On the picture King Philippus of the Belgians and Ambassador of Poland to Belgium and Luxembourg, Artur Jan Orzechowski.ByBaron Henri Estramant.Republic of Poland to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Artur Orzechowski presented his accreditation letters to Belgium on Thursday, 6 October 2016. Previous to his ambassadorial appointment, he was head of the European Policy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. Between 2007 and 2008, he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Poland to NATO and the Western European Union based at Brussels.
http://www.bepolux.be/en-GB/calendar/news/calendar/event/2016/10/27Minister-Counsellor Labinot Hoxha greets HM The King of the Belgians as Ambassador Dr Bernard Nikaj looks on at the Royal Palace – Picture by the Belgian Royal Household.Republic of Kosovo to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Dr Bernard Nikaj was officially accredited on 6 October 2016.
Before holding the double ambassadorship Dr Nikaj was a Lecturer in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Pristine between 2009 and 2016.
http://www.ambasada-ks.net/be/The King of the Belgians and Dato’ Hasnudin bin Hamzah (Malaysia to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg)Federation of Malaysia to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg: HE Ambassador Dato’Hasnudin bin Hamzah
From 2012 up to the summer of 2016 Dato´Hasnudin bin Hamzah served as Permanent Representative of Malaysia to ASEAN, at Jakarta, Indonesia.
http://www.kln.gov.my/perwakilan/brussels/Ambassador David HALES (Guyana to the EU, the ACP Group, the OPCW and the Benelux countries) with the King of the Belgians.Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the Benelux countries, the EU, the ACP Group and the OPCW: HE Ambassador Dr David HALES was accredited to Belgium on 6 October 2016.
http://www.embassyofguyana.be
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Photograhy by the Belgian Royal Household/Royal Palace Brussels.
Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda concerning the situation in the Republic of My Office is aware of worrying reported extra-judicial killings of alleged drug dealers and users in the Philippines, which may have led to over 3,000 deaths in the past three months. I am deeply concerned about these alleged killings and the fact that public statements of high officials of the Republic of the Philippines seem to condone such killings and further seem to encourage State forces and civilians alike to continue targeting these individuals with lethal force. Extra-judicial killings may fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) if they are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population pursuant to a State policy to commit such an attack. The Republic of the Philippines is a State Party to the ICC and as such, the Court has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory or by nationals of the Philippines since 1 November 2011, the date when the Statute entered into force in the Philippines. Let me be clear: any person in the Philippines who incites or engages in acts of mass violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing, in any other manner, to the commission of crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC is potentially liable to prosecution before the Court.My Office, in accordance with its mandate under the Rome Statute, will be closely following developments in the Philippines in the weeks to come and record any instance of incitement or resort to violence with a view to assessing whether a preliminary examination into the situation of the Philippines needs to be opened.
Verdict on Bemba, Musamba, Kabongo, Wandu and Arido’s case to be delivered on 19 October 2016The verdict in the case The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo, Fidèle Babala Wandu and Narcisse Arido will be delivered by Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Wednesday 19 October 2016 at 14:30 (The Hague local time), during a public hearing at the seat of the Court in The Hague (Netherlands). The Chamber has ordered the accused to be present at the hearing. The sentence would be pronounced at a later stage, only if the accused would be found guilty. Trial Chamber VII is composed of Judge Bertram Schmitt, presiding, Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut, and Judge Raul C. Pangalangan.
On the picture State Secretary (Hessen) Mark Weinmeister), Isabelle Boudineau (Nouvelle-Aquitaine), Izabela Gorczyca (Wielkopolska), André Corsini (Emilia Romagna).
The Federal Bundesland of Hesse should also receive EU infrastructure funds in the period after 2020 according to the Hessian State Secretary for Europe, Mark Weinmeister. This matter is of utter importance for Hesse because of the many projects and investments that the funds help to carry out, and directly ease the lives of citizens.
For the Minister of European Affairs of Hesse, Lucia Puttrich, “it is not self-evident that funds shall be available for Hesse, and hence it is rather important that Hesse is directly involved in the decision process of the regions”. The motivation behind it was a common statement singed by almost 200 (out of 276) regions concerning the future of the EU’s regional policies after 2020. All regions sharing the same edifice with Hesse, that is Emilia Romagna, the Nouvelle Aquitaine as well as Wielkopolska are signatories to the initiative.
The common statement was presented at Brussels to the President of the Committee of Regions, Markku Markula, European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Crețu as well as the Chairwoman of the Regions Committee at the European Parliament, MEP Iskra Mihaylova.
For State Secretary for European Affairs, Markus Weinmeister, the strategy can only be successful if supported by other regions, then there is a real chance to influence the decision-making process.
Hesse receives in the ongoing period that lasts up to 2020 an amount of 240,7 million EUR from the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD).
For further information:
European Fund for Regional Development (EFRD): http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:g24234
Hessian Minister for Federal and European Affairs (Lucia Puttrich): https://staatskanzlei.hessen.de/berlin-europa/lucia-puttrich/lebenslauf-lucia-puttrich
State Secretary for European Affairs (Mark Weinmeister): https://staatskanzlei.hessen.de/berlin-europa/mark-weinmeister/lebenslauf-mark-weinmeister
Representation of Hesse to the EU (Director Friedrich von Heusinger): https://staatskanzlei.hessen.de/berlin-europa/hessen-europa/landesvertretung-bruessel/die-vertretung-des-landes-hessen-bei-der
Mr Sartaj Aziz and Federica Mogherini. Picture by EU.4 October 2016, Brussels: In the sidelines of the Brussels Summit on Afghanistan, The Honourable Sartaj Aziz, Adviser to the Pakistani Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs (de facto Foreign Minister), visited Brussels from 3 to 6 October 2016 for the third round of the EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue. Ambassador Naghmana Alamgir Hashmi, FA Adviser Saraj Aziz and Deputy COM, Khalid Jamali – Picture by Pakistani Mission in Brussels.Mr Aziz had the opportunity to be accompanied by Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi to meet high ranking EU and NATO officials including the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Commissioner Federica Mogherini. For further information:Mission of Pakistan to the EU, Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg (HE Ambassador Naghmana Hashmi): http://embassyofpakistan.be/site/Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs (Mr Saraj Aziz): http://www.mofa.gov.pk/content.php?pageID=adviser
On the picture H.E. Moses Mosé Ambassador of Solomon Islands, Permanent Representative Peter Javorčík from Slovakia to the EU and Director for Migration and Mobility, Belinda Pyke.By Henri Estramant.Friday, 7 October 2016, Brussels: On behalf of the Solomon Islands, HE Ambassador Moses Kouni Mosé, signed an agreement for a short-stay visa waiver programme with the Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the EU, HE Ambassador Peter Javorčík (rotating presidency of the European Council) and the Director for Migration and Mobility, Belinda Pyke at the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs. The visa waiver regime provides for visa-free travel for EU citizens when travelling to the territory of the Solomon Islands, and reciprocally for Solomon Islanders when travelling to the EU for a period of stay of 90 days in any 180-day period.Solomon Islands thus joins the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, the Independent State of Samoa, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of Kiribati and Tuvalu for the visa-free travel to the EU.H.E. Moses Mosé Ambassador of Solomon Islands, Permanent Representative Peter Javorčík from Slovakia to the EU and Director for Migration and Mobility, Belinda Pyke.The Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom are not be subject to the application of the agreement, in accordance with the protocols annexed to the EU treaties. Therefore the visa regime to these member states remains subject to their national legislation.
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Photography by the EU.
President Meron delivers a lecture at an ICRC Regional IHL Course for Arab Diplomats in Abu DhabiThe Hague, 13 October – The President of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), Judge Theodor Meron, on Wednesday, 12 October 2016, delivered a lecture on the Criminal Repression of International Humanitarian Law Violations: Lessons from the International Criminal Justice Mechanisms at the Regional International Humanitarian Law (IHL) Course for Arab Diplomats, in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. The Course, co-organised by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, gathered international legal experts and regional Arab diplomats to discuss the role and application of international humanitarian law.
President Meron highlighted the key role played by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in strengthening the understanding of IHL principles and norms in the context of international proceedings by helping to “elucidate the contours and character of that law in meaningful ways—ways that resonate far beyond the proceedings and even the courts directly at issue”.
President Meron further emphasized the contribution of the two Tribunals not only to the repression of violations of IHL, but also to compliance with IHL and noted that “the ICTY and ICTR have been at the forefront of articulating and clarifying the elements of crimes and the various modes of individual criminal responsibility. In doing so, they have strengthened the protections afforded by IHL by helping to make the parameters of responsibility and duty clearer”.
In closing, President Meron reflected upon the importance of upholding the principles of individual criminal responsibility and respect for the rule of law in the global effort towards replacing a culture of impunity with a culture of accountability. He further underscored that “[e]very effort should be made to support courts—whether national, regional or international—seeking to ensure individual accountability for violations of IHL”.
The event was part of an annual series of courses, convened by the ICRC, with
Her Excellency Mirsada Čolaković was appointed as Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and permanent representative to the OPCW in 2016, she presented her letters of credentials to His Majesty Willem Alexander, King of the Netherlands, on the 5th of October 2016.
Mirsada Čolaković is a native speaker of Bosnian,
Croatian and Serbian, speaks English fluently and has working knowledge of
German and Russian.
Her Excellency graduated from her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and
Sociology at the University of Sarajevo in 1980, following up with a Master of
Arts in Philosophy at the University of Belgrade. She went on to complete
post-graduate studies in EU Institutions and Lobbying at the Institute for
European Studies (IES) in Brussels.
In the 1990’s, Mirsada Čolaković served various roles for the Bosnian
government. She started out in 1994 as Advisor for Multilateral Relations at
the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Benelux – liaison Mission to NATO
and the EU in Brussels. She then assumed the same role for the Presidency of
Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo.
From 1999 to 2000, H.E. Ms Čolaković was Acting Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the Office of the Deputy Foreign Minister in Sarajevo.
From 2000 and for the next two years, Mirsada Čolaković moved to Greece
as Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Athens.
Before her post in The Netherlands, Her Excellency had a long career in
the United States. First, as the Head of Political Department and Deputy Chief
of Mission at the Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Washington, DC. Then, as
Deputy Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the UN from 2005,
moving up to Permanent Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2012 to
2016.
Action against an organised criminal group involved in thefts of luxury carsOn 11 October, a joint action day run by French and German police authorities, and supported by Eurojust with a coordination centre, succeeded in stopping an international organised criminal group (OCG) involved in thefts of luxury cars.The modus operandi of the OCG shows that the suspects broke into car owners’ private homes to steal their car keys. The suspects played different roles in the OCG, ranging from stealing the cars, forging identity documents, and driving the vehicles to Germany.The investigation started in June 2016, when a Roma camp was dismantled in northern France. The investigation revealed links to other cases in which the French authorities of the Tribunal de Grande Instance (TGI) Le Havre investigated two car thefts, and discovered that the cars were stolen in France and sold to customers in Germany for low prices. Between 2012 and 2015, 17 car thefts were under investigation by JIRS Lille, France. The OCG is allegedly involved in the theft of an estimated 100 cars meant for resale in Germany.Eurojust provided support at various stages of the investigation, offering the opportunity for France and Germany to discuss and elaborate a common judicial strategy and find the most efficient response. Two coordination meetings were organised by and held at Eurojust in 2016. A joint investigation team (JIT) was formed between France and Germany in January 2016, with Eurojust providing funding for the JIT, enabling long-term cooperation and coordinated covert operations, which eventually led to the planning of the joint action day. Europol supported the action day by being present in Germany and France.Eurojust’s support proved crucial in dismantling the OCG, speeding up the entire operation and facilitating information exchange between the authorities involved.Figures at a glance:
