Monday-Tuesday, 5-6 February 2018, Ljubljana, Republic of Slovenia: For the very first time leaders of all three Benelux countries were hosted for a multilateral summit by the Government of Slovenia.
10th Slovenian Premier Minister, H.E. Mr. Miro Cerar hosted a dinner for Luxembourgian Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Xavier Bettel and Belgian Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Didier Reynders at Ljubljana Castle before they are joined on 6 February by Dutch Premier H.E. Mr. Mark Rutte for a working session at Podrožnik Villa on Tuesday.
After lunch all four on Tuesday, strolled through the city of Ljubljana. They ended up their meetings with a supper at Strmol Mansion north of the capital.
One of the topics under discussion was the implementation of the border arbitration award after Benelux prime ministers urged Slovenia and Croatia in July last year to respect the award in a constructive spirit.
Mark Rutte touched on the issue again when visiting his Austrian counterpart H.E. Mr. Sebastian Kurz early in January 2018, when they both expressed concern about the dispute and their willingness to contribute to its solution.
Slovenia has very good relations with the Benelux countries, something that was noted when Cerar hosted his Belgian counterpart H.E. Mr. Charles Michel for a meeting in Ljubljana in May 2017. The countries have similar views on the EU’s future. Both Slovenia and Belgium were at the time said to be advocating a strong, forward-looking and development-oriented EU.
Cerar highlighted the usefulness for Slovenia to build stronger ties with the Benelux countries, considering the shared values and political policies with them.
24-25 January 2018, Brussels, Berlaymont: UNESCO Director GeneralMs. Audrey Azoulay met in Brussels with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission H.E. Ms. Federica Mogherini.
On the occasion of her first visit in Brussels, UNESCO Director General held a fruitful first encounter with the High Representative, aimed at discussing priority areas for further EU-UNESCO cooperation.
Director General Azoulay received strong support for UNESCO’s mandate from the High Representative, stressing that the Organisation will continue to be a significant partner for the EU. In their discussion, in addition to relevant achievements in the cultural sector as the European Union’s strategy for international cultural relations, the protection of cultural heritage in danger and the recently launched European Year of Cultural Heritage, it was reiterated the support of the European Union to UNESCO’s work in preventing radicalisation and in the fields of education and science.
High Representative and Director General explored future opportunities to cooperate having regard to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including further joint action on women and youth empowerment.
Director General Azoulay also took the opportunity to encounter Mr. Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis as well as Ms. Neven Mimica, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development.
ICC President Judge Fernández de Gurmendi receives the Global Jurist of the Year 2017 Award.
On 14 February 2018, Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, President of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”), was awarded the Global Jurist of the Year 2017 Award by the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law’s Center for International Human Rights (CIHR) at a ceremony held in The Hague, Netherlands. The award is given annually to honour a sitting judge, whether in an international or national court, who has demonstrated in his or her career courage in the face of adversity to uphold and defend fundamental human rights or the principles of international criminal justice.Presenting the award to Judge Fernández, Ambassador David Scheffer, Director of CIHR, stated: “her jurisprudence […] has confirmed her insightful and prescient mind in the realm of international criminal law. I see in her jurisprudence the seasoned deliberation of one of the framers of the Rome Statute and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence.” He also said: “Judge Fernández has played a critical role in speeding up the proceedings while still protecting the rights of the accused. Under her leadership as president, the Court has significantly improved the efficiency and timelines of its trial work. That is critical in garnering political support for the ICC today and in the future.”In her acceptance speech, President Fernández expressed her gratitude for the award and discussed some of the key challenges the ICC faces today, stating: “The International Criminal Court was created in the 1990s, when idealism was as it peak. Now it needs to develop in a less benign world where there is a serious push back against global values, and nationalism and intolerance are on the rise. We will need all the stubborn optimism of the Rome generation in the more turbulent years to come. The Court is mature enough to survive but survival is not enough – it needs to maintain membership, grow and thrive.” ——————–Previous recipients of the Global Jurist Award include Justice Dikgang Moseneke of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2013), Justice Shireen Avis Fisher of the Special Court of Sierra Leone (2014), Judge Gloria Patricia Porras Escobar of the Constitutional Court of Guatemala (2015), and Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella of the Supreme Court of Canada (2016).
“MUMMIES in BRUGES – Secrets of Ancient Egypt” \ Unique exhibition with mummies as of 31 March in Bruges!
The temporary exhibition “Mummies in Bruges – Secrets of Ancient Egypt” will be inaugurated on 31 March at the Oud Sint-Jan Exhibition Center in Bruges (Belgium, Europe). This fascinating exhibition comprises 9 human and animal mummies from Ancient Egypt that are more than 2000 years old, plus more than 200 objects (likewise from Ancient Egypt), including some that have never been shown before. These objects and mummies belong to the collection of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden [National Museum of Antiquities] in Leiden (Netherlands), which boasts one of the 10 most important Egyptology collections in the world. Large information panels and videos throughout the exhibition provide explanations on the remarkable rituals of the Ancient Egyptians concerning death and their unshakable belief in the afterlife.
This exhibition at the Xpo Center Bruges is intended for a broad public.For children (8 to 12) in particular, there is a quest with Dummie the Mummy, known from the eponymous children’s book series. Dummie the Mummy guides the young public through this exhibition with the help of a coloring and activity book.
Dr Ekaterina Trendafilova, President of Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
Following the statement issued by the Specialist Prosecutor David Schwendiman announcing
his departure from office, effective 31 March 2018, the President of the Kosovo Specialist Chamber, Dr. Ekatherina Trendafilova declared the following:
“Mr Schwendiman was appointed as Specialist Prosecutor on 1 September 2016. Since thenhe has worked relentlessly to establish the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office in order to carry outthe mandate of ensuring fair, efficient and independent investigations and prosecutions ofalleged crimes within its jurisdiction, with a special regard to the protection of potentialwitnesses.As President of the Specialist Chambers, I had the privilege to know and work with theSpecialist Prosecutor on matters of mutual concern to our institutions. On a personal level, Ihave been impressed by his professionalism, dedication, and intellect. I thank the SpecialistProsecutor for establishing a solid and independent institution.Both institutions, the Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, will continuethe fulfilment of their mandate without disruption.I am very grateful to the Specialist Prosecutor for his committed service and wish him all thebest for his future endeavors.”
Mr. Halbe Zijlstra, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of the Netherlands. Photography by Nia Palli.By Anton Lutter.
Even before the debate in the Tweede Kamer (parliament) about his so-called meeting with President Putin 2006, Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Halbe Zijlstra stepped down.
In an emotional declaration during a special session in parliament Mr. Zijlstra – with Prime Minister, Mark Rutte sitting next to him – acknowledged he made a big mistake. A mistake revealed by the newspaper the Volkskrant last Monday.
President Vladimir Putin.
During a party congress of the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) in May 2016, Zijlstra claimed he was at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in 2006. President Putin supposed to have said that he wanted a “Greater Russia” suggestion expansive policies. “Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and the Baltic States, and oh yes, Kazakhstan was ‘nice to have’,” Zijlstra said during the Congress, citing the Russian president. Royal Dutch Shell CEO Mr. Jeroen van der Veer, who had met Putin several times said that Putin was talking in the historical sense, had told this story to Zijlstra in 2014.
After the story broke, and even when he acknowledged he never was present at the meeting, the Prime Minister and government parties still supported him. His position became untenable after a second article in the Volkskrant claimed that even the remarks attributed to Mr. Putin were not true. Tuesday Zijlstra concluded that “There is too much doubt about my functioning as Dutch Foreign Minister”.
Ms. Sigrid Kaag
Acting as Minister of Foreign Affairs will be Mrs. Sigrid Kaag the current Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation until a successor is found.
She Decides funds for women in Ethiopia, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh and Mozambique
The budget that the Dutch Government allocated last year for She Decides – to preserve family planning services – has benefited women in a number of countries, including Ethiopia, Yemen, Mali, Bangladesh and Mozambique. She Decides has also supported several programmes covering multiple countries, such as the West African region as a whole.
The Netherlands is spending a total of €29 million on She Decides in 2017 and 2018.
In the words of Development Minister Sigrid Kaag, ‘She Decides has truly unleashed something in the field of women’s rights. It empowers women and girls to decide not only over their own bodies, but also over their own futures. The ability to choose whether to have children, and when and how many, also improves their chance of economic independence. It makes it easier for them to finish school and invest in a career. That’s good for them, of course, but it’s also good for the global society of which they’re a part.’
Ms Kaag’s predecessor as Development Minister, Lilianne Ploumen, launched She Decides exactly a year ago, in response to a presidential memorandum issued by US President Donald Trump. Mr Trump’s decision effectively ended many family planning programmes for women in developing countries if aid organisations mentioned or offered safe abortion.
Enhancing women’s rights
The current Dutch government is just as committed to She Decides as the previous one. It is also committed to a comprehensive package for the enhancement of women’s rights in the areas of education, work and politics as well as sexuality. ‘These connections are crucial for women’s opportunities worldwide,’ says Ms Kaag. ‘This is why this government is investing in giving women more say, particularly in conflict situations.‘I’ll be making this point myself in the UN Security Council on International Women’s Day, when protecting women from sexual and other violence is a major concern. Achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls – Sustainable Development Goal 5 – will be a high priority in my policy document on foreign trade and development cooperation.’She Decides: now an international movement
In the course of 2017, She Decides grew into a substantial, broad international movement including 60 countries, dozens of NGOs and private organisations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A total of €390 million has now been raised so that She Decides can support organisations that do not accept the US government’s new conditions for funding. This is keeping contraception, sex education, pregnancy care and safe abortion accessible for millions of women in many countries. ‘Of course it’s still an enormous challenge to make up for the American funds that have been cut,’ says the minister. ‘But we’re heartened by what we achieved last year. This proves that we can get results for all those millions of women in developing countries who we refuse to abandon.’ Where the Dutch contribution goes
In the great majority of cases, Dutch contributions have gone to organisations that were directly affected by President Trump’s memorandum. These include the Yamaan Foundation and Marie Stopes International Yemen, which are receiving a total of €4 million. They are using this money to provide contraception, sex education and maternity care to 650,000 Yemeni women and girls.
Another example is the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), which is active in 15 West African countries where the availability of contraception is limited. Dutch support is enabling WAHO to help an estimated 376,000 women each year. Dutch support is also providing the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with an additional €2 million, in additional to the Netherlands’ structural donation for the period 2015-2018. The additional €2 million will fund the procurement and distribution of contraceptives in 46 countries. The total Dutch contribution to She Decides of €29 million is helping more than a million women.
King Oedipus is the perfect tragedy. In the wake of many before him, Robert Icke – one of the British theater’s most explosive talents – directs his own contemporary, free adaptation. Oedipus premieres on Sunday 8 April at the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam. The performance will be subtitled in English on 12 April, 8, 10 and 17 May.
Sophocles’s most famous tragedy is the first story about crime and punishment. But just how guilty is Oedipus? Robert Icke: ‘Since the beginning, both audience and artists have been fascinated by Oedipus: the story of a man who, in his success, exceeded limits, only to find out that he had crossed the most fundamental of boundaries in doing so. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone deviates from the plan. But what do we do when our mistakes have been made before? What if our mistakes are the plan? What if those mistakes can no longer be undone? What is our fate? How can we see through ourselves enough to stop before it is too late? How can we ever know ourselves well enough?’
Oedipus’s quest is full of surprising twists. This turns the story into a chilling thriller. Oedipus is much more than the story of a man who has looked but not seen. The age-old attraction will always be how recognizable his fate is: the vulnerability of existence. And the fact that it is nearly impossible to control our lives and fortune.
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Mrs. Sigrid Kaag will visit the US from Sunday to Tuesday for a series of meetings with representatives of the UN and the World Bank She will also meet with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
Ms Kaag will first travel to New York for a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres. An important point of discussion will be the reforms to UN development policy announced by Mr Guterres. ‘It’s now about putting his proposals into practice,’ said the minister. ‘The Secretary-General’s agenda deserves full support. It’s a way of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of less poverty, more peace and security, and a more liveable world.’
In New York the minister will also host a round-table meeting on effective conflict prevention. This is one theme on which the Netherlands wants to place a strong emphasis during its term on the UN Security Council this year. Here too, a greater focus on the SDGs plays an important role. “By making a concerted effort early on to improve living conditions and promote greater observance of human rights – with countries and regions working together with international organisations and institutions more effectively – conflicts, violence and, with them, a great deal of human suffering can be avoided. The round-table meeting will be attended by representatives of UN institutions, member states and conflict prevention experts. While in New York the Minister will also meet with the directors of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).”World Bank
Ms Kaag will then travel to Washington, DC to meet with President of the World Bank Jim Yong Kim and Philippe Le Houérou, Chief Executive Officer of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank institution that lends to the private sector in developing countries. The minister will stress the need for more IFC activities in fragile states, since this is exactly where extra efforts are needed to offer people the prospect of a better life. The minister will also seek to learn more about the World Bank’s capital increase proposals. ‘It may be important to have a bigger bank,’ she said. ‘But we will also make sure that the pledges to create a better bank are fulfilled.’
A meeting with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is also on the agenda. The meeting is an opportunity for Ms Kaag to hear from Mr Lighthizer in more detail about the US administration’s trade policy, and its vision on trade agreements and the multilateral trade system in particular.
Ms Kaag will also use the meeting to stress that the Netherlands remains a strong proponent of multilateral trade agreements and a level playing field, with effective rules on food safety, the environment and working conditions. These factors increase the opportunities for growth in both the Dutch and international private sectors, and are therefore beneficial to businesses, employees and consumers.
His Excellency Dr. Alireza Jahangiri, Ambassador of Iran to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
By Roy Lie Atjam.
Wassenaar 9 February 2018, H.E. Ambassador Alireza Jahangiri of Iran had invited colleagues, dignitaries and many others to join him in celebrating Iran’s 39th National Day.Ahundreds-strong crowd thronged the reception venue to honor DrAlirzeaJahangiri’s invitation.
Noteworthy was the presence of a former Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Laurence Jan Brinkhorst.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s picture, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157665711340408The Ambassador of Spain, H.E. Mr. Fernando Arias, Ambassador Jahangiri and spouse Mrs. Maray Jahangiri, Mrs. Patricia van Oordt and Colonel Mojtaba Fassihi, Military Attache, Embassy of Iran.
Ambassador Jahangiri referred to the close cooperation between the Netherlands and Iran.The trade value has nearly tripled over the past two years.
Jahangiri went on, both countries signed a joint plan of action on expansion of bilateral economic ties for 2018, which entails cooperation in many fields such as energy, water management, agriculture, shipping, banking and technology.
DrAlirzeaJahangiri’sfull speech follows hereby.
“It is my sincere pleasure and honor to welcome you all to our National Day Celebration, to commemorate the 39th anniversary of the glorious revolution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
At the last year’s reception, as you probably remember, I announced that the Year 2017 is the year of landmark elections in Europe (including the Netherlands) and in my country. In May 2017, 73 percent of Iranians participated in the presidential election, in which, by reelecting Dr. Rouhani, they reaffirmed the continuation of moderation and broad-based interaction with all States of the world.
H.E. Mr. Elyes Ghariani, Ambassador of Tunisia; Ambassador Jahangiri welcome His Excellency Muhammed bin Harub bin Abdullah Al Said, Ambassador of Oman; also on the picture Mrs. Maray Jahangiri and the Military Attache Colonel Mojtaba Fassihi.In line with this approach, Iran has fully implemented its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA over the last two years since the Implementation Day, which has been hailed by the international community. The nuclear deal is a rare triumph of diplomacy over confrontation. Undermining of this deal would be a mistake. For this reason, the European Union including the Netherlands has explicitly announced, on several occasions, its commitment to continue the full and effective implementation of all parts of the JCPOA. The EU has also underlined that the lifting of nuclear related sanctions has a positive impact on trade and economic relations with Iran.H.E. Ms. Ngô Thi Hòa, Ambassador of Vietnam together with Ambassador Jahangiri, Mrs. Maray Jahangiri and Colonel Mojtaba Fassihi.Despite limitation in banking relations between EU and Iran, the statistics indicate that Iran-EU trade in 2017 has been increased by more than 62 percent compared to 2016. Significant growth in trade between Iran and the Netherlands during the last two years shows that the trade value in such a period of time has been nearly tripled. This is a brilliant sign of close cooperation of our two countries.
Both countries signed a joint plan of action on expansion of bilateral economic ties for 2018, which entails cooperation in many fields such as energy, water management, agriculture, shipping, banking and technology.
I would like to point out that on the basis of our joint cooperation, we have all the reasons to look positively into the future when it comes to bilateral relations. Despite major challenges that the world is facing and the continuation of the unrest, conflict and terrorism in the Middle East, Iran as an important player in the West Asia region and the Netherlands as the member of the UN Security Council in 2018, can join their forces for realization of peace and security in the world.
Before concluding, I would like to thank all the staff of the Embassy and their families who have worked very hard to make today’s event a successful one.
At the end, I would like to announce a good news for music and art lovers. This year, in addition to the beautiful Iranian carpets exhibition, we have an exhibition of Persian Miniature paintings, which are the most outstanding paintings in the Middle East.
The creator of these artworks is Mr. Machiani, who is present here this evening. I recommend you to visit this exhibition before you leave. Mr. Machiani is also a musician. He has kindly accepted to perform some pieces of Iranian music today.
I hope you would enjoy the combination of spiritual art (music and miniature) and afterwards the material art, which is the delicious Iranian cuisine.”
It has been an evening full of Iranian hospitality.
