THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 14 March 2019 — The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), H.E. Mr Fernando Arias, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala, H.E. Ms Sandra Erica Jovel Polanco, during a visit to OPCW Headquarters in The Hague yesterday.

The Director-General and the Minister of Foreign Affairs discussed progress in implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention. The discussion also focused on enhancing the OPCW’s capabilities to address the threat from chemical weapons use and the project to upgrade the Organisation’s Laboratory into a Centre for Chemistry and Technology.

Both officials acknowledged the need to intensify international cooperation and assistance to promote the peaceful application of science and technology and to advance the sustainable development of OPCW Member States.

The Director-General expressed: “Guatemala has my sincere gratitude for its staunch commitment to the goals of the Convention and for its support of the Organisation.  Only together can we rise to the security challenges of this century, including the permanent eradication of chemical weapons from our planet.”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated: “Our ultimate goal in this Organisation is to achieve a world free of chemical weapons and in that regard, the Convention and the OPCW are our only instruments. We must preserve them”.

4 February 2019, Brussels, EU: Qatar Airways and the European Union have inked a legal accord binding stating that “all air carriers from the 28 European Union member states and Qatar now have unlimited and unrestricted access to their respective territories” according to statements by both, Qatar Airways and the EU. 

As part of the agreement, the State of Qatar no longer shall request from European carriers to have local sales agent to operate flights to Doha. A similar deal shall begin negotiations in March vis-à-vis Oman Air and their airspace. The United Arab Emirates thus far has declined to engage in negotiations. 
After the signing in Brussels, Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker travelled to Berlin to partake at the ITB’s opening wherein Qatar Airways disclosed an array of forthcoming destinations global destinations to be launched in 2019, including Lisbon, Portugal; Malta; Rabat, Morocco; Langkawi, Malaysia; Davao, Philippines; Izmir, Turkey; as well as Mogadishu, Somalia.

For further information: 
https://www.qatarairways.com/en/press-releases/2019/February0/qatar-and-the-european-union-conclude-negotiations-on-landmark-c.html

H.E. Mrs Sandra Erica Jovel Polanco, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala.

On Wednesday 13th of March, members of the diplomatic corps and friends from Guatemala gathered to celebrate the inauguration of the new Guatemalan Embassy in The Hague. H.E. Mrs Marithza Ruiz de Vielman, ambassador of Guatemala to the Netherlands welcomed H.E. Mrs Sandra Erica Jovel Polanco, Minister of Foreign Affairs in Guatemala.

By Aurore Heugas.

Presided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, H.E. Mrs Sandra Erica Jovel Polanco, one thing stood out from the reception in honour of the new Guatemalan embassy in The Hague; the clear respect and friendship between two women, H.E. Sandra Jovel, and the Guatemalan Ambassador H.E. Mrs Marithza Ruiz de Vielman. Indeed the two women have both occupied the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala, in a country where it is less frequent to have women in positions of power.

The way they interacted during this reception showed a true example of solidarity between representatives of the same country, but also between women.

The reception took place in a small but bright room and members of the diplomatic corps mingled as French, English and Spanish could be heard from every corner of the room. Under the Guatemalan flag, was placed a guestbook, signed in different languages, especially Spanish and French, and several countries could be identified such as Brazil or Uruguay as they congratulated the new embassy of Guatemala.

This event was the occasion for Guatemala to showcase their sole representation in The Netherlands, and further develop its relations, not only with Europe but also with their Central and South American neighbours.

Here below, an article published in the AD Dutch news by Leo van der Velde on the opening of the new Guatemalan Embassy in The Hague.

In the picture, H.E. Sheik Mohammed Belal, Ambassador of Bangladesh signing the book of condolences at the Embassy of Ethiopia in The Hague.

By Roy Lie Atjam.

Ethiopian Airline flight ET302 bound from Nairobi, Kenya crashed at Bishoftu near Addis Ababa only minutes after taking off on Sunday 10 March 2019.

The Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft was carrying 149 passengers and 8 crew members when it crashed only 6 minutes after departing Addis Ababa on Sunday morning. All 157 passengers on board were killed. Reports have indicated that the passengers were from among 35 nationalities including 3 Russians, 18 Canadians, 7 Britons, 32 Kenyans as well as passengers from Ethiopia, Italy, China, the United States and France among others. This event is indeed an international tragedy.

The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft tragedy has sparked a global aviation response where many airline companies have made the decision to discontinue the use of this aircraft model. Airlines based in China, Ethiopia, Indonesia as well as the Caribbean and Latin America have also grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in their respective fleets pending the outcome of the investigation of flight ET302.

Countries in Europe, as well as the United States and Canada, have made the decision to close their skies to all incoming services using the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Book of Condolence. In view of this unfortunate tragedy, a condolence book has been opened at the Ethiopian Embassy in The Hague. Members of the Diplomatic Corps in the Hague and Diplomat magazine, made their way to the Ethiopian Embassy in Oranjestraat to sign the book of condolence.

This heartfelt gesture of sympathy by the diplomatic community did not only serve as a means of paying their respects to the government and people of Ethiopia but also to the other bereaved governments and their people.

Statement of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the conclusion of its visit to Bangladesh (6-11 March 2019)

The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court concluded its first visit to the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in the context of the on-going preliminary examination concerning the alleged deportation of the Rohingya people from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The purpose of this visit was to engage with relevant stakeholders, explain the preliminary examination process, and travel to the refugee camps with a view to informing the Office’s ongoing assessment.

On behalf of the Prosecutor, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, the delegation would like to express its gratitude to the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for providing its support to this visit and facilitating meetings with the relevant national authorities. During this past week, the delegation had constructive exchanges with senior officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; and Home Affairs; as well as various law enforcement agencies.

The delegation also had the opportunity to exchange views with representatives of various agencies of the United Nations and members of the diplomatic community, as well as academics from the University of Dhaka’s Centre for Genocide Studies.

In Cox’s Bazar, the delegation visited the refugee camps and met with government authorities, humanitarian agencies and NGOs, as well as a number of victims’ representatives. The delegation listened carefully to their views and concerns.

The insights gained from the visit will continue to inform the Office’s ongoing assessment of the situation.

The independent and impartial preliminary examination of the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar is on-going and will follow its course. A preliminary examination is not an investigation, but an assessment of the Rome Statute criteria to decide whether an investigation into the situation at hand is warranted. Therefore, during this mission, as is standard practice of the Office, the delegation did not collect evidence or perform any other investigative activities.

The field visit enabled the Office, however, to hold productive meetings in Bangladesh, and to fully appreciate the sheer magnitude and severity of this human tragedy.

The Office is committed to making continued progress on the preliminary examination process and is grateful to the authorities of Bangladesh and many other partners for their strong support.

·         Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations (2013);

·         Report on Preliminary Examination Activities (2018).