Santa and his elves have been busy organizing a festive 2018 AWC Holiday Bazaar! Whether you celebrate Sinterklaas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas – we invite you to join us. Our bazaar is open to the public and a lovely way to kick off the holiday season. Why travel to other Christmas Markets when there is one right in our backyard!The Holiday Bazaar will feature a wide variety of international items and unique, handcrafted gifts galore. We’ll have everything from baked goods to wine and beer, essential oils, paintings, textiles, ceramics and jewelry to name a few! You won’t want to miss this festive event!In addition, there will be children’s activities and the opportunity to take a picture with Santa! The AWC Holiday Bazaar is the perfect family outing; you’ll find a warm, festive atmosphere and that special gift for everyone on your list!WHEN: Saturday, November 10th, 11:00 – 18:00 & Sunday, November 11th, 11:00 – 17:00WHERE: The Hilton Hotel, Zeestraat 35, The HagueADMISSION: €2 (children free)CHILDREN’S ACTIVITIES: €5
ICC Prosecutor addresses Informal Ministerial Network for the ICC in the margins of the 73rd session of the UNGA.ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, attends 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly to highlight & advance the work of her Office
From the 24th to the 27th of September, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, attended the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly (“UNGA”) held at the United Nations (‘‘UN’’) Headquarters in New York, to participate in a number of high-level side events and to hold bilateral meetings so as to highlight and advance the work of her Office and mandate under the Rome Statute.
In the margins of the UNGA, the Prosecutor held productive meetings with, amongst others, H.E. Mr Adama Barrow, President of The Gambia; H.E. Mr Mamuka Bakhtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia; H.E. Mr Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of France; H.E. Mr Riad al-Malki, Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs of Palestine; H.E. Mr Sidiki Kaba, Minister of Foreign affairs of Senegal; H.E. Ms Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and H.E. Mr Miguel de Serpa Soares, UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel. At these meetings, the Prosecutor expressed her appreciation for the support and cooperation received by her Office, while her interlocutors reaffirmed their strong commitment to continue doing so.
On 27 September, the Prosecutor addressed the annual meeting of the Informal Ministerial Network for the ICC, a network of over 30 Ministers of Foreign Affairs representing regional groupings of States Parties.
At the event, convened and chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Liechtenstein, H.E. Ms Aurelia Frick, the Prosecutor briefed the Network on the latest developments, achievements and challenges faced by her Office, underscoring the importance of consistent support and cooperation by States Parties to the success of the Court. She conveyed her gratitude for the public expressions of support for the Court and stressed the need for States Parties, as custodians of the Rome Statute, to continue to provide such critical support.
“We cannot let the ICC be weakened given its importance to the progress of humanity. On the contrary, we need to strengthen it to be able to continuously deliver on the promise of the Rome Statute and apply international criminal justice, independently and objectively,” she stated. The Prosecutor was received with overwhelming support from participating Ministers, for which she expressed her sincere appreciation in her closing remarks. Following the session, members of the Informal Ministerial Network issued a joint press release renewing their commitment to the ICC “as the centrepiece of the international criminal justice system” and a “fundamental part of a rules-based order.”
On 25 September, at a high-level side-event convened by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, and co-sponsored by Luxembourg, Finland, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Sierra Leone and Belgium, the Prosecutor delivered a keynote speech on addressing the scourge of sexual and gender-based crimes from her perspective. She re-affirmed her Office’s commitment to continue to apply the Rome Statute, where applicable, striving to systematically investigate and prosecute these serious and traditionally underreported crimes. The Prosecutor called for a collective effort to combat impunity, for the sake of the victims of such heinous crimes.
On 24 September, the Prosecutor participated at a Ministerial-level side-event organised by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of The Netherlands and Niger, respectively, aimed at exploring collective action against human trafficking, through accountability and the rule of law.
She briefed the audience about the efforts of her Office, namely in the context of the Libya Situation, to combat crimes committed against migrants that fall under the Rome Statute. The Prosecutor stressed that a multi-layered, multi-party strategy is required to tackle the complex international, transnational and domestic crimes being committed in Libya, and further elaborated on the collaborative efforts of her Office with various states to combat such crimes.
The Hague, Netherlands —The Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was briefed recently by officials of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a cyber operation targeting the OPCW that was disrupted by the Netherlands Defence Intelligence and Security Service.
The Netherlands is the OPCW’s host country and, as such, is in charge of ensuring and exercising due diligence in protecting the OPCW Headquarters.
Since early 2018, the Organisation has observed increased cyber-related activities. The Director-General has informed OPCW Member States about these activities and the OPCW Technical Secretariat has undertaken measures to mitigate them
Prosecutor Brammertz takes part in the conference “Justice after The Hague” in ZagrebThe Hague, 9 October 2018– Prosecutor Serge Brammertz is taking part in a two-day conference in Zagreb entitled “Justice after The Hague”, organised by the Serb National Council, Council of the Serb National Minority for the City of Zagreb, Documenta – Centre for Dealing with the Past and SENSE – Center for Transitional Justice. The conference brought together prosecutors, members of the civil society, victim’s organisations, journalists and scholars.
In today’s panel which gathered prosecutors from the region, Prosecutor Brammertz participated in discussions which touched upon achievements and challenges of prosecution of war crimes, regional cooperation and dealing with the past in the former Yugoslavia.
Prosecutor Brammertz noted the importance of continuing to secure accountability for war crimes on the domestic level, underscoring the importance of regional cooperation in this regard. He highlighted that “[I]n every country in the region, there is a large backlog of war crimes cases, and more justice is still urgently needed.“
Prosecutor Brammertz also added: “Regional judicial cooperation today faces many challenges. But I also believe that […] we can find pragmatic solutions to many of the […] challenges that face us. We just need to remember that the purpose of the law is to achieve justice and punish those responsible for crimes, not to promote impunity.”
Jesus Herrera Raya and Dolores (Lolina) Echeverria Lanz.By Tamara Dijkstra.
The Crowne Plaza hosted the inaugural Mexican Food festival last week.
The festival was organized by the Mexican Embassy in cooperation with Diplomat Magazine and Aeroméxico, concerning the celebration of the 190 years’ diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Netherlands.
During the festival, the variety of dishes was accompanied by Mexican musicians. Tasting the Mexican food at this occasion was not only a culinary experience but also a fascinating social and cultural happening. Dolores (Lolina) Echeverria Lanz and Jesus Herrera Raya two well-known chefs from the region of Campeche in the south of Mexico, prepared several extraordinary dishes for this occasion.
Mexican Flavors, Crowne Plaza, The Hague.
Dolores is an amazing chef and currently a delegate of the Conservatory of Mexican Gastronomic Culture since 2011. The Conservatory of Mexican Gastronomic Culture is an organization, that focuses on the preservation of customs and cultural traditions that characterize the classical Mexican cuisine.
On a regular basis, she gives lectures and workshops about the culinary culture of Campeche and the region of Yucatan Peninsula. In order to preserve traditional recipes of Campeche last year, she published a book, with 253 different recipes from the traditional cuisine of Campeche.
Jesus Herrera Raya is the owner of the most famous, well known traditional restaurant of the ‘Campechana Cuisine’, which is called ‘the House of Campeche’. He dedicated himself to the exceptional cuisine 40 years ago and is considered as one of southeast Mexican most acclaimed chefs.
Campeche in the south of México has recently become part of the UNESCO World Heritage and is one of the most ancient seaports of the Mayan Peninsula.
Mexican chef Dolores (Lolina) Echeverria Lanz, preparing delicious tamales.
In general, the traditional food of the state of Campeche in Mexico is especially acclaimed for the variety of fish, seafood, and quality of the ingredients of the region. Furthermore, due to the hot weather a wide range of vegetables is growing on the lowlands in Campeche.
The state of Campeche has always been inhabited by the Maya peoples and the city of Campeche was founded in the sixteenth century. Besides the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, Campeche also suffered from several pirates’ attacks. One of the many attacks was led by the Dutchman, Laurens de Graaf and as a result of this devastating attack, strong walls were built around the city and eventually the pirate attacks came to an end.
The arrival of foreign visitors did not only influence the daily life of the citizens of Campeche but also the different ingredients from overseas influenced Campeche´s cuisine in an interesting way.
During the opening ceremony in the Crowne Plaza restaurant in The Hague, the two chefs talked about the unique ingredients and special dishes and invited the guests to share their opinions with them.
One of the main course was a dish that is called ´Quesorelleno´, delicious stuffed cheese with marinated meat. Remarkably, the chefs did not use Mexican cheese but prepared the dish with typical Dutch cheese, that is still an important ingredient in the ´Cuisine Campechana´.
Chez Jesus Herrera Raya and Lolita, the Mexican team.
Furthermore, five different main courses and three different kinds of dessert were served. When the chefs explained the guests about the process and the preparation of the different dishes, the visitors valued the hard work of the chefs even more.
To conclude, in order to describe this interesting ambiance in Crown Plaza, the restaurant could be compared to an art gallery, a place in which the objects do not only represent the ingredients by which they are made of, but also tell a story about the different traditions, history and a way of living in the south of Mexico.
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Pictures by the Embassy of Mexico.
ZUCO 103 –Get ready for an evening of wandering in and around the Zuiderstrandtheater, the theatre by the sea.
Meet new friends, hang out with familiar faces, explore fresh music styles, grab a bite, have a drink or two and maybe even try your hand at making some music yourself!
The Wanderlust music experience is a hop-on, hop-off journey that lets you experience pop, classical, jazz and so much more. A magical mystery tour where you can sample not just different types of music but also a wide range of culinary delights. From gin & tonic to Beethoven and beyond, Wanderlust is a cultural adventure of food, drink and above all music.
Residentie Orkest.
Perhaps the North Sea breeze might blow you away. But it’s more likely to be a piece performed by an exciting jazz trio, a sensational pianist or a multi-talented singer-songwriter. Anything is possible.
Wanderlust is a cosmopolitan festival where wanderers of the world come together to chill, chat and mingle, while the best musicians take centre stage.
ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN
Are you the wandering type, always ready to dip into new things? Do you love
great music and unexpected surprises? Then join us beneath the stars in The
Hague for the Wanderlust music experience. Hop on, hop off… then hop on again.
October 12th from 7:30 pm at Zuiderstrandtheater, ScheveningenTickets €50ANNEKE VAN GIERSBERGEN • TIM KLIPHUIS TRIO • ZUCO 103 . SVEN FIGEE • RESIDENTIE ORKEST • JAMES FEDDECK • NINO GVETADZE
“Anja Bihlmaier is amongst the most talented conductors of the younger generation DAS OPER GLASS”
What needs to be done to put together all those countless intangible variables in an orchestra achieve a phenomenal whole? How do you motivate top talent to present themselves at the service of the team? And most importantly, how do you do thatwithout words?
We invite you to an extensive introduction to the German Anja top dirigente Bihlmaier during her Dutch debut with the Hague Philharmonic on November 9 in the South Beach Theater. Anja Bihlmaier studied at the Conservatory of Freiburg. In the 2017-2018 season she debuted include the Volksoper in Vienna with a revival of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” and conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Until summer 2018 she was chief conductor of the State Theater Kassel.
Program:
17: 30-18: 00 Reception
18: 00-18: 30 Interview and Q & A Anja Bihlmaier
18: 30-19: 45 Networking & Walking dinner
20:00 Concert conducted by America First Anja Bihlmaier
20:50 Break
22:15 End concert with the possibility to chat in the theater cafe.
Registration until October 19 via rsvp @ residentieorkest.nl
On the picture from left to right, Mr. Chatphong Chairattanti, Thailand, Ms. Linda Zin, spouse of the Malaysian Ambassador, the spouse of the Ambassador of Nigeria, Ms. Fadhilah from the Embassy of Malaysia, Ms. Uzma Rathore, spouse of the Pakistani Ambassador, Lucia Solano Palacios, Counsellor and Consul of Guatemala.By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Royal Thai Embassy in The Hague organized yet another Thai Cooking Workshop to feature Thai cuisine and offer diplomats and others an opportunity to explore classic Thai cuisine.
The venue of the workshop was the residence of Ambassador Eksiri Pintaruchi, on 25th September 2018.The amazingly gorgeous garden provided a perfect backdrop for the workshop.
For additional pictures , please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157672132794177Ambassador Eksiri Pintaruchi and H.E. Rawan Sulaiman, Chief of Palestinean Mission.
The event featured the esteemed Thai Chef Nhoi Ouypornchaisakul, founder and proprietor of the renowned Bangkok Bold Company Ltd.
The guest list consists of lady Ambassadors of Burundi, Guatemala, ambassadors spouses from Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Nicaragua to name a few, further diplomats, Diplomat magazine and other guests.
The workshop was made up of two parts, a plenary session in which Chef Nhoi Ouypornchaisakul, who came over from Bangkok prepared the following dishes:
Pomelo salad with toasted coconut flakes
Chicken green curry
Stir-fried eggplant or aubergine with Thai basil leaves.
Chef Nhoi in the second position along with her team.
Honesty compels me to note that Chef Nhoi Ouypornchaisakul’s green curry ranks among the best I have had so far.
The second leg of the workshop, participants were offered the opportunity to prepare the dishes mentioned above themselves.
It has been tremendous fun to watch food fans from all over the globe enjoying ,
Arusha, The Hague, 4 October 2018– The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals has learnt with great sadness of the passing away of Mechanism Judge, Mparany Mamy Richard Rajohnson of Madagascar.
Before being elected by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2011 as a Judge on the roster of the Mechanism, Judge Rajohnson served with distinction as an ad litem Judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) from January 2009 until February 2013 and earned the respect and admiration of the Judges and staff alike.
He also previously served as the Interim General Prosecutor at the Appeals Court of Antananarivo, Madagascar, as well as the Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice, the Director of Oversight of the Judiciary and Penal Institutions, and the Senior Investigating Judge at the Lower Court of Antananarivo in Madagascar. Judge Rajohnson received the honour of the Officer of the National Order of Madagascar and the Knight of the Order of Merit of Madagascar in recognition of his contribution and service in the field of judiciary.
Judge Rajohnson passed away on 2 October 2018. He will be remembered for his distinguished service, his exceptional integrity and his great commitment to the field of international criminal justice. The Mechanism will fly the flag of the United Nations at half-mast today at both of its branches in The Hague and Arusha in honour of Judge Rajohnson.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
It has been a longstanding tradition, every third Tuesday of September is. Prinsjesdag the traditional launching of the parliamentary year for the Dutch Senate and the Lower House.
King Willem-Alexander delivers what is called the speech from the throne in the Ridderzaal(Guildhall) in which the government unfold its most important plans for the coming parliamentary year.
For additional pictures by Hester Dijsktra, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157674294795468The Hague philharmonic orchestra, Prinsjesdag concert, The Hague.
Another tradition is the prinsjesdag concert organized by The Hague philharmonic orchestra(Residentieorkest) in conclusion of prinsjesdag.The concert started with the Dutch National Anthem, followed by the first of a new series of the One Minute Symphony Project: Abyss by composer Thomas van Dun.H.E. Andrea Gustovic-Ercegovac, Ambassador of Croatia and H.E. Mrs. Adia Sakiqi, Ambassador of Albania during the concert.
Van Dun was inspired by an encounter with a resident of the Statenkwartier in The Hague. Further on the programme Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto in D major, op 35 Allegro moderato, Canzonetta Andante, Finale Allegro vivacissimo.
Furthermore, Edward Elgar, a variation on an original theme (Enigma variation) op 36
Theme(Andante)
Variation I (L’islesso tempo) C.A.E.
Variation II Allegro) H.D.S.P.
Stefan Jackiw, violin
Conductor was Nicholas Collon.ICC President Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji.H.E. Mr. Chris Leo Clark Hoornaert, Ambassador of Belgium.
A well-attended cocktail reception, including various Ambassadors concluded the 2018 edition of the Prinsjesdagconcert.
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Photography by Hester Dijsktra.
The workshop was made up of two parts, a plenary session in which Chef Nhoi Ouypornchaisakul, who came over from Bangkok prepared the following dishes:
The workshop was made up of two parts, a plenary session in which Chef Nhoi Ouypornchaisakul, who came over from Bangkok prepared the following dishes:
