OPCW. Norwegian Cargo Ship Departs with Chemicals
Norwegian Cargo Ship Departs with Chemicals
The Norwegian vessel Taiko, which is participating in the multinational maritime operation to remove chemicals from Syria, departed today for Finland and the United States to deliver its cargo of chemicals for destruction in those countries.
This is in accordance with the schedule of the Taiko, which was notified to the OPCW at an earlier stage. The Danish ship Ark Futura will take over the remaining 8 percent of chemicals for transportation to their destination.
“I commend Norway and Denmark for their vital support for the maritime operation,” said the OPCW Director-General, Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü. “We remain focused on removing the last consignment of chemicals from Syrian territory and urge the Syrian authorities to complete the removal as soon as possible.”
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global campaign to permanently eliminate these weapons. Since its entry into force in 1997 the Convention has become the fastest growing arms treaty in history with 190 States Parties, and 82% of all declared chemical arsenals have already been destroyed under OPCW verification. For these unprecedented achievements the OPCW was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2013.
Official visit Prince Albert II of Monaco
His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene paid an official visit to the Netherlands. Prince Albert had conversations with representatives of Boskalis, Van Oord and Philips.
In the morning of June 3, Prince Albert met with Prime Minister Rutte in The Hague. He was received by the Chairman of the Senate Broekers-Knol and the President of the Second Chamber Van Miltenburg. Part of the agenda included a boat trip through the canals of Amsterdam and Anne Frank House.
In the afternoon, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, Her Majesty Queen Máxima, Prince Albert went to the Palace Het Loo in Apeldoorn for the opening of the exhibition “Grace Kelly, princess and style icon.
The Language of the Pharaohs
Book presentation; The language of the Pharaohs
By : Buonamassa G.W. Photographer / Reporter.
The Ambassador of Tunisia, Karim Ben Becher invited us on the occasion of the presentation of the new book The Language of the Pharaohs, by the Tunisian specialist hieroglyphic language, Mr Taoufik Ilaoui at the National Museum of Ethnology. The two writers Mr. Taoufik Ilaoui and Mr. Huub Pragt after many years of study reached to discover the meaning and the words behind the signs founded in the Piramids and tempels in Egypt. The writers explained how they could decoded this signs of many thousand years ago .After the presentation Mr. Pragt brought the visitors for a short visit in the area of the Museum reserved for the Old Egypt. Visitors could get impressions of a real PharahosTempel donated from Egypt to Holland.
The visitors and the diplomats where very impressed about the presentation of this book and this beautiful Museum in Leiden.
Think Denmark, think green
Denmark: Think Denmark, think green
By Roy Lie A. Tjam.
The Royal Embassy of Denmark celebrated its nation’s Constitution Day with a well-attended reception at the ambassador’s residence on Thursday 5 June. The event brought together senior officials of Dutch institutions, representatives of the local business community, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and members of the Danish community residing in the Netherlands.
The advent of Constitution Day marks a key point to consider Danish-Dutch relations. The two kingdoms have enjoyed successful diplomatic and commercial relationships for more than two centuries and Mr. Ole E. Moesby is the current Ambassador for the Kingdom of Denmark in the Netherlands.
Ambassador Moesby deems it an honour to be Denmark‘s envoy to the Netherlands, as well as his country’s permanent representative to the OPCW. ‘We are considered one of the happiest peoples in the world. Denmark is also renowned for being an eco-friendly and energy efficient country.
Denmark and the Netherlands have much in common, with both populations inhabiting largely small, flat lands with elevated tax levels, and living in well-organised, egalitarian societies. There is room for further partnership between Denmark and the Netherlands in the field of water management and energy efficiency, with Denmark being awarded the Energy Efficiency Visionary Award in Washington DC in May 2014, therefore its progressive approach to reduce its energy consumption serves as a beacon to the rest of the world. Notably, Denmark’s energy consumption has not increased since 1980, while its industrial production has grown by nearly 80% over the same period.
Ambassador Moesby has been at the heart of his country’s work to be represented on key international fora. He has been working at the Danish Export Credit Council and subsequently joined UNICEF, being assigned to Tanzania in 1985.
He started working at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 1987, focusing on Egypt, the Middle-East, North Africa and Latin America. In 1994, Moesby was appointed to Head of Department for Humanitarian Affairs during the situations in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia. Ole Moesby received a knighthood from The Queen in 1995 and he is now Commander of Dannebrog in 2001-2002, Ambassador Moesby was the Danish ambassador to Zimbabwe, during which time the Embassy was closed. Ambassador Moesby was in 2002 posted as Deputy Representative of Denmark to the UN in New York at a critical time for the establishment of the International Criminal Court.
Ambassador Moesby returned to Copenhagen in 2003 and was appointed to Undersecretary of State responsible for Multilateral Affairs including the UN, World Bank, regional banks and humanitarian as well as development assistance. He was subsequently Denmark’s ambassador to the Czech Republic and Pakistan before moving to The Hague in September 2013.
Ambassador Moesby now lives in The Hague with his wife Lisbeth Schrøder and a son who is studying in the Netherlands.
At Hilton Hotel
Spark up your life!
Enjoy a summer full of cocktails, wines, homemade ice tea’s and SPARK’s Bento-Boxen,
on the new waterside terrace of SPARK in the Hague city centre.
From this weekend on the waterside terrace of SPARK on the Mauritskade (The Hague) will be open.
www.hiltonworldwide.com
King Arthur in the Nieuwe Badkapel Church
King Arthur in the Nieuwe Badkapel Church
On Friday 27 June the Cecilia International Choir of The Hague, together with soloists and a baroque orchestra, will perform Purcell’s King Arthur in the Nieuwe Badkapel church on the Nieuwe Parklaan in Scheveningen. The concert starts at 20:00.
Henry Purcell’s King Arthur is a semi-opera in five acts which was first performed at the Queen’s theatre, London in June 1691. The libretto was written by the Poet Laureate of the day John Dryden. The plot is based on battles between King Arthur’s Britons and invading Saxons in early mediaeval England, and not the well-known Camelot legends. Following the victory of the Britons, the story tells of Arthur’s search for and recovery of his blind fiancée Emmeline who has been kidnapped by his enemy the Saxon King Oswald.
The work is a form of entertainment popular in England in the late 17th century; the so-called Restoration period when the Stuart family was restored to the throne following the death of Oliver Cromwell. It features a whole range of characters: pagans making sacrifices to Germanic gods, patriotic fighting men, supernatural figures such as Cupid and Venus, bucolic nymphs and shepherds and even a chorus of drunken farm workers berating their local priest. Purcell’s music brings all of this to life with lyrical melodies for the soloists (Fairest Isle), stirring tunes for the choir (Come if you Dare) and light-hearted dance rhythms throughout the piece.
The soloists singing with the choir reflect the international nature of the performance; the Korean-American soprano Kristen Witmer and the Canadian soprano Stefanie True, the Israeli-French tenor Lior Lavid Leibovici and the American tenor Scott Mello, and the Finnish bass Jussi Lehtipuu. Overall direction of these soloists, the choir and a 19 piece baroque orchestra is in the hands of Marine Fribourg, a versatile young French musician who is the choir’s full time conductor
The Cecilia International Choir is a mixed voice group of approximately 70 singers which attracts people of many nationalities who enjoy singing in an English speaking environment. In addition to performances of classical works, such as these, the choir gives an annual series of Christmas Carol concerts in December.
Tickets for the 27 June concert, which include an interval refreshment cost 18.00 euros if purchased in advance or 20.00 euros if purchased at the door on the evening of the concert. For schoolchildren and students the price is only 10 euros.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting the choir’s website http://www.cecilia-choir.com or via any member of the choir.
Dutch Deficit
Direct from the European Commission.
NETHERLANDS TAKE 3% STANDARD
The European Commission today decided to convert. Abrogate the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) for the Netherlands
The btp Netherlands was initiated in 2009 and the deadline was extended in 2013 for one year. After the government deficit in 2009 reached a peak of 5.6% of GDP, the Netherlands brought back in 2013 to 2.5% of GDP. According to the Dutch stability program for 2014, the government deficit in 2014 will increase to 2.9% of GDP in 2015 and decline to 2.1% of GDP. According to the spring 2014 forecast by the Commission, the government deficit in 2014 and 2015 would be 2.8% and 1.8% of GDP respectively. The deficit will remain so over the forecast period, below the reference value of 3% of GDP set by the Treaty. The correction complies earlier than planned to the Council Recommendation of 2013 to finish.’s Dutch excessive deficit by 2014
The procedures for Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark and Slovakia are terminated.
There is currently a BTP for 17 EU Member States. This means that all EU Member States except Bulgaria, Germany, Estonia, Italy, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Finland and Sweden under a btp fall. If the Council follows the recommendations of the Commission to terminate the btp for Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands and Slovakia, the total number of countries with BTP will drop to 11. During the spring of 2011, there was no less than 24 Member States btp. The Council of Finance Ministers of the EU will discuss the recommendations of the Commission at the meeting on 20 June in Luxembourg.
What is needed for a excessive deficit procedure to set up? stop
A decision to terminate a BTP is based on a “sustainable correction” of the excessive deficit. Such a correction is only the case if:
- the data for the previous year (in this case 2013) shows that the deficit is below 3% of GDP and
- The Commission forecasts show that the deficit during the forecast period (currently 2014 and 2015) did not exceed 3% of GDP will rise.
French live music
The Alliance française de La Haye presents a matinée concert with 3 different groups and one soloist on Saturday morning June 21st 2014 from 11613h at Museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen / Den Haag :
– Bruno Gatinet, Den Haag : chanson française
– Romy Uittenboogaart, classique (violin solo)
– FRAZZ Quintet, Amsterdam : jazz
– &the 100% francophone female choir LES FATALES, Rotterdam
FETE DE LA MUSIQUE is a big national musical event in France every year on June 21st. Professional and amateur musicians from all artistic horizons and musical styles participate. In recent years the event extended internationally. Today it exists in many other countries, promoting the idea of “music for all” and “everyone can play music” regardless the musical style, the age, the technical conditions etc…
This summer 2014, FETE DE LA MUSIQUE in The Hague introduces a special flavor as being linked to the big exhibition of French contemporary sculptures displayed open air on Lange Voorhout in The Hague and indoors at Museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen. This exhibition, entitled GRANDEUR, will be officially inaugurated by the King of the Netherlands and the French Ambassador on June 17th. The artworks which also include masterpieces of Henri Laurens at Museum Beelden aan Zee can be seen during three months.
FETE DE LA MUSIQUE will then continue on June 21 at Alliance Francaise Rotterdam in the afternoon (16-18h) further on at the Maritiem Museum Rotterdam (18-24h) for an evening concert with 12 groups and 50 musicians in total organized by ENTENTE FRANCOPHONE NETHERLANDS & ALLIANCE FRANCAISE. For more information, call Alliance francaise de La Haye or check following the websites:
www.ententefrancophone.nl
www.beeldenaanzee.nl
www.maritiemmuseum.nl
www.aflahaye.nl
ICC transfers witnesses to Dutch custody
ICC transfers three detained witnesses to Dutch custody
Today, 4 June 2014, three witnesses detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the framework of their testimony before the Court were transferred to the custody of the authorities of The Netherlands. Floribert Ndjabu Ngabu, Sharif Manda Ndadza Dz’Na and Pierre-Célestin Mbodina Iribi were transferred from the ICC detention to the Dutch authorities’ custody in accordance with an order of the ICC Appeals Chamber.
On 20 January 2014, the ICC Appeals Chamber directed the ICC Registrar to return the three witnesses to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s custody, after consultation with the Dutch authorities in order to provide them with the opportunity to take any steps it determines to be necessary in respect of the pending asylum applications of the three witnesses. The Chamber considered that the ICC’s authority to detain individuals was limited to situations where the detention is related to judicial proceedings before the Court and that the ICC could not serve as an administrative detention unit for asylum seekers or persons otherwise involved in judicial proceedings with the Host State or any other state.
The ICC Registrar has been satisfied of the guarantees for these witnesses upon their possible return in the DRC, including that no death penalty would be applicable against them and that the cases for which they were previously detained in the DRC are now on the roster for national proceedings. However, since asylum applications are still awaiting an appeal before Dutch courts, the Dutch authorities have agreed to host the three witnesses pending those decisions.
Background: In 2011, Floribert Ndjabu Ngabu, Sharif Manda Ndadza Dz’Na and Pierre-Célestin Mbodina Iribi were transferred to the ICC, with the cooperation of the DRC authorities, to testify before the ICC in the context of the case The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui. They were transferred from the DRC where they were detained, under the agreement with the Court that they shall be returned under the DRC’s custody after their testimony before the ICC Judges.
However, on 12 May 2011, the witnesses filed asylum requests which are still pending before Dutch courts. The Dutch courts have ordered that the witnesses could not be sent back to the DRC pending the conclusion of the proceedings before them.