By Peter Knoope. On Monday 21 July a sad gathering took place in Nieuwegein to commemorate the victims of the terrible tragedy in Ukraine with flight MH17. The Netherlands is in grief and agony. Everybody in the Netherlands seems to know someone who is directly affected by this terrible loss. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Mr. Frans Timmermans, made a strong statement in the UN Security Council last night in which he called for respect for human dignity and justice. (Embed the following video: http://nos.nl/l/677806 OR http://nos.nl/video/677806-emotionele-toespraak-timmermans-vnveiligheidsraad.html) Credit to NOS.nl With the status of The Hague as the city of peace and justice there is no other option than to bring those who can be held accountable for this tragic event to justice. Meanwhile, there is the hope that the relevant authorities will do everything possible to bring the remains of the victims to the Netherlands. The Dutch government has been requested to coordinate the efforts accordingly. Our thoughts and condolences go out to all those who are in grief. They will need our moral and material support and assistance over the coming years. Seeing the remains back in the Netherlands to bury the loved ones and see justice done will help to alleviate some of the pain.    

Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, in relation to the escalating violence in the Situation in Libya As Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court), I am deeply troubled by the escalating violence in the Situation in Libya.  Recent reports of alleged attacks carried out against the civilian population and civilian objects in Tripoli and Benghazi are a cause for great concern.  Such deplorable acts of violence must immediately cease. Pursuant to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1970 (2011),  my Office may exercise its jurisdiction over any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within the territory of Libya since 15 February 2011.  Ever since the referral by the UNSC, my Office has brought cases before the Court’s judges based on the evidence collected; continued its investigative activities and has closely monitored the situation on the ground. I hereby call upon all parties involved in the conflict to refrain from targeting civilians or civilian objects, or committing any criminal act that may fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC.  I further urge all parties to the conflict to be vigilant and to take all necessary measures to prevent the commission of such crimes. As I have previously stated in different fora, we will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute those who commit crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction in Libya irrespective of their official status or affiliation.  I reiterated this Office policy during a recent meeting I had with the Minister of Justice of Libya, Mr Salah al-Marghani on Friday, 18 July 2014 in The Hague. My commitment and that of my staff to the pursuit of justice, without fear or favour, for the victims of mass crimes in Libya remains firm and steadfast.  

In a statement this morning to the OPCW Executive Council, Director-General Ahmet Üzümcü announced that all 1300 metric tonnes of chemicals removed from the Syrian Arab Republic by the international maritime operation have been delivered to destruction facilities outside the country. Destruction activities are now underway in all locations. The Director-General reported that since the successful trans-loading of 600 metric tonnes of chemicals onto the U.S. vessel MV Cape Ray in the port of Gioia Tauro, Italy on 2 July, the remaining chemicals have been delivered to commercial land-based facilities in Finland, the United Kingdom and United States where they are now in the process of being destroyed. As of 21 July, the amount of all Syrian chemicals destroyed stood at 31.8% of the total. The Director-General once again commended all the States Parties and the European Union for contributing funding and material resources for the mission to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons programme. In its meeting today, the Executive Council adopted a decision regarding the destruction and verification of 12 former chemical weapons production facilities (CWPFs) in Syria. As per this decision, seven hangers will be razed to the ground and five underground structures will be sealed permanently to make them inaccessible. The CWPF destruction activities are scheduled to begin within 60 days. For more information and downloadable audiovisual materials on the Syria mission, visit the special Syria page on our Internet website at:  http://www.opcw.org/special-sections/syria/

We are deeply saddened to announce that former International Criminal Court (ICC) Judge Hans-Peter Kaul passed away on 21 July 2014 after a period of serious illness, which led him to resign from the Court with effect from 1 July 2014. “Judge Kaul’s death is an enormous loss for the ICC. He served as a role model, dedicating his career to reshaping international justice. Judge Kaul was a driving force in the creation of the Rome Statute, in the establishment of the ICC, and in many of the decisions rendered in the situations and cases before the Court in its history thus far. We will long remember him with respect and admiration on a personal and professional level, for his relentless commitment and extensive contributions to international justice”, said ICC President Judge Sang-Hyun Song. The President of the Assembly of States Parties, Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, recalled “the vital contribution which Judge Kaul had made to the establishment of the Rome Statute system, both as head of the German delegation during the negotiations which culminated in the adoption of the Statute, as well as a member of the Court’s bench, where he leaves an important legacy of contributions to the jurisprudence of the Court. Judge Kaul will be remembered for his multi-faceted and unrelenting support to the cause of international criminal justice; he was also indefatigable in advancing the support for the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression”. National of Germany, Judge Kaul served as an ICC Judge for 11 years. In the first elections of ICC judges in February 2003, he was elected by the States Parties to the Rome Statute for a three-year term and assumed his duty on 11 March 2003. He was re-elected in 2006 for a further term of nine years. Judge Kaul was a member of the ICC’s Pre-Trial Division, serving as the Division’s President from 2004 to 2009, as well as from 8 April 2014 until his resignation. He contributed to important decisions in proceedings regarding situations in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur (Sudan), the Central African Republic, Kenya, Libya and Cote d’Ivoire, and the related cases. From 2009 to 2012, he served as the ICC’s Second Vice-President. Judge Kaul also served for several years on various committees related to the Permanent Premises: he was chairman of the Inter-Organ Committee on the Permanent Premises (2003-2008), the senior representative of the Court in the Jury of the International Architectural Design Competition, and contributed to the work of the Oversight Committee of States Parties, playing an important pioneering role in the process which eventually led to the planning and construction of the ICC’s future permanent home. Judge Kaul made significant contributions to the development of the ICC and international law even before being elected as an ICC Judge. In 2002, he was appointed Ambassador and Commissioner of the Federal Foreign Office for the International Criminal Court. From 1996 to 2003 he participated as head of the German delegation in the discussions and negotiation process of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Previous to that, in his capacity as Head of the Public International Law Division of the Federal Foreign Office (1996 – 2002), he was responsible, inter alia, for several cases involving Germany which were before the International Court of Justice. He published extensively on the International Criminal Court and other fields of public international law. Condolence books will be available at the lobby of the main entrance of the International Criminal Court (Maanweg 174, The Hague, Netherlands) and of the public entrance (Regulusweg, The Hague, Netherlands) from 23 to 25 July 2014. Messages of condolence can also be sent by letter to the President of the Court Judge Sang-Hyun Song and by email to: PublicAffairs.Unit@icc-cpi.int.