By Duke Michael of Mecklenburg & Baron Henri Estramant.   Half-brother of China’s last emperor, Puyi, passed away on 10 April 2015 at the age of 97. The late Prince Puren took the commoner name Jin Youzhi in republican China. He was the son of The Prince Chun and his secondary consort Lady Denggiya whereas The Xuantong Emperor (Puyi) was the eldest son by his primary wife, The Princess Consort Chun, Youlan. 

After Puyi’s own death back in 1967, Prince Puren became the unofficial figurehead of the Clan Aisin-Gioro (Qing Dynasty) which ruled China from 1644 to 1912, and de jure again briefly in 1917. Nevertheless he never made any imperial claims. Most members now use the surname “Jin” meaning “gold” in Chinese just as “Aisin” signifies the same in the Manchu language. The Qing Dynasty is of Manchu ethnicity.  Puren used to be a member of the 7th, 8th and 9th Beijing Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) as well as a researcher at Beijing’s Culture and History Research Institution. In 1947, with the support of his father, the former Prince Chun (commoner name Jin Zaifeng), Prince Puren established Jingye Primary School in Beijing. After he donated all his fortune to the country in 1957, he became a teacher at Xibanqiao Elementary School and Changqiao Primary School in Beijing until he retired in 1968.  Prince Puren is survived by three sons, and two daughters. His eldest son Prince Yuzhang (Ing. Jin Yuzhang) becomes the Head of the Clan Aisin-Gioro.  The concept of “kowtow diplomacy” is a legacy of Imperial China. Although the term is now mostly derogatory for a country being too servile to a foreign power, in Imperial China kowtowing was the utmost form sign of respect for The Emperor, Son of Heaven, and thus “ruler of everything under heaven”. China’s “Mandate from Heaven” has its equivalent in the European dei gratia for the continent’s sovereigns.     

  From Monday, 1 June to Wednesday, 3 June 2015 Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will make an official visit to the United States, travelling to Washington D.C., the Grand Rapids as well as to Chicago. The visit will include a meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. Their Majesties will be accompanied by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bert Koenders. The visit will be an opportunity to recognise the major role played by the US in liberating the occupied Netherlands. In 2015, the Netherlands is celebrating the 70th anniversary of its liberation. Economic cooperation will also be on the agenda, and an economic mission will run parallel to the official visit. It will take place after the State Visit to Canada to be held between 27 and 29 May 2015.  Source:  http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/globale-paginas/taalrubrieken/english/news/    

Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, on the alleged crimes committed by ISIS   Since the summer of 2014, my Office has been receiving and reviewing disturbing allegations of widespread atrocities committed in Syria and Iraq by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Greater Syria (“ISIS” aka “ISIL”, “Daesh” or “IS”). Crimes of unspeakable cruelty have been reported, such as mass executions, sexual slavery, rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence, torture, mutilation, enlistment and forced recruitment of children and the persecution of ethnic and religious minorities, not to mention the wanton destruction of cultural property.  The commission of the crime of genocide has also been alleged. In response to numerous inquiries about my Office’s activities in relation to these allegations, I have decided to provide the following clarification. The atrocities allegedly committed by ISIS undoubtedly constitute serious crimes of concern to the international community and threaten the peace, security and well-being of the region, and the world. They also occur in the context of other crimes allegedly committed by other warring factions in Syria and Iraq. However, Syria and Iraq are not Parties to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (“Court” or “ICC”). Therefore, the Court has no territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed on their soil. Under the Rome Statute, the ICC may nevertheless exercise personal jurisdiction over alleged perpetrators who are nationals of a State Party, even where territorial jurisdiction is absent.  On this basis, my Office has reviewed communications received alleging crimes committed by ISIS, with a view to assessing the prospect of exercising personal jurisdiction over States Parties nationals within the ranks of this organisation. In doing so, my Office took into account the scope of its policy, which is to focus on those most responsible for mass crimes. The information gathered indicates that several thousand foreign fighters have joined the ranks of ISIS in the past months alone, including significant numbers of State Party nationals from, inter alia, Tunisia, Jordan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia.  Some of these individuals may have been involved in the commission of crimes against humanity and war crimes. A few have publicised their heinous acts through social media. The information available to the Office also indicates that ISIS is a military and political organisation primarily led by nationals of Iraq and Syria. Thus, at this stage, the prospects of my Office investigating and prosecuting those most responsible, within the leadership of ISIS, appear limited. In this context, I have come to the conclusion that the jurisdictional basis for opening a preliminary examination into this situation is too narrow at this stage. A renewed commitment and a sense of urgency on the part of the concerned states may help identify viable avenues. The decision of non-Party States and the United Nations Security Council to confer jurisdiction on the ICC is, however, wholly independent of the Court. It bears emphasising that under the Rome Statute, the primary responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of mass crimes rests, in the first instance, with the national authorities.  I remain committed to consult with relevant States to coordinate, and possibly exchange information on crimes allegedly committed by their nationals to support domestic investigations and prosecutions, as appropriate. My Office also remains open to receive additional information which could provide further clarity on the positions occupied by State Party nationals within the ISIS organisational hierarchy. I remain profoundly concerned by this situation and I want to emphasise our collective duty as a global community to respond to the plight of victims whose rights and dignity have been violated. ISIS continues to spread terror on a massive scale in the territories it occupies. The international community pledged that appalling crimes that deeply shock the conscience of humanity must not go unpunished. As Prosecutor of the ICC, I stand ready to play my part, in an independent and impartial manner, in accordance with the legal framework of the Rome statute.