His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima will go on an official visit to the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015. They will be accompanied by Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs. In the morning, the King and Queen will have a meeting at the European Parliament with President Martin Schulz. Following this, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, will join the couple for lunch. Other members of the Commission will also be present, including First Vice-President and former Foreign Minister of the Netherlands, Frans Timmermans. In the afternoon, their Majesties will speak with the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk. The visit is part of the attention the King will be paying to the institutions of the European Union, prior to and during the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union, from January 1 till June 30, 2016.  

On the picture Her Excellency Ms. Dziunik Aghajanian, Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia.  European Court of Human Rights confirms the 1915 massacres and mass-deportations of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. Strasbourg, France– The European Court of Human Rights delivered a Grand Chamber judgment in the case of Perinçek v. Switzerland at a public hearing today, October 15, 2015. The lead counsel for the NGO Coalition (Turkish Human Rights Association, Truth Justice Memory Centre and International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies), Professor Payam Akhavan of McGill University in Canada, a former UN prosecutor at The Hague, emphasized that the Court’s Judgment “clearly, unanimously, and emphatically confirmed the historical truth” of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. In a divided opinion, the majority of ten judges held that the Swiss judgment against Mr. Perinçek’s denial and minimization of these events violated his freedom of speech under the European Convention on Human Rights. However, seven judges, including the President of the Court, held that “the massacres and deportations suffered by the Armenian people constituted genocide is self-evident. The Armenian genocide is a clearly established historical fact. ”To deny it is to deny the obvious.” The majority of ten judges also confirmed “the massacres and mass deportations suffered by the Armenian people at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards” and only differed in its view that it “has not authority to make legally binding pronouncements” on whether these events “can be characterized as genocide within the meaning of that term under international law”. Mr. Perinçek himself did not deny that these atrocities did in fact take place, but simply denied their characterization as “genocide” and blamed the 1.5 million Armenian victims for their own fate by portraying them as “traitors” and “aggressors”. The majority found that his statements should not have been penalized by the Swiss courts, because they did not pose a threat to Armenians in Switzerland. Professor Akhavan noted that in doing so, “the majority did not give sufficient weight to the convincing evidence submitted by the NGO Coalition, demonstrating Mr. Perinçek’s racist motives by reference to his previous conduct in Turkey, and its impact on the vulnerable Armenian minority that has been subjected to a campaign of hate speech and violence.” He emphasized that “this aspect of the decision is unfortunate at a time when there is an alarming increase in ultra-nationalist hate speech and violence in Turkey. The fact that Mr. Perinçek leads the Talaat Pasha Committee (named after the “Ottoman Hitler”) that the European Parliament has characterized as a ‘xenophobic and racist’ organization, is itself the most obvious evidence of his discriminatory motives.” Professor Akhavan regretted moreover, that the majority disregarded the Istanbul Penal Court’s finding in the Ergenekon trial that Mr. Perinçek had incited hatred and violence against Armenians, on the grounds that instead of relevant excerpts, the NGO Coalition should have produced the full 17,000 page judgment! The dissenting opinion of the seven judges, including that of the President, is highly significant, in asking: Why should criminal sanctions for denial of the characterization of the massacres of Armenians in Turkey in 1915 as “genocide” constitute a violation of freedom of expression, whereas criminal sanctions for Holocaust denial have been deemed compatible with the Convention? According to Professor Akhavan, “the divided opinion of the Grand Chamber, and the alarming increase in extremist violence in Turkey, is the clearest indication that the question of racist hate speech against Armenians is far from resolved, and that it will require constant vigilance. What is clearly established by the Judgment however, is unanimity among all seventeen judges, that the Armenians did in fact suffer massacres and mass deportations at the hands of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 onwards, irrespective of its legal characterization one way or another.” The Zoryan Institute and its subsidiary, the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies, is the first non-profit, international center devoted to the research and documentation of contemporary issues with a focus on Genocide, Diaspora and Armenia. For more information please contact the Zoryan Institute by email admin@genocidestudies.org or telephone 416-250-9807.

  The Netherlands has sent nine extra police officers to Ukraine to monitor the situation there. They will join the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Co operation in Europe (OSCE), of which the Netherlands has been a part since May 2014. The decision to send the Dutch monitors was taken by foreign minister Bert Koenders and justice minister Ard van der Steur. They say extra OSCE monitoring is necessary to ensure the provisions of the Minsk agreements, including a ceasefire and withdrawal of heavy weapons, are implemented. ‘We can see that the security situation is still fragile,’ said Mr Koenders. ‘So the OSCE’s work is very relevant. The Netherlands wants to support the mission, to promote further de-escalation.’ ‘We will continue to urge parties at all levels to ensure the Minsk agreements are implemented, so as to achieve a political solution to the conflict,’ he added. ‘The OSCE’s role is crucial. It’s the only organisation in Ukraine that reports daily on the developments there, on the basis of a mandate accepted by all parties.’ The mission team works in difficult conditions. Mr Koenders emphasised how important it is that the monitors can do their job properly. It is essential that the mission receive the information it needs and has full and safe access. The Dutch police are contributing to EU and UN missions in seven countries, enhancing international security. The experience gained in these missions has equipped them with the right expertise and capabilities to contribute to the expansion of OSCE monitors in Ukraine. ‘It’s crucial that member states provide monitors if the OSCE is to succeed in its difficult task,’ said Mr Van der Steur. Besides sending various numbers of monitors to Ukraine over the past couple of years, the Netherlands is also making a sizeable financial contribution of more than €6.8 million to the Special Monitoring Mission. That makes the Netherlands one of the largest financial donors of the mission. OSCE monitors previously provided valuable assistance to the Netherlands in the MH17 repatriation mission.  

Participants of the fourth African Union – International Criminal Court Joint Seminar in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia).   On 23 October 2015, representatives of African Union Member States gathered in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) for a joint seminar co-hosted by the African Union (AU) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to establish greater engagement and mutual understanding. This was the fourth joint AU/ICC seminar of a technical nature held at AU headquarters, the first one being held on 18 and 19 July 2011.  Seminar participants included representatives of the Permanent Missions of the African Union Member States and the Regional Economic Communities as well as Officials of the African Union Commission and ICC. The event was held with the support of the International Organisation of La Francophonie and the European Union. The meeting focused on complementarity and how to build the capacity of national institutions to deal with international crimes. The speakers also discussed the role of the ICC and the future African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights.  The ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.    

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima are to pay a state visit to the People’s Republic of China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. The visit will take place in the last week of October. After Beijing the royal couple will visit the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi province, continuing on to Shanghai and Hangzhou. The King and Queen will be accompanied by foreign minister Bert Koenders. A broad-based economic mission will also visit China at the same time. As part of the mission, Minister for Agriculture Sharon Dijksma will head an agriculture and food delegation and State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport Martin van Rijn a life sciences and health delegation. China is modernising rapidly. The country is focusing not only on growth itself, but also on the quality of that growth and on the environment. As a strategic partner in a wide range of areas, the Netherlands can help China achieve sustainable urbanisation. During the state visit, attention will focus among other things on farming, the agri-food industry, horticulture and landscape development, e-commerce, sport and design. President Xi Jinping paid a state visit to the Netherlands in March 2014. Since then, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and foreign minister Bert Koenders have visited China. Beijing Besides meetings with the authorities and the official events of the state visit, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will also visit the Sino-Dutch Dairy Development Centre (SDDDC) just outside Beijing. SDDDC is a dairy farm and research centre where Dutch and Chinese companies work together to develop the Chinese dairy sector. The royal couple will also attend a football training session where Dutch and Chinese trainers work with young footballers using Dutch methods. China is keen to introduce football training into the primary and secondary school curriculum. A visit to the ‘Next City Living Lab’, the Dutch pavilion at Beijing Design Week showcasing innovative solutions for the impact of urbanisation, is also planned. The pavilion is in Dashilar, a traditional district, or hutong, in Beijing, which has been renovated and retains its original structure. At a lunch reception, the King and Queen will meet Chinese and Dutch representatives from the cultural, civil-society and non-governmental sectors to discuss Sino-Dutch cooperation and exchange. The royal couple will also join a round table meeting of Dutch and Chinese CEOs.

  Loess Plateau After their visit to Beijing the royal couple will depart for Yan’an in Shaanxi province where they will visit the Loess Plateau, an example of how a landscape that has eroded through the centuries can be restored and once more play a role in the economy. Apple farms have now been established there, which has boosted farmers’ income in the region. After attending a presentation by the Institute of Soil and Water Conservation (ISWC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the King and Queen will tour the area and visit an apple farmer. They will also watch a dance performance in the village of Gaoshishi. Shanghai and Hangzhou On arrival in Shanghai the King and Queen will meet the Dutch community in China. They will then visit CELAP, the Chinese national training institute for high-ranking public officials. The King will give a speech, which among other things will address the issue of balanced long-term developments from an administrative perspective.

During a visit to Chongming Island the focus will be on conservation management and recreation in the vicinity of urban centres. The King and Queen will visit a special reserve for migratory birds – a WWF initiative – and a model greenhouse system supplied by Dutch companies. Employing the latest in sustainable technology, greenhouse systems such as this enable an increase in food production in urban environments. The King will then visit the Free Trade Zone and attend a reception with Dutch companies and their Chinese business partners. Queen Máxima will visit Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen’s ‘The Future of Fashion is Now’ exhibition, brought to Shanghai for three months by OCAT (Overseas Chinese Town Art Terminal). The state visit will end with a visit to the Alibaba campus in Hangzhou. The visit will include Dutch e-commerce initiatives in China, and the official launch of the online sales channel ‘Holland Pavilion’. KLM’s direct flights between Hangzhou and Amsterdam will also be highlighted.