On February 7th,
2019, the International Organization for Migration – Netherlands office
organized its annual New Year’s Reception. The Chief of Mission, Mr. Antonio
Polosa, thanked the organization’s many partners for their precious
collaboration towards fulfilling the mandate of IOM: “to promote the management
of migration for the benefit of all.”
“We live in a world on the move. Numerically, there are more people migrating in this beginning of 21st century than at any other time in recorded history worldwide.” These were the words that Mr.Antonio Polosa, Chief of Mission at IOM Netherlands, decided to use in his introductory remarks at the organization’s New Year’s Reception. These words underlined the relevance and the complexity of the migration phenomenon, which cannot be addressed by single countries or organizations alone, but rather must be tackled through international cooperation.
Mr. Antonio Polosa, welcome the Charge d´affaires of Algeria, Mr. Amokrane Mourad.
Hence the relevance of the yearly Reception, which gathers the numerous partners collaborating with IOM in its difficult work. As in 2018, the New Year’s Reception took place in the Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague. More than a hundred guests gradually arrived at the location, warmly welcomed at the entrance of the reception room by IOM Chief of Mission Mr. Polosa. Soon, the room was full of Ambassadors, diplomats and Dutch officials, who mingled with the numerous IOM officials in the room.
The Apostolic Nuncio, H.E. Archbishop Aldo Cavalli.
Mr. Polosa kicked off the formal part of the reception with his introductory speech. He recalled some of the crucial recent developments in the field of migration worldwide, such as the approval of the Global Compacts on refugees and on migration, and listed some of the main achievements of IOM Netherlands.
In 2018 alone, the office provided assistance to more than 7,000 migrants, focusing specifically on voluntary returns, labor market integration, family reunification, as well as collaboration with diaspora communities.
Mr.
Polosa praised the role of the whole IOM team in achieving these precious
results. Yet, he also noted that “IOM can only do its work in close cooperation
with its partners,” and thus warmly thanked all the partners present in the
room for their positive cooperation.
Following the Chief of Mission’s speech, the Head of the Migration and Development Group at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Nathalie Lintvelt, took the floor. In her speech, she outlined some of the main Dutch governmental initiatives on migration, including the Integrated Agenda on Migration and the National Action Plan of Human Trafficking, and proudly underlined the Netherlands’ role as a major contributor to IOM core funding.
The Head of the Migration and Development Group at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Nathalie Lintvelt.
Ms.
Lintvelt praised IOM for its “expertise, extensive field presence and
operational flexibility,” which allow the organization to provide support to
both governments and migrants. In particular, she highlighted the key role of
IOM in a number of fields, including but not limited to voluntary returns and
data collection, and praised the worldwide cooperation between IOM and the
Netherlands in raising awareness on the risks of irregular migration.
After
the end of the keynote speeches, the attention of the guests was moved from the
stage to the opposite side of the reception room, where delicious food from
Brazil, India and Ghana was ready to be tasted. The guests kept mingling, enjoying
the different dishes kindly offered by IOM and discussing about several migration
issues, as well as a number of other topics.
The upcoming year will be another key year for migration. As Mr. Polosa noted, the United Nations is set to undergo a complex reform process, and IOM too is looking at reviewing its internal mechanisms. Under the new IOM leadership of DG Antonio Vitorino these reform processes are expected to lead towards even greater effectiveness in performing the core task of IOM: “to promote the management of migration for the benefit of all, while also advocating for safe, regular and dignified migration paths and keep saving lives of those in need.”
Over 600 people gather at the Indian Ambassador’s residence in Wassenaar, Netherlands to celebrate the 70th Republic Day of India
Over 600 people gathered at the residence of the Ambassador of India to the Netherlands H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony in Wassenaar this morning (January 26) for a flag hoisting function to celebrate India’s 70th Republic Day. The celebrations began with the hoisting of the National flag by the Ambassador, singing of the National anthem and reading out of President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to the nation. This was followed by a performance of patriotic songs.
The event was attended by H.E. Mr. Bas Eenhoorn, Mayor of Amstelveen, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Ambassador of Bangladesh and H.E. Justice Dalveer Bhandari, Judge at the International Court of Justice and prominent members of the Indian community residing in the Netherlands.
The flag-hoisting function witnessed a large gathering of the Indian diaspora, especially members of the Surinami-Hindustani community and friends of India who came together to celebrate this important day.
India Republic Day 2019.
The Republic Day celebrations also witnessed a special announcement by Ambassador Venu Rajamony on liberalization of provisions regarding Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) status by the Government of India for members of the Surinami-Hindustani community. Earlier, there was a limitation that OCI could be issued only to four generations of the original forefathers who had migrated from India. Consequently, many young members of the Surinami-Hindustani community belonging to fifth and subsequent generations could not avail of this benefit.
As a result of persistent efforts by the Embassy, the Government of India has decided that, henceforth descendants up to sixth generation of the original Indian immigrants who had arrived in Suriname and later migrated to The Netherlands may be considered for OCI.
Ambassador Venu Rajamony invited all members of Surinami-Hindustani community who do not have an OCI card to apply for the same at the earliest. He also announced that because mandatory conscription was in force in the Netherlands prior to 1996, those members of the Surinami-Hindustani Community who were excluded from the OCI scheme can also now apply for OCI.
The Netherlands has the largest population of Overseas Indians in mainland Europe, majority belonging to the 200,000 strong Surinami-Hindustani community whose ancestors were taken as indentured labour from India to Suriname 145 years ago.
The Ambassador of India, His Excellency Mr. Venu Rajamony and the mayor of Utrecht, Mr. Jan van Zanen
By Anton Lutter.
The exhibition Buddha’s Life, Path to the Present provided the backdrop of the 70th Republic Day of India reception at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. Objects from the third century until 2018 could be enjoyed by a fully packed church – including the guests of honor, the Kings Commissioner of Drenthe Mrs.Jetta Klijnsma and the Mayor of Utrecht Mr.Jan van Zanen – all guests of H.E. Mr.Venu Rajamony, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
H.E. Mr. Venu Rajamony, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of the Netherlands with the guests of honor, the Kings Commissioner of Drenthe Mrs. Jetta Klijnsma, Dr. Saroj Thapa, ambassador spouse and Mr. Ard van Rijn, spouse of the Kings Commisioner
In his speech the ambassador mentioned the strong relations between his country and The Netherlands: “2018 has been an action-packed year. Since last January, Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited India accompanied by four senior Ministers, the Mayor of The Hague and the largest ever trade delegation comprising around 130 companies.
Prime Minister Rutte’s visit was quickly followed by a visit to India by Queen Máxima in her capacity as UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. Two senior Ministers from India, the Minister for Food Processing and the Minister for Traditional Indian Medicine and Yoga visited the Netherlands. Mr.Menno Snel, State Secretary for Finance just returned to the Netherlands from a visit to India”.
The 70th Republic Day of India reception at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.
The Mayor of Utrecht –
who had visited India before – noted that “This friendship started almost 400 years ago. On
the west coast of India, Dutch merchants closed an important pepper trade deal
with an Indian ruler. And shortly after that, they opened a trade office. I am
curious what their first impressions of India were. I could try to make a
guess…The colours, the perfumes, the music, the fascinating people… it must
have been a different, exciting and an enchanting, new world of many
impressions to the visitors from Holland”.
The exhibition on Buddha inspired Mr. Rajamony to highlight the importance of Buddhism to the people of India. In his speech he noted that “Siddhārtha Gautama or The Buddha, ladies and gentlemen, is amongst the greatest of India’s children. Buddhism is believed to be the fourth largest religion in the world with a following of around 520 million. The religion took birth in India somewhere between the 6th to 4th centuries before the Christian era and then rapidly spread to other parts of Asia. Many of you would be familiar with the rich art and culture associated with Buddhism which can be seen in India and many other countries. A sample awaits you as part of the exhibition.
What is perhaps less known outside India is the major role and influence Gautama Buddha and his teachings had on the founding of our nation, our vision of the world and the Constitution whose adoption we celebrate today as Republic Day. Needless to say, the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi also drew direct inspiration from the teachings of the Buddha for his philosophy of non-violence”.
Ambassador Rajamony during his memorable speech.
After mayor Jan van Zanen’s speech the ambassador invited all the guests to a lavish dinner which showcased the great culinary tradition of India. Next to the many distinguished guests from the diplomatic corps and the Indian business community in The Netherlands we noticed amongst others the former Queen’s Commissioner of Limburg Berend-Jan baron van Voorst tot Voorst and the former Minister of Justice Uri Rosenthal.
Ambassador Dr. Paul Seger and Premier Michael Kretschmer at the Heraldry Hall of the Saxon State Chancery – Picture by Sächsische Staatskanzlei.
17 January 2019, Dresden, Germany: Premier of the Free State of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer received the Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Germany,Dr. Paul Seger, for a courtesy call. Informal talks about the trade and cultural ties between Saxony and the Swiss Confederation were discussed.
Dr. Paul Seger is head of mission to Germany since 28 August 2018. He hails from the Canton of Basel-City, the smallest by surface out of 26 Helvetian cantons.
He studied law at the University of Basel, and began his diplomatic career in 1986. He has served in Kinshasa, New York (UN), Buenos Aires and Yangon. His previous ambassador was the latter to the Union of Myanmar. This diplomatic post is to be his last one.
Premier Kretschmer and Ambassador Sergej Netschajew – Picture by Sächsische Staatskanzlei.
The head of mission of the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany, Ambassador Sergej J. Netschajew paid a courtesy visit to the Premier of Saxony Michael Kretschmer in the premises of the Saxon State Chancery recently.
Saxony looks back, and forward to successful partnerships with Russian through various universities, colleges, city twinning as well as in investments within the private sector, and Premier Kretschmer wishes to deepen the cooperation indeed.
Ambassador Netschajew is career diplomat holding a degree in German studies. From 2001 to 2003 he served as General Consul in Bonn, and was subsequently despatched as ambassador to Austria between 2010 and 2015. Before being appointed ambassador to Germany he led the directorate in charge of German-speaking countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry. Since 8 March 2018 he is accredited to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Friday, 25 January 2019, Brussels: Renée Webb, a former Progressive Labour Party Tourism Minister shall henceforth represent the Bermudian Government vis-à-vis the European Union in matters handled by the overseas British territory.
Premier of Bermuda, David Burt opened the office flanked by Director Webb during a ceremony, and subsequent reception well-attended particularly by ambassadors representing the African, Caribbean and South Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) as well as Indian representative to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg, Ambassador Gaitri Issar Kumar.
Premier Burt during his allocution highlighted that the new office had been set up because constant engagement vis-à-vis the EU was needed au lieu of “shuttle diplomacy”.
Renée Webb, a former tourism minister, graduated from Queen’s University in Canada with a BA in political studies and went on to pursue a master’s degree in international relations in Paris. She studied international human rights law at the Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France, and was picked for an internship at the UNESCO human rights department in Paris.
remier Burt and Ambassador Haymandoyal Dillum (Mauritius to the EU and the Benelux countries) – Image by Government of Bermuda.
Belgium has three official national languages, French, Dutch and German, however, French is the most-spoken in Brussels City.
Premier Burt mentioned that Director Webb had been hired pro tempore for a year, and her duties include managing the office, advising the Bermuda Government on all relevant European matters and liaising with the island’s London office. Likewise she shall represent the Government in meetings, conferences and on other occasions when necessary.
The Premier of Bermuda said the Government’s presence in Brussels is meant to enhance its relationships with EU institutions, member states and European businesses.
As a British Overseas Territory Bermuda’s foreign affairs are handled by the UK, nevertheless, the country maintains similar offices to the new one in Brussels in London, and Washington D.C. to promote Bermudian economic interests.
The Maison Cartier has ventured into uncharted territories through a limited-edition jewellery collection – Les Galaxies de Cartier, which are inspired by the cosmos and defy the laws of jewellery-making with new materials and experimentation with weightlessness and gravity.
Indeed Cartier explores where reality, and fantasy interconnect in galaxy.
For further information about the collection do visit:
Premier Michael Kretschmer and Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood – Picture by Sächsische Staatskanzlei.
Friday, 18 January 2019, Dresden, Free State of Saxony: Saxony’s Premier Michael Kretschmer received for a courtesy visit the British Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood.
Topics of discussions included furthering cultural ties as well as Brexit. Ambassador James Sebastian Wood is learned philosopher and mathematician with a degree from Magdalen College in Oxford. Previous to his mission to Germany, he was British ambassador to the People’s Republic of China. In Germany he is accredited since 28 September 2015.
Premier Michael Kretschmer and Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood – Picture by Sächsische Staatskanzlei
Premier Kretschmer was guest of honour in London at the 2018 German Unity Day reception held on 3 October at the German Embassy Chancery to the UK. Amongst other notable participants at that reception, was one of the Queen’s first cousins, HRH The Duke of Kent as well as Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer.
For further information: British Embassy to Germany:
“Threats to the International Criminal Court are much more dangerous this time,” says convenor William Pace of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. “Under the current Trump administration everything is possible.”
William Pace leads the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), an international non-governmental organisation with a membership of over 2,500 organizations worldwide advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court (ICC). Although the ICC is supported by as much as 123 member states, including all countries from the European Union, it hasn’t succeeded in getting the United States, Russia, China, India and Israel on board. What’s more: ever since the court began operations in 2002 the United States has taken several measures to make sure no American will ever be brought to justice in The Hague.
In that year US Congress passed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act, nicknamed ‘The Hague Invasion Act’. It mandated, among other things, the use of “all means necessary and appropriate to free US or allied personnel detained by or on behalf of the ICC.” Moreover, in September 2018,US national security adviser John Bolton threatened the ICC with sanctions and to criminally prosecute ICC officials – if the court formally proceeded with opening an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by US military and intelligence staff during the war in Afghanistan or pursued any investigation into Israel or other US allies.
Do you think the Prosecutor of ICC, Fatou Bensouda, finally will get authorisation to open an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan allegedly committed by American nationals?
I think it will be very difficult for the judges to not approve opening the Afghan investigation. But that’s just an opinion on the basis of all the crimes against humanity and the war crimes that have occurred there since 2002.
Ms. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Photography by ICC.
It would be extremely unusual if an investigation into the Taliban and ISIS wasn’t agreed to. Whether the extraordinary renditions are included by the judges I can’t say. I expect in the next two or three weeks we’ll see the judgement released.
(Extraordinary renditions are abductions and extrajudicial transfers of persons in Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay and CIA black sites with the purpose of circumventing US laws on interrogation, detention and torture, EvdB)
Do you think the judges may not authorize Mrs. Bensouda to investigate the American rendition part because of the recent threats from Mr. Bolton?
I don’t know if the judges pay any attention to the threats of Bolton. I hope they don’t. But I do think Mr. Bolton will do whatever he can get away with. He is fanatically against an International Criminal Court, and he was a key architect behind the The Hague Invasion Act back in 2002.
What if crimes allegedly committed by American forces won’t be investigated? What will this do to the support for ICC from African countries? The ICC has been accused by some of them of being a tool of Western imperialism, only punishing leaders from small, weak states while ignoring crimes committed by richer and more powerful states.
I think the credibility of the court is absolutely dependent on the Prosecutor and the judges going after anyone who’s committed crimes where they have jurisdiction, regardless of the region or nationality of the accused. The US, Russia and Israel may not have ratified, still the court has jurisdiction over crimes committed by American, Russian and Israeli nationals if committed on the territory of countries that have ratified ICC’s Rome statue. Since Afghanistan has ratified the Rome treaty, the court has jurisdiction over all crimes committed on Afghan territory, be it by Afghan nationals or American nationals. A lot of the complaints of ICC opponents in Africa ignore such jurisdictional conditions of the Rome statue.
Now that Palestine has ratified, the Prosecutor would be investigating alleged Palestinian crimes just as she would investigate alleged Israeli crimes. Georgians believe Russia is responsible for crimes committed on their territory, and since Georgia is a state party, ICC has jurisdiction over alleged crimes of Russian nationals on Georgian territory.
What if Fatou Bensouda doesn’t get authorisation to open an investigation into crimes allegedly committed by American forces? Could this possibly lead to an exodus of African countries?
There’s much more support for the ICC in Africa than academics and the media have been reporting for years. Two years ago Kenya, Sudan and others were calling for mass withdrawal. Sixteen governments in the African Union openly rejected this effort.
Also, most African governments are very dependent on American assistance and commerce that they are not going to criticize the court for not bringing American leaders or even soldiers to justice. And interestingly the criticism by Africans against the court mostly affected western views about the court. It had very little effect on South American or Asian views.
Do you think ICC feels protected by the Dutch government and European Commission? Is ICC satisfied with the way The Hague and Brussels reacted upon anti-ICC actions and statements that have coming from Washington since 2002?
Even with the current conservative Dutch government and the current Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, praising President Donald Trump, the Dutch government has been extremely strong in supporting the Rome statue and the ICC. The European Union also has been tremendously supportive.
Openly supporting ICC is one thing. Have to your knowledge The Hague and Brussels ever openly disapproved of aggressive statements and actions of the US directed at ICC, starting in 2002 with the The Hague Invasion Act?
Most of the strategy was quiet, I think because the The Hague Invasion Act was adopted so soon after the September 11 attacks on the United States. Most governments were not willing to openly criticize the Bush administration.
After Obama got elected Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen, went to Washington to persuade the American Congress to get rid of the The Hague Invasion Act, without success.
They did reset a number of provisions of the American Service Members’ Protection Act when it was hurting their military cooperation with countries and military sales, but they didn’t get rid of the The Hague Invasion provision.
The Hague and Brussels support ICC, but they also want to keep good relations with Washington. Are they willing to put their relations with Washington at risk for the protection of ICC?
That’s one of the fundamental questions we’re watching. We’re in the midst of an extraordinarily dangerous retreat from the principals of multilateralism by many leaders and governments around the world. And the most worrisome are some of them in Western Europe.
If the retreat from multilateralism would lead to circumstances where governments would be willing to throw the ICC under the bus to keep on good terms with the United States, that would be a major defeat for the maintenance and advancement of the rule of law in the world.
Should the Dutch and the EU governments take the The Hague Invasion Act serious? In 2002 the American embassy in The Hague declared that the American government couldn’t imagine any circumstances in which the US would decide to take military action against The Netherlands or any other ally.
“The official position of the US Congress remains a dangerous symbolic opposition to international criminal justice. The whole idea of a military invasion of The Netherlands to extricate a US national should be in the fantasy section. But we now have a president that operates in that section all the time. Under the current administration everything is possible.
If allegations were brought against high-level people in the Bush administration or against our soldiers I think that would lead to a very strong reaction. And I think that’s exactly what Bolton would like. He’d like to convince the international community: “You’ve made a mistake establishing ICC and now you need to close it down. If you don’t, we will sanction you until you agree to close it down.”
Under the Bush administration Bolton had people in The White House checking on him, like secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. Now he has Mr. Trump. I think therefore his threats are much more dangerous this time.
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Interview conducted by Eric van de Beek, freelance journalist, former editor of Dutch leading weekly Elsevier and author of Nepnieuwsexplosie, a recent book about fake news in the Dutch press. Photography by Eric van de Beek. An extensive, Dutch language version of the above interview can be found on Dutch geopolitical magazine Novini.
Vladimir Naydenov, head of the political department of the Russian embassy in The Hague, witnessed how The Netherlands, in a short period of time, became the most Russophobic country in the world.
“The contacts between the Netherlands and Russia were wonderful”, Naydenov recalls. “In the1980’s several delegations of the Dutch parliament visited the Soviet-Union. They made an important contribution to the easing of strained tensions at the end of the Cold War and to the improvement of relations between Russia and The Netherlands. Also The Netherlands has been a political catalyst for the establishment of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987.”
In 2018 Pew Research asked people in 25 countries for their opinion about Russia. The Netherlands emerged as the most Russophobic country. How do you explain this huge shift in public opinion?
“My Dutch interlocutors say: Everything started in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea.’ But that is not the case. The big turnaround came in 2013, when The Netherlands and Russia were to celebrate 400 years of diplomatic ties. In that year there was a succession of incidents, especially around the LGBT campaign.”
Don’t you think that the MH17 disaster in Ukraine changed things for the bad? The Dutch authorities have blamed Russia.
“Of course, but MH17 happened a year later, in 2014. Public opinion about Russia had already changed.”
How are the contacts of your embassy with the press? The American embassy organizes and finances press trips and even pays journalists for writing articles. Your embassy performs no PR activities?
“We can not offer to the press what the press does not want, but the press is always welcome. Our ambassador is a very open man. When asked for an interview, he is always willing, on condition that everything he says will be published, to prevent he is quoted out of context.”
That could perhaps explain why we see the American ambassador much more often in the Dutch media than the Russian ambassador.
“It’s more likely the American ambassador is more often on television because he says what people want to hear in The Netherlands.”
Do you think the Dutch press is biased?
“Journalists usually follow the mainstream, convey the policy of their government. This happens everywhere. Although I must say that there is much more diversity in the Russian media than there is in the Dutch media. To Russian talk shows citizens from many countries are invited, Americans, British, Ukrainians, Polish, Dutch, to express their country’s position on current affairs. On Dutch television you will never see a Russian who propagates Russian views. Apart from one interview with our ambassador and one interview with our minister-counsellor.
Something that astonished me recently was the way in which the Dutch press reported about the annual press conference of President Vladimir Putin, in which he warned about the consequences of the Americanwithdrawal from the INF treaty.
Why didn’t the newspapers report about Putin’s warning? The American withdrawal will directly affect the security of the Netherlands and other European countries. Once again Europe and the US will have to face the question: ‘Where in Europe will America’s missiles for the intermediate-range be installed? ‘For sure the same countries as in the 1980’s will be considered: Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. Dutch politicians now have supported the Americans in their withdrawal from the INF treaty. I still can hardly believe they really did.
Vladimir Daydemov , head of the political department of the Russian embassy in The Hague
Don’t these politicians know how much effort was put into drafting the treaty? And have they completely forgotten about the important role The Netherlands has played in it? Don’t they remember the massive demonstrations in the early 1980’s, against the installment of American nuclear missiles on Dutch territory? The endless discussions in Dutch Parliament? And the subsequent joy in The Netherlands when the news was out that the treaty was signed and ratified?”
What do you think of the interference of the Dutch government with the Russian press? They are financing so-called ‘independent Russian-language media’ in Russia and other former soviet-countries.
“I know that they tried to set up something like this with Poland, but I believe it didn’t work out, at least I haven’t heard anything about it ever since. Anyway, if the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs is overflowing with funding, he’s welcome to spend it. In Russia his media efforts have been left unnoticed.”
Russia is of the opinion that The Netherlands falsely accuses Russia of cyber attacks and fake news. Why do you think The Netherlands is doing this?
“These accusations are part of an international campaign against our country. The Dutch Minister of Defence Bijleveld has said that The Netherlands is at war with Russia. We already have seen some fine examples of how The Netherlands is waging this war. It’s by making false accusations, disseminating propaganda against our country.”
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Interview conducted by Eric van de Beek, freelance journalist, former editor of Dutch leading weekly Elsevier and author of Nepnieuwsexplosie, a recent book about fake news in the Dutch press. Photography by Eric van de Beek. An extensive, Dutch language version of the above interview can be found on Dutch geopolitical magazine Novini.
