the Khorgos Dry port, a key logistic target. China also considers Kazakhstan an important supplier of oil and gas: notably, 76% of Chinese FDI in the country have been directed to the energy sector.
But other Central Asian countries are increasingly involved in the BRI. The South Caucasian resource-rich Azerbaijan represents one of the very few alternatives for Europe to the Russian gas and it is set to work with China on energy and transit to Europe. China National Petroleum Corporation (CNCP) is helping to explore fields in Turkmenistan, for years Chinaās main gas supplier in the region. The country is not only a source of natural gas but a potential test bed for Huawei telecom equipments. State Owned and Private Chinese Telecom companies are implementing a broad range of projects in the Tech Sector, including a smart city test in Baku and a data centre in Kazakhstan, providing loans to help countries to develop new capacity using Chinese Huawei equipments.
One of the most ambitious plan for the next 3-5 years is the construction of a trans-Eurasian data super interconnector (TASIM) that should develop through at least three Central Asian countries: Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
Another BRI receiver is strategically located between Russia and the European Union and has very high transit potential for Chinaās infrastructure. In Belarus, the upgrading of highways has been financed by Chinese Exim Bank loans. Similarly, in Uzbekistan China proposes to build a new rail link from Xinjiang. Meanwhile, in Kyrgyzstan the BRI has provoked concerns for being a controversial plan. A win-win situation at first sight that would instead create benefits for Chinese export only, opening an additional route and leading to a socio-economic divide beetween the North and the South of the country.
Belt and Road Initiative is the vastest geopolitical and investment project in human history, although it has never been explicitly presented as such. Indeed, it still remains an ambiguous undertaking. Central Asia and Caucasus countries provide a natural link to Europe and some Islamic states. Enhancing cooperation with the Islamic world, is key for China to maintain security and stability in a region where the BRIās effects are diverse and complex.
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In the picture Zeno Leoni.
Zeno Leoni, PhD, Teaching Fellow in āChallenges to the International Orderā, DefenceĀ Studies Department, Affiliate Lau China InstituteĀ ā Kingās College London.
Federica Santoro, Dr, Analyst of EU-China Relations and Chinese Strategic Policy. Master Degree in Global Strategy and Security at the Italian Defense Higher Studies Institute of Rome.
Link:
Link to the original publication in Vision & Global Trends:
H.E. Mr. Elyes Ghariani, Ambassador of Tunisia, H.E. Mr. AgustĆn VĆ”squez GĆ³mez, Ambassador of El Salvador, H.E. Ms. MarĆa Teresa de JesĆŗs Infante Caffi, Ambassador of Chile, Ambassador Delvalle, H.E. Ms. Laura Dupuys, Ambassador of Uruguay, H.E. Mr. Bruce Koloane, Ambassador of South Africa, H.E. Ms. Soraya Alvarez, Ambassador of Cuba, H.E. Ms. Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop, Ambassador of Brazil and H.E. Mr. Fernando Bucheli Vargas, Ambassador of Ecuador.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
The international diplomatic community in the Netherlands bade farewell to H.E. Ambassador Willys Delvalle. To commemorate this occasion, Diplomat magazine hosted a Ceremony of Merit for the Ambassador Delvalle.
Willys Delvalle has been serving as Ambassador in the Netherlands since 2015. The ceremony of merit and reception took place in The Hague on 31st May 2019. Many of the Ambassadorās colleagues as well as a delegation of ASA members (Ambassador Spouses Association) attended the ceremony to celebrate with Ambassador Delvalle and his wife Tatiana.
Mrs. Tatiana and H.E. Mr. Willys Delvalle, the Ambassador of Panama.
Speakers at the event were H.E. Mr. Bruce Kolane, Ambassador of South Africa, Dato Linda Zin, member of ASA and the spouse of the Malaysian Ambassador and H.E. Mr. AgustĆn VĆ”squez GĆ³mez,Ambassador of El Salvador delivered the following farewell message.
āWith sincere conviction, I can say today that we are honoring not only a great Ambassador, worthy representative of his country, but also a couple with a great human quality, who in different ways and in different areas, have left an unforgettable mark in all of us.
From Willys, as Ambassador I can mention that during his tenure (of course not the one from the OPCW), with high merit and effort, along with the great team of his Embassy (ArmonĆa, Milciades, Paulina and Chris), he managed to position Panama on one of the highest pedestals within the Foreign Service of Panama.
Dato Linda Zin, Spouse of the Ambassador of Malaysia and member of the Spouse Association, Ambassador Delvalle and H.E. Mr. AgustĆn VĆ”squez GĆ³mez, Ambassador of El Salvador.
In his bilateral duties, Willys achieved the signing of a series of cooperation agreements for the promotion of exports, to stimulate and increase the business of large-scale Cruises, through the exchange of information and training among others, as well as one of the achievement that normally an Ambassador desires, which was the presidential visit to the Netherlands in January 2018 of H.E. Juan Carlos Varela, adding as accomplishments, the signing in that framework of a series of agreements in logistics, agriculture, livestock and agro logistics.
H.E. Mr. AgustĆn VĆ”squez GĆ³mez, Ambassador of El Salvador during his memorable speech.
No less important, has been the footprint of Willys at the multilateral level, who with outstanding skills, knew how to serve as a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW on two occasions, as well as Vice Chair of the 23rd Conference of the States Parties and the conduction of a facilitation on the permanent premises of the International Criminal Court… not to mention, the memorable coordination of GRULAC in 2017, which exposed his solid temper and patience, as well as his steel nerves, characteristics of a well prepared and experienced diplomat.
Willys is also leaving a big gap (almost the Panama Canal size) among the diplomatic and Dutch community of golf players… I’m sure they will miss a lot Willys and Tatiana, who have been faithful practitioners of that discipline over the past few years.
H.E. Mr. Bruce Kolane, Ambassador of South Africa.
The gentleness, the gift of people, the humankind and the friendly and warm treatment are some of the many virtues that define Willys, which undoubtedly eased the development of his diplomatic work, as well as his excellent interpersonal relations, not only with the members of the diplomatic community, but also with Dutch society.
Ambassador Delvalle and H.E. Mr. Amgad Ghaffar, Ambassador of Egypt.
Dear Willys and Tatiana, on behalf of your friends here reunited, we are happy for the opportunity we have had in knowing you. At the same time, we share the joy that, after the wonderful experience of life you have had in the Netherlands and beyond, you are going back to your beloved Panama, to take up the work that I know not only inspires the life of Willys, around the Panama Canal, but also to engage in a series of activities that will allow, specially Tatiana, to share quality time with your daughters in a number of achievements and new endeavors in their academic and future family life.
H.E. Ms. MarĆa Teresa de JesĆŗs Infante Caffi, Ambassador of Chile, H.E. Ms. Regina Maria Cordeiro Dunlop, Ambassador of Brazil and H.E. Ms. Laura Dupuys, Ambassador of Uruguay.
We will always remember you with joy and gratitude and as a small gift of it, I want to finish my words with a verse from a well-known song in Latin America which many years ago, a group of Argentine singers known as the Chalchaleros, dedicated to the Panamanian people, characterized always by their joy and warmthā¦
The song is called El tambor de la alegrĆa “The drum of joy” and it says something like that,
āPanameƱa panameƱa,
panameƱa vida mĆa,
yo quiero que tĆŗ me lleves
al tambor de la alegrĆa!ā
The spouses of the Ambassadors of Thailand, Malaysia, El Salvador and Morocco greeting Tatiana during the Ceremony of Merit and farewell dedicated to them.
Ambassador AgustĆn VĆ”squez GĆ³mez, showcased a bit of his talents and provided some entertainment by means of singing El tambor de la alegrĆa, evoking lots of laughter from those in attendance.The Ambassador was then presented a Certificate of Merit as well as an award. His wife Tatiana, was presented with gorgeous floral bouquet.
Dear Willys and Tatiana, may success be with you, alwaysā¦Wishing you good luck!
The Hague, on June 11th2019,Ā H.E. Mr. Alexander Shulgin,Ā organizedĀ Ā a reception on the occasion of theĀ National Day of the Russian Federation at the Embassy.
The folk group Radoves from Voronezh, accordionist Arkady Gankin and singerĀ Elena Bazhenova animated the afternoon with their performance of famous Russian folk songs.
The guests could follow video expositions dedicated to the 220th anniversary of Alexander Pushkinās birthday and the 100th anniversary of Mikhail Kalashnikov, and toĀ see an exposition of drawings of Russian and Dutch children, supported by the Rotary club.
Ambassador Shulgin delivered a powerful welcome speech whichĀ you will find hereunder.
” A very warm welcome to all of you at the Russian Embassy as we prepare to celebrate our national holiday. Fortunately enough, the weather is wonderful with the sun shining which is a perfect match for our festive mood.
The Russian national day comes soon after Victory Day, celebrated here on May 8thĀ and in Russia on May 9th, and just a few days after the D-Day anniversary. These days are a very special occasion to pay tribute to our heroes, to all those who paid their lives to get rid of the ābrown plagueā the sinister shadow of which covered most European countries during the Second World War.
As Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation rightly emphasized in his recent article, our duty is to preserve the memory of all the victims, all the battles waged during that war. It was the Soviet Union that paid the exorbitant price ā 27 million dead, including millions of civilians. Bear in mind something that is telling beyond any doubt: 680 Nazi divisions were annihilated by the Red Army against 150 defeated by the Allied forces after the landing in Normandy.
If we were to learn from the tragedy of the Second World War, we should do our best to preserve peace and security in the world. Nowadays, the security situation in the world leaves much to be desired. There is an increasing risk of unintentional incidents which are fraught with danger of sinister escalation: military aircraft fly dangerously close to each other, a spectacular near miss between two major battleships in the East China Sea.
Our country is committed to getting the world safer. For this to happen, we are ready to engage in discussions about how we can strengthen the global security architecture, which implies the necessity of not destroying such cornerstones as the INF Treaty and the START.
While expecting better times, as regards international relations and security issues, we need to preserve all the assets for the resumption of full-fledged cooperation.
In this respect we attach great importance to our relations with the Netherlands. They are not at its best now for some obvious reasons, but there are also lots of encouraging signs both in the economic and cultural areas.
Ā We are proud of exemplary cooperation between the two Hermitages ā in Saint Petersburg and here on Amstel. I look forward to admiring new exhibitions from the reserves of Saint Petersburgās Hermitage.
This year marks 220 years since the birth of the world-famous Russian poet and writer Alexander Pushkin. His immense contribution to the development of world literature was noted by the United Nations that established the Day of Russian Language on the 6th of June, which is Pushkinās birthday.
In 2019 we also celebrate 100 years since the birth of Mikhail Kalashnikov, the legendary small arms designer who passed away in 2013. He was a man of extraordinary talent and commitment, a figure of historical importance. The weapon he created has become a symbol of the Russian Armyās victorious traditions. Some unique photos featuring Mr. Kalashnikov are displayed on one of the screens.
Today you will also see an exposition of drawings of Russian and Dutch children, supported by the Rotary club, which embodies the spirit of cultural diversity and dialogue and illustrates the traditionally friendly relations between the Russian and Dutch people.
Just to highlight todayās celebration we would like you to hear some traditional Russian music and songs interpreted by the Russian Folklore band from the Voronezh region which is called Ā«RADOVESĀ»“
28 June 2019, Brussels: EU Commission PresidentĀ Jean-Claude JunckerĀ announced the hitherto EU’s largest trade agreement vis-Ć -vis Mercosur, that was immediately labelled byĀ Brazil’s PresidentĀ Jair BolsonaroĀ as “historic” and “one of the most important trade deals of all time”.
Mercosur consists of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. Venezuela is likewise a member yet it was suspended in 2016 for failing to meet the group’s basic democratic standards.
This agreement aims to reduce, or remove entirely trade tariffs, making imported products cheaper for consumers whilst also boosting exports for companies on both sides. It is set to create a market for goods and services covering nearly 800 million consumers, making it the largest in the world in terms of population.
The two parties began negotiating in 1999, however, negotiations accelerated after US President Donald Trump‘s election in 2016. As a result EU-US talks were frozen.
Already the EU has concluded trade agreements with Canada, Mexico and Japan within theĀ lastĀ few years.Ā Nevertheless, the EU agreement with Mercosur could see savings on tariffs that are four times as big as those made in the Nipponese deal, EU Trade CommissionerĀ Cecilia MalmstrƶmĀ pointed out in a statement.Ā
By far the EU is Mercosur’s most prominent trade and investment partner as well as its second largest for trade in goods.
The EU wants to increase access for firms that make industrial products and cars – which are currently subject to tariffs of up to 35% – and furthermore enable them to compete for public contracts in Mercosur countries.
On the other side, Mercosur wishes to increase exports of beef, sugar, poultry and other farm products.
In a statement, Brazil highlighted that the trade agreement included eliminating tariffs on products such as orange juice, instant coffee and fruit, whereas producers of other products such as meat, sugar and ethanol would have greater access to the EU market through quotas.
Currently, Argentina under PresidentĀ Mauricio MacriĀ holds the chairmanshipĀ pro temporeĀ of Mercosur.Ā
By Dr. Betilde MuƱoz-Pogossian, Director of Social Inclusion at the Organization of American States.
According to UNICEF, there are about 200 million afrodescedants in the Americas, an estimated 30% of the population. Of this, close to 50% includes children, and adolescents younger than 18 years old. If the 200 million people of African descent in the region were a country, they would be 53 times the size of Panama, 19 times the size of the Dominican Republic, 10 times the size of Chile. Who can deny they are an integral component of what we are as a region?
The fact is, however, that regardless of the last few decades of economic growth, estimates indicate that afrodescedants continue to exhibit the highest levels of poverty, social exclusion, and discrimination. As a result of racism and discrimination, 90% of this population in the countries of the region live in poverty and extreme poverty with 70 to 80% earning less than 2 dollars a day. Often, they do not have universal access to health, education, housing or clean water. They also face more obstacles in terms of getting a job, and keeping it, and earn salaries that are generally less than the average.Ā
Dr. Betilde MuƱoz-Pogossian.
Afrodescedants also face challenges in the exercise of their political rights. Although they are included as voters, they generally have limited possibilities to compete for public office due to the fact that, among other things, they are overwhelmingly part of the socio-economic groups with the lowest earning capacity.
In 2013, year for which the most up-to-date comparative data exists, their representation in political decision-making posts was far from ideal. In Brazil, for example, only 8.60% of the total legislators were afrodescedants in a country where this group represents 50.9% of the population. In Colombia, where they represent 10.5% of the population, their congressional representation only reached 4.60%. In Costa Rica, with 7.8% of afrodescedants, in 2013, there was not even one legislator of African descent. In Venezuela, with 53.4% of afrodescedants, only 2.40% of the National Assembly were of this origin.
Whereas it is important to consider affirmative action policies that level the playing field for afrodescedants to compete, it is equally important to address the structural problems that cause their social exclusion. After all, which person who has to provide for his or her basic needs regarding food, housing or health can effectively enter the political arena and compete for public office?
To shed light on these challenges, the Member states of the Organization of American States declared, last March 25, 2018, the āInter-American Week for People of African Descent in the Americasā. The objective is to foster greater awareness and respect for the diversity of the heritage and culture of people of African descent and their contribution to the development of societies.
This celebration also seeks to recognize the important contributions of persons of African descent to the politics, economies, cultures, and societies of the region. The road map has been developed: the OAS Plan of Action for the Decade for People of African Descent in the Americas (2016ā2025), which prioritizes lines of action to promote the Recognition, Justice, and Development of Afrodescedants in the region with the ultimate objective of closing the gaps in the enjoyment of all their human rights.
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(Opinions are personal. They do not represent the views of the OAS).
ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger and the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stef Blok.
NetherlandsĀ is a key strategic partner for the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP),Ā supportingĀ ICMPās Headquarters in The Hague and supportingĀ itsĀ core functionsĀ and country programsĀ around the world, ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger said.Ā Ā
Ms Bomberger was speaking after a meeting in The Hague with Foreign Minister Stef Blok. She highlighted the fact that āthe Netherlands was one of the key players behind the signing ā with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Luxembourg and Sweden ā of the ICMP Agreement in December 2014,ā and noted that the Agreement, which establishes ICMP as the only international organization in the world that exclusively addresses the issue of missing and disappeared persons, āreflects the emerging international consensus about the nature and scale of the global missing persons issue and the urgent need to tackle this issue in a coherent and effective way.ā
The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)Ā facilitated ICMPās move toĀ Headquarters in The Hague in 2015Ā andĀ also ICMPāsĀ laboratoryĀ transitionĀ to The Hague, which was completed atĀ the end of 2017.Ā
Since this relocation, ICMP has developed its existing partnership with the Netherlands Forensic Institute, and forged ties withĀ Rotterdam Univeristy and Leiden University,Ā includingĀ Ā through HumanityX , an initiative that serves as the innovation engine of The Hague Humanity Hub.Ā ICMP hasĀ been able to develop the operational capacity of itsĀ laboratory and begin applyingĀ next generation DNA technologies that will advance the science of human identification, which is critical to providing irrefutable evidence of a person’s identity.Ā Ā Ā
From 2015 to 2018, the MFA and the City of The Hague granted ICMP more than 2.5 Million EUR, enabling it to implement, through its Headquarters, core programs that are essential to carry out its global work. The Dutch authorities indicated at the end of last year that they will provide funding of 1.5 million EUR over three years beginning in 2019 so that ICMP can maintain core Headquarters capacities that are needed in order to carry out its work.
Dutch support has helped ICMP, among other things, to set in place systems in Iraq that will assist in identifying those missing from ISIS crimes, launch a new program to gather information about missing persons from Syrians who have sought refuge in countries neighboring Syria, support legislative and institutional processes in Colombia that will ensure that the missing persons framework established under the 2016 peace agreement can operate successfully, test DNA samples from victims of enforced disappearance from the 1964-85 military dictatorship in Brazil, improve the capacity and coordination of countries in the Mediterranean, including Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus, to account for missing migrants, and strengthen stakeholder networks among civil society, government officials, and international organizations engaged in the missing persons issue.
The Netherlands was one ofĀ ICMPāsĀ the earliest supportersĀ after itĀ was established in 1996, and has been a major and long-standing donorĀ toĀ ICMPās Western Balkans Program.Ā It has also supported ICMPās development in response to the global challenge of missing persons.
The issueĀ affects countries throughout the world and has multiple causes.Ā ICMPās mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons from conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, irregular migration and other causes and to assist them in doingĀ so.āÆ It is the only international organization tasked exclusively to work on the issue of missing persons.Ā
The level of digitalisation in our societies is increasing every day and so, unfortunately, is cybercrime. This situation requires law enforcement and prosecution practitioners to constantly adapt their expertise, tools and practices to effectively and efficiently respond to this change.
Today, Europol and Eurojust published the third joint report identifying and categorising the current developments and common challenges in combating cybercrime, which fall into five different areas:
Loss of data: electronic data is the key to successful investigations in all the cybercrime areas, but the possibilities to obtain such data have been significantly limited.
Loss of location: recent trends have led to a situation in which law enforcement may no longer establish the physical location of the perpetrator, the criminal infrastructure or electronic evidence.
Challenges associated with national legal frameworks: the differences in domestic legal frameworks in EU Member States often prove to be serious impediments to international cybercrime investigations.
Obstacles to international cooperation: in an international context, no common legal framework exists for the expedited sharing of evidence (as does exist for the preservation of evidence). There is also a clear need for a better mechanism for cross-border communication and the swift exchange of information.
Challenges of public-private partnerships: cooperation with the private sector is vital for combating cybercrime, yet no standardised rules of engagement are in place, and investigations can thus be hampered.
Eurojust
Borderless crime calls for international measures
All these challenges are of special relevance to combat cybercrime, but affect other crime areas as well.
The very nature of cyberspace means that cybercrime is borderless. Consequently, international measures are required to address the current challenges. S
ignificant progress has been made since the publication of the last report in 2017. Key components of this progress include enhanced cooperation between all parties involved and providing platforms and networks dedicated to sharing knowledge and best practice, such as theĀ European Judicial Cybercrime Network (EJCN)Ā and theĀ Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT).
