Ms Abir Ali, H.E. Abdulaziz Abohaimed, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia, Mrs Marianne van Stekelenburg and H.E. Mr. Saywan Barzani, Ambassador of Iraq.Once again Diplomat Magazine together with Carlton Ambassador and Diplomatic Card, organized a traditional Diplomats Meet and Greet in collaboration with the Embassy of Lebanon in The Hague.The highly recognized and respected diplomat, Ms. Abir Ali, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of the Embassy, received her guests after a long day of work, but with her kind smile, she was able to make everyone feel the warmth of the famous Lebanese hospitality. The rhythm of the conversations combined with the smooth music of the jazz band created a friendly and cosy atmosphere which all enjoyed.For additional Robert Huibert’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157683356561575Dr. Lr. Joris Voorhoeve and spouse, H.E. Dziunik Aghajanian, Ambassador of Armenia, Mr Roelof van Ees, Chief of Protocol, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Heidemaria Gurer, Ambassador of Austria, H.E. J.S. Mukul Ambassador of India, H.E. Per Holmström, Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Ms Mirsada Colakovic, Ambassador of Bosnia Herzegovina, Ms Abir Ali, H.E. Adam M.J. Sadiq, Ambassador of Sri Lanka, H.E. Brett Mason, Ambassador of Australia, H.E. Haifa Aisami Madah, Ambassador of Venezuela to the International Organizations, H.E. Nourredine Ayadi, Ambassador of Algeria and H.E. Abdulaziz Abohaimed, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia.The Lebanese buffet especially made for the occasion was delicious. The flavors, colors, and presentation of the national dishes were exceptional. As Ms. Ali said, “the Lebanese cuisine is known in the whole world, and it has become Lebanon’s passport to the world”.Guests from the Diplomatic corps, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Organizations, the business sector, and friends filled up Carlton Hotel. An atmosphere of friendship and conviviality reigned throughout the night, or as the Dutch would say, it was “gezellig”.Steven van Hoogstraten and Jhr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland.In her welcome speech, Ms. Ali expressed the following:“I would like to thank Diplomat Magazine, and Mrs. Mayelinne De Lara, for initiating the beautiful practice of Embassies Meet and Greet, and for the many events they organize for the diplomatic community in The Hague.”.“.It is spring time, and Holland is in bloom. Every year, when the season of green and colorful flowers begin, I find myself singing with the great Louis Armstrong ‘I see trees in green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you, and I think to myself what a wonderful world’. And I always stop.”.“.I stop because, for one, I don’t know the rest of the song, and for two, I stop because I always ask myself: is it a wonderful world? Unfortunately, with the daily sad news that come to the screens of our smart phones, it is sometimes hard to think of the world as a wonderful place. But there is always hope like the hope that comes with the spring. And we, diplomats, have a responsibility to make the world a better and more peaceful place. And we leave it to the musicians and artists to make it a wonderful one”.Ms Abir Ali and the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli.Ms. Ali conveyed to her guests the message that Lebanon represents. In her words: “My country, Lebanon, represents the message and values of tolerance, openness, acceptance of one another, and dialogue”. She ended by saying “wars can never solve anything, but dialogue can”.
Gandhi Center in The Hague, April 11, 2017. On the picture the yoga teacher Amit Khanna with Najat Bellouki (Morocco), Naima Shennib Swessi (Libya), Mita Mukul (India), Dr Dilruba Nasrin (Bangladesh), Natalia Tymoshenko (Ukraine). Ntokozo Koloane, (South Africa) Patricia van Oordt de Arias (Spain), Linda Zin (Malaysia) Midori Inomata (Japan) Ayadi Daorua (Algerie), Delkhaz Barzani (Iraq).
On 11 April 2017, a group of diplomatic spouses and the official yoga instructor at the Indian Embassy’s Gandhi Centre in The Hague, Mr. Amit Khanna, dedicated a farewell yoga session to Mrs. Mita Mukul who is returning to India with her husband, H.E. Ambassador, J.S. Mukul.During their stay in the Netherlands the couple have worked tirelessly to promote their country. Mrs. Mukul, who first arrived in The Hague in July 2015, successfully organized the first yoga sessions in the city specially for the diplomatic community. Mr.Amit Khanna.“I took the initiative to start the programme twice a week for diplomats and their spouses,” she explained to Diplomat Magazine. “The idea was to popularise yoga amongst the community. It has been a wonderful experience practicing yoga together with a group of friendly enthusiasts.”Mrs. Mukul and the Ambassador are themselves keen yoga practitioners. To mark International Yoga Day 2016, they jointly organized and coordinated a massive multicultural yoga session for some 600 attendees in the atrium of The Hague’s City Hall. Dilruba Nasrin, from Bangladesh and Linda Zin, from Malaysia.Many diplomats from different nationalities have since paid a twice-weekly visit to the Gandhi Centre, including representatives from Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt, Iraq, Japan, Malaysia, Morocco, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Ukraine and several Latin American nations, among others.Diplomat Magazine was specially invited to cover the celebration, publishing several articles on India’s efforts to promote yoga at an international level. The Diplomat Magazine team would like to wish the Mukuls a safe return to India.
UNESCO is selecting a successor for Irina Bokova, its current leader and already the UNESCO Director General candidature interviews took place on April 24Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO.Hamad Bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari, front Qatar, emerged as a front-runner out of nine candidate countries, during the meeting in Paris last week. France, China and Qatar emerged as serious contenders. However, France and China face an obstacle in the fact that both European and Asian officials have recently led the organization. Paris is also the host of UNESCO’s headquarters.
Statement by President Trendafilova on the Judgement of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court.
Following the Judgement of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court, President Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova delivered today the following statement:
“The review by the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court of the adopted Rules of Procedure and Evidence is an indispensable corollary to ensure that, as required by the Constitution of Kosovo, the highest human rights standards are applied by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Compared to other institutions dealing with similar crimes, this represents an innovative step forward.Today’s decision by the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court concludes that out of a total of 208 rules, ten discrete provisions of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence need further consideration by the Plenary of Judges. This process reinforces the framework of the Specialist Chambers and guarantees full respect for the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.I will as soon as possible convene a Plenary in order to ensure that this discrete set of rules be revised in line with the decision of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court. The entire Rules will therefore enter into force once the Constitutional Court has finally determined that all Rules are in compliance with Chapter II of the Constitution.I would like to express my gratitude for the tremendous work and commitment of the Judges of the Specialist Chamber of the Constitutional Court, thereby ensuring the highest human rights standards for the proceedings before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers”.
Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, His Majesty the King of the Netherlands and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders. Second Deputy Director-General of OPCW, H.E. Ambassador Mr. Hamid Ali Rao, the OPCW’s Chairperson of the Conference of the States Parties, H.E. Dr Christoph Israng, the Mayor of The Hague, H. E. Mrs Pauline Krikke and Kings Commissioner to the Province of South Holland, Mr Jaap Smit.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — 26 April 2017 — In the presence of His Majesty the King of the Netherlands, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) today marked the 20th Anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the founding of the OPCW during a solemn ceremony held at the Ridderzaal (Hall of the Knights) in The Hague.
“We have come together to rededicate ourselves to peace, security and progress. Those are the abiding objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the essence of all our endeavours at the OPCW,” expressed the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, in his opening statement.
Ambassador Üzümcü paid homage to the memory of victims of chemical weapons across the world: “Many survivors continue to endure painful suffering despite the years that have elapsed since exposure. Some are present here today. They remind us of the human toll when morality is recklessly abandoned and universal norms callously breached.”
He reminded guests that “the work of the OPCW represents the most effective response to such cruelty; a ray of hope illuminating a dark shadow on our history.”
During the ceremony, the King together with OPCW’s Director-General, unveiled a plaque acknowledging the Organisation’s anniversary. The plaque will on display at OPCW Headquarters next to the plaque dedicated by Her Majesty Queen Beatrix on the occasion of the OPCW’s 10th anniversary.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr António Guterres, sent a special video message to the OPCW, while keynote remarks featured Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate; Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr Bert Koenders; H.E. Dr Christoph Israng, the Mayor of The Hague, H. E. Mrs Pauline Krikke.Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden and His Majesty the King of the Netherlands.
The Commemorative Ceremony was attended by 450 Permanent Representatives and other delegates from OPCW Member States; chemical weapon victims; leaders of international organisations, chemical industry and civil society; and dignitaries from the Netherlands.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently and verifiably eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – and with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
H.E. Dr Christoph Israng, OPCW’s Chairperson of the Conference of the States Parties.
This achievement is the result of a global endeavour – involving nations, chemical industry, scientists, and civil society – to create and enforce the world’s most successful international disarmament treaty. For its efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.
On the picture King of the Belgians greeting foreign heads of missions including Dr Bahiya Al Jishi, Bahrain, to his left-, Chargé d’affairs Matthew Lussenhop, USA, Omar Said, Djibouti, behind the king, to his left Spain’s Ambassador Cecilia Yuste Rojas in conversation with Panamanian Ambassador Dario Chirú.Thursday, 20 April 2017: Their Majesties the VII King of the Belgians and Queen Mathilde hosted a private reception and tour of the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken located in the gardens of Laeken Castle, their residence. The reception was attended by foreign ambassadors and chargés d’affaires accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium, and it was meant to promoting the international image of Belgium. Albeit the greenhouses enjoy an international reputation, they are mostly not accessible to the public except for about three weeks annually in April and till the first week of May. This year from 14 April till 5 May 2017. HE Ambassador Maryem van den Heuvel (The Netherlands to Belgium) – Picture by Royal Dutch Embassy to Belgium.For further information: https://www.monarchie.be/nl/agenda/opening-van-de-koninklijke-serres-van-laken-2017————-Picture by the Belgian Monarchy
Pictured The King of the Belgians and H.E. Raúl Fernández Daza (Chile to Belgium and Luxemboug, to the EU).Republic of Chile: HE AmbassadorRaúl Fernández Daza presented credentials to the Kingdom of Belgium on Wednesday, 17 April 2017 at the Royal Palace Brussels. He is also concurrently head of mission to the EU and Luxembourg. Previously Ambassador Fernández Daza held an ambassadorship to Haiti. https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raúl_Fernández_Dazahttp://chile.gob.cl/belgica/enAmbassador Sibusisiwe Mngomezulu (Swaziland)Kingdom of Swaziland: HE Ambassador Sibusisiwe Mngomezulu presented credentials and greetings from HM King Mswati III of Swaziland to HM The VII King of the Belgians on 17 April 2017. This is Ambassador Mngomezulu’s first ambassadorship. Before he came to Brussels, he held the rank of Counsellor/Deputy Head of Mission/Acting High Commissioner at the High Commission of Swaziland to Malaysia. The Swazi mission is accredited to the three Benelux countries, Germany, the EU as well as the OPCW and the ACP Group of States. http://swaziembassy.be/2017/03/his-excellency-ambassador-sibusisiwe-mngomezulu-was-today-introduced-to-the-acp-committee-of-ambassadors/H.E. Ambassador Rhoda Jackson (The Bahamas)Commonwealth of Bahamas: HE Ambassador Rhoda Jackson has a seat in Geneva, Switzerland, as Permanent Representative to the UN and the other international organisations based there. She is concurrently accredited to the EU and Belgium from Geneva. Ambassador Od Och (Mongolia).Mongolia: HE Ambassador Od Och presented credentials on 17 April 2017 before King Philippus of the Belgians. Before coming to Brussels Ambassador Och was permanent representative of his homeland to the UN in New York. http://theubpost.mn/2016/11/18/new-mongolian-ambassadors-appointed/Ambassador Julia Vallatoro Tario (El Salvador).Republic of El Salvador: HE Ambassador Julia Vallatoro Tario was accredited to Belgium on 17 April 2017. The Salvadoran mission is co-accredited to the EU and Luxembourg. Ambassador Vallatoro Tario holds for the very first time an ambassadorship. Previously she was Chargée d’affaires a.i. in Brussels with the rank of Minister-Counsellor; a diplomatic rank she also held at the Salvadoran mission in Vienna accredited to Austria, the UN organisations with seat in Vienna and other further accredited to Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania.—————Picture by the Belgian Monarchy
ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I unseals a warrant of arrest for Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
24 April 2017, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) unsealed the warrant of arrest for Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled (“Mr Al-Tuhamy”) allegedly responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the context of the situation in Libya in 2011. The decision to unseal the warrant of arrest was delivered upon the ICC Prosecutor’s request submitting that “reclassifying the warrant of arrest as public may facilitate [Mr Al-Tuhamy’s] arrest and surrender as all states will then be aware of its existence” and “could foster support and cooperation for an arrest operation from the international community”.The warrant of arrest was issued under seal on 18 April 2013. Mr Al-Tuhamy is charged with four crimes against humanity (imprisonment, torture, persecution, and other inhumane acts) allegedly committed in Libya from 15 February 2011 until 24 August 2011, and with three war crimes (torture, cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity) allegedly committed in Libya from at least early March 2011 to 24 August 2011.The situation in Libya was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council in its resolution 1970 dated 26 February 2011. On 3 March 2011, the Prosecutor announced the decision to open an investigation in the situation in Libya.Warrant of Arrest for Al-Tuhamy Mohamed KhaledDecision on Reclassification of the Warrant of Arrest
The Principality of Andorra is in the process of beginning talks with the Spanish Minister of Public Works and Transport, Íñigo de la Serna, to discuss the technological updating of Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell’s airport to allow it to receive more frequent flights from different European destinations.
It is the Princely Government’s intention to equip the airport with the latest GPS technology, which thus far no airport in Spain utilises.
For Andorra, a working commercial airport in its vicinities is of utmost importance owing to the current long delays to reach the principality from Madrid, Barcelona and other strategic cities in Europe. Evidently for Andorra the airport is also very topical as the country is seeking to host the Ibero-American summit in 2020 with the support of the Spanish Government.
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For further information:
Andorra-La Seu d’Urgell airport: http://aeroportandorralaseu.cat
Secretaría General Iberoamericana: http://segib.org
Georgia was expecting its 6 million tourist to arrive in 2016, and the lucky one was Jesper Black a visitor coming from the Netherlands who flew into Tbilisi to visit friends living there. The Georgian Government organised an outstanding welcome reception inviting him for a private dinner with Prime Minister, Mr. Giorgi Kvirikashvili.
He was declared “Special Guest of the Republic of Georgia” during his sojourn in the country. “I will never forget this incredible surprise, this is the most amazing experience I’ve ever had…”, declared him to the press.
Georgia’s touristic potential has been recently praised by many prominent International Magazines and travel media. Mrs. Claire Allfree, from The Telegraph ranked Tbilisi, Capital of Georgia #4 destination. She highlighted this fact in her article entitled: “21 European cities you never thought to visit – but definitely should”.Svaneti, Georgia.
Vogue’s writer Jen Murphy, published on Dec 30th, 2016 her top 10 destinations for 2017. Georgia is the first on the list.
Georgia’s new hotels and shopping malls are popping up all over the country; Art Nouveau buildings and traditional balconies houses, surprising great wines and authentic cuisine, excellent cultural scene and venues, new access for core skiers and snowboarders to the never touched snow mountains in the Caucasus, is all part of the fantastic touristic glamour that the rising Republic of Georgia can offer to foreign visitors.
During their stay in the Netherlands the couple have worked tirelessly to promote their country. Mrs. Mukul, who first arrived in The Hague in July 2015, successfully organized the first yoga sessions in the city specially for the diplomatic community.
Diplomat Magazine was specially invited to cover the celebration, publishing several articles on India’s efforts to promote yoga at an international level.
The Diplomat Magazine team would like to wish the Mukuls a safe return to India.
