Reintegration of Returning Migrants
‘Opportunities and Challenges’: International Conference on the Reintegration of Returning Migrants
Exploring the opportunities and challenges migrants face in their reintegration process when returning from the Netherlands. That was the main aim of the international conference organized by IOM in The Hague on 3 April 2014, which was part of a three day programme funded by the European Return Fund, with co-funding from the Dutch Repatriation and Departure Service.
The conference was attended by more than 100 representatives from the diplomatic community, the Dutch government, the European Union, civil society, Academia, as well as by IOM missions, government representatives and NGOs from China, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Libya, Mongolia, Morocco, Suriname, Belgium and Switzerland. As IOM the Netherlands in 2013 assisted 50% of its returnees with in-kind reintegration support, the conference dealt specifically with the necessity for in-kind reintegration modalities, including the importance of professional pre-departure and post-arrival counselling, and the advantages related to delivering it.
On 2 April IOM organized field visits for the participants from the counties of origin. During these visits potential returnees in various parts of the Netherlands received first-hand information about return and reintegration options. On the day after the Conference, 4 April, delegations of the countries of origin met with their diplomatic representations in the Netherlands and Dutch government officials for further bilateral discussions.
The programme supported the need to evaluate the impact of reintegration assistance provided under Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) projects, as well as to strengthen the coordination among different stakeholders in the return and reintegration process. With the outcomes of the conference, IOM aims to contribute to future policies and practices that will enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of voluntary return and reintegration. The final results will be composed in an e-booklet, which will be available on the IOM website soon (www.iom-nederland.nl).
Women as agents of change in peacebuilding processes
Matthijs van der Beek, UPEACE Centre The Hague .
Summary of the lecture by Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support, on 7 March 2014.
The kick-off of the lecture series “Peace Building in Progress” by UPEACE Centre The Hague took place on Friday 7 March in the Academy Building of the Peace Palace. In these lectures various speakers will have the opportunity to share their views on peace and peacebuilding policies. We were honoured to welcome an important and passionate speaker, Ms. Judy Cheng-Hopkins, who works as the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support for the United Nations. Moreover, she is a Member of the Council for the University for Peace in Costa Rica, which indicates her interest in the relevance of peace education.
Her lecture dealt with the developments in peacebuilding and the many challenges that lie ahead for the United Nations (UN) and all parties involved. As stated in the short introduction by our Chairman Marius Enthoven, it is often uncertain what “peacebuilding” is about. It was upon Judy Cheng-Hopkins to explain to a very mixed audience, made up of policymakers, representatives from NGOs, universities and students, what the UN are aiming at in their peacebuilding missions and what problems need to be tackled before conflicting parties can realize sustainable peace. Currently, the UN undertake fifteen peacekeeping operations worldwide and one special political mission in Afghanistan. Such operations on the ground do not complete what is considered to be “the peacebuilding process”. According to Cheng-Hopkins, peacebuilding in a UN context can best be understood as a long and difficult process from war to sustainable peace, consisting of very different stages. During conflict and wars this process already starts early with humanitarian assistance and mediation between, preferably, the conflicting parties and UN representatives. Once a ceasefire has been achieved and the UN are mandated by the Security Council to launch a peacekeeping operation, blue helmets need to avoid relapses into violence and must provide protection to civilians. At the same time they assist, along with mediators and NGOs, in many forms of peacebuilding measures, such as the implementation of peace agreements, power-sharing arrangements, strengthening the rule of law and social and economic development. Thus peacekeeping operations encompass not only the observance of ex-combatants, but also the building of institutions that are ideally capable in providing justice and socio-economic recovery. In many cases, however, reality shows different outcomes compared to the high expectations among the UN and the international community. Over a period of more than sixty years of UN peacebuilding missions, Cheng-Hopkins argued, post-conflict societies faced many problems that prevent a future of peace and harmony. Among these general problems she distinguished relapses into violence, military domination by some groups (at the expense of civil society), high levels of corruption, and no access to education for youth. States often remain fragile in this manner, since violence disrupts any further development. Why then are the peacebuilding operations so important? According to Cheng-Hopkins, the involvement of a supra-national body as the UN can play a vital role in peacebuilding by helping the conflicting parties through the above mentioned stages. Knowledge about peacebuilding has grown over the last decades, thanks to a large amount of research, peace education and practical experience. Since the international community has the capacity to assist in (post-) conflict societies, there is no good reason to stay aside. Conflicts ask our attention because instability can have major consequences across the borders if one thinks for example about terrorism, drugs trafficking and refugee streams. Although the UN peacekeeping operations can assist in state-building processes in many ways, the current strategies are also lacking. Cheng-Hopkins identifies the exclusion of women from the peacebuilding process as the greatest gap in UN’s policy. She argued that women are the ultimate victims of conflicts, suffering from miserable family circumstances and sexual violence by soldiers. But seeing them as victims only does neglect that women can also be “agents of change”. In many (conflict) societies women are responsible for agriculture, raising their children and in providing most other family needs. From a grassroots level, she believes, women can fulfil all kinds of peacebuilding roles, but in order to achieve that, the peacebuilding paradigm must change. UN operations are mainly targeted on men when it comes to peacebuilding measures and are therefore inherently biased. Only over the past ten to fifteen years women issues received more and more attention among UN bodies. Promoting the role of women in peacebuilding is not easy, however, since there are several obstacles. Many societies ignore or downgrade the role of women in public life and should undergo a cultural change before these ambitious ideas by Cheng-Hopkins can be put in practice. The current peacebuilding mission in Liberia proved that such cultural change is difficult, when only safe projects are financed by the UN and the international community. Thus to educate men within conflict societies about the benefits of women participation in peace processes and to change traditional role patterns, requires a strong belief and cooperation among the UN, international organizations and business leaders who work together. Peace education that acknowledges the role of women as “everyday peacebuilders” can be an important tool in changing the paradigm and in opening the way to perhaps a more effective strategy of peacebuilding. www.upeace.nlICC opens a preliminary examination in Ukraine
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, opens a preliminary examination in Ukraine
On 17 April 2014, the Government of Ukraine lodged a declaration under Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute accepting the jurisdiction of the International criminal Court (ICC) over alleged crimes committed on its territory from 21 November 2013 to 22 February 2014.
Upon receipt of a referral or a declaration made by a state pursuant to Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute, the Office of the Prosecutor, as a matter of policy, opens a preliminary examination of the situation at hand. Accordingly, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, has decided to open a preliminary examination into the situation in Ukraine in order to establish whether the Rome Statute criteria for opening an investigation are met. Specifically, under Article 53(1) of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor shall consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice.
The Cypriote-Dutch relationship dates back to the Middle-ages
By the Ambassador of Cyprus, Dr Kyriacos Kouros.
First contact between the Cypriots and the Dutch took place in the late 16th century. It had to do mainly with isolated visits of pilgrims en route to the near-by Holy Lands.
The oldest Dutch text available so far is by a student of ecclesiastical law at the Utrecht University named Iohann van Kootwyck who set foot on Cyprus in 1598 – 1599 on his way to and from Jerusalem and made extensive references to his impressions and observations in the island.
The contemporary state of affairs
Cypriote-Dutch relations have nothing worthwhile to display until 1960 when the Republic of Cyprus was established and the two states started building ties. When Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004 and the EUROZONE in 2008, mutual goals and common aspirations took the relationship on the next level.
The Cypriot-Dutch bilateral track remains quite active. Only this year so far, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans and Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem under his capacity as EUROZONE President paid separate visits to Cyprus. Cypriote visitors to the Netherlands included Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis who came to talk about prospects in the domain of energy, following the discovery of significant amounts of natural gas off-shore the island; and the Permanent Secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Alexandros Zenon, also paid a working visit. More ministerial visits are on the making. Apart from the Embassy of Cyprus in The Hague, we also operate an office for the promotion of Cypriote tourism in Amsterdam. Cyprus is a fascinating destination for those who like spending quality time under the sun in marvelous beaches, swimming in crystal clear seas, enjoying Mediterranean cuisine and night life, appreciating environmental friendly holidays, and exploring a family-oriented destination with thousands of years of civilization attractions including stone age settlements, Greco-Roman sites, Byzantine and Muslim places of worship, medieval castles, and all this located in an area the size of one fourth of the Netherlands! A ship registry office is also operates in Rotterdam since maritime affairs are contributing substantially to our economy. Our Registry ranks tenth among international fleets and third within the EU! The political situation in Cyprus To those of us who follow developments in international affairs, the prevailing situation in Cyprus is an anomaly in contemporary Europe. This is an EU member-state a large part of which is under a 40-year occupation by a foreign army of an EU membership candidate! A no man’s land between the cease-fire lines patrolled by UN peace keeping force UNFICYP also provides for a mistaken impression of a “border”! The Netherlands was one of the countries which contributed a contingent and since their first arrival in 1998 more than 900 Dutch had served in UNFICYP. In February 2014 a fresh round of fully-fledged negotiations for a viable Cyprus settlement has been launched. This is the sixth such attempt under the UN Secretary General’s good services. We hope it will be the last attempt for the benefit of all concerned stakeholders on a local, regional and international level. The important of the natural gas findings Cyprus can play a significant role in the energy security of the EU and our Eastern Mediterranean region’s stability due to the natural gas reserves discovered off shore of Cyprus. However, there is an urgent need to adopt a common EU policy, with a view to secure energy security in the wider region, that will not only be positive for EU but for the Middle East as well. If you wish to learn more about Cyprus in general, we suggest the following website: http://www.aboutcyprus.org.cy/. If you want to travel to Cyprus for holidays, we suggest you seek advice from the website www.visitcyprus.com/ but be very careful if you seek advice from other websites due to the prevailing situation in CyprusThe International Chamber Music Festival in Wassenaar
By John Dunkelgrün
Music lovers who come to The Netherlands delight in the performances of the well known orchestras, not a few of true world class. Less known are the many smaller ensembles and organizations all over the country that specialize in a particular aspect of music. One such is the International Chamber Music Festival in Wassenaar. Started four years ago its aim is to provide really great chamber music for people in Wassenaar and surroundings. They started a music festival that is getting more and more attention as well as critical acclaim. The festival this year, in the “Dorpskerk” (village church), in the beach pavilion “Sport” and in “De Paauw”, the stately old town hall, will take place on May 23, 24 and 25. Not only is the quality of the music of the highest standard, the small town atmosphere makes the performances uncommonly “gezellig”.
For information and tickets, please go to www.icmf.nl
Remembrance / Kwibuka
By Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland, Justice (Judge) in the Court of Appeal and Special Advisor International Affairs of the Municipality of The Hague
This year it is hundred years ago that World War I started as we all know. As you might know The Netherlands were not involved directly. But some of the remembrances take place here as well. On Friday April 25th I was present at ANZAC Day: on April 25th 1915 the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) entered –very far from their homeland- World War I in the Turkish peninsula Gallipoli (Gelibulo in Turkish) in one of the most terrible fights of that horrible war. Ever since the Australians and New Zealanders have their ANZAC Day on April 25th all over the world and so that happens in The Hague every year as well. At Westduin Cemetery. An impressive ceremony during which the Australian ambassador H.E. Mr. Neil Mules AO told the many Australian and New Zealanders in The Netherlands as well as many ambassadors and several Dutch such as former Defence minister Hans Hillen, representatives of the Dutch armed forces, the ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Royal Household, that Australia lost 8.700 men in that fight and New Zealand 2.700. In his speech the Turkish ambassador H.E. Mr. Sadik Arslan told us that even 250.000 Turkish soldiers died in only that fight that lasted several weeks against many more countries than Australia and New Zealand alone. It must have been a nightmare in spring of 1915.
Much more recently another nightmare took place with even almost one million deaths: the Rwanda genocide in 1994. And that nightmare has also its yearly remembrance – in Rwanda called: kwibuka – and again in the Netherlands that happens in The Hague. I was present on Monday April 7 in The Hague City Hall . The Rwandan ambassador H.E. Mr. Jean Pierre Karabanga told us that in hundred days almost one million Tutsis have been killed by fellow Rwandans, almost 10.000 a day……… and the world did nothing.
a.beelaerts@planet.nl
Summer Programme on International and European Environmental Law: Facing the Challenges?
By Dr Wybe Th. Douma, Senior researcher EU Law and International Trade Law, T.M.C. Asser Instituut
From 25 – 29 August 2014, the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in cooperation with the European Environmental Law (EEL) Network and the Hague Environmental Law Facility (HELF) organises its first Summer Programme on International and European Environmental Law.
This uniquely designed and intensive one-week programme intents to provide a thorough analysis of recent developments and selected issues of International and European Environmental Law. By focusing on global instruments as well as the manner in which the European Union implements such instruments, the programme contributes to a better understanding of the ways in which global environmental challenges can be tackled effectively in practice. Moreover, it will be critically examined whether the existing global and EU regimes are robust enough to face the environmental challenges of today and tomorrow. For instance, the climate change regimes, and the prospects for future regimes will be dealt with by experts involved in EU and international climate negotiations.
The programme will consist of interactive lectures by renowned experts from academia and practice, and study-visits to relevant institutions and organisations. It will focus on compliance and enforcement measures of International and European Environmental Law, and will be structured around horizontal topics and sector related issues. In this manner, a wide variety of topics will be covered including climate and energy law, the role of the judiciary (notably the European Court of Justice and the International Court of Justice) in protection of the environment, sustainable management of natural resources, international trade in dangerous substances, liability for environmental damage, water law, and environmental protection under the EU-USA Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Confirmed speakers include Prof. Jan Jans (University of Groningen), Prof. Nico Schrijver (Leiden University), Leonardo Massai (Catholic University of Lille), Jürgen Lefevere (Adviser, Climate Policy and International Negotiations at European Commission’s DG Climate) and Jens Hamer (German Federal Court of Auditors, previously working at the European Court of Justice).
The programme is directed towards practitioners (civil servants, lawyers, NGO representatives etc.) and researchers who deal with the protection of the environment.
You can register by completing the online application form at: www.asser.nl/SummerProgrammeEEL. The deadline for application is 14 July 2014. For more information please visit asser.nl or contact educationtraining@asser.nl
Holland, theme year at Keukenhof
The tulip is the distinctive icon of the Netherlands throughout the world. And as the Keukenhof’s theme for 2014 is Holland, it can do no other than give the tulip centre stage. Holland = Tulips = Keukenhof.
With its millions of tulips in thousands of varieties, the Keukenhof has been unparalleled for some 65 years. And as this year’s theme is Holland, the tulip will take even more of a starring role. A new interactive exhibition has been designed in the Juliana Pavilion on the history of the tulip, 17th Century tulip mania, today’s tulip as contemporary icon and modern tulip cultivation.
Authentic tulips from the 16th and 17th Centuries will flower in the renewed Historic Garden. The Walk of Fame will be home to recently christened tulips and tulips named after famous people, such as Vincent van Gogh, Rembrandt, Andre Kuipers, Rob Verlinden and Hans Klok. And the highlight of the theme year, the flower bulb mosaic depicting an Amsterdam canal scene with a tulip as large as a canal house. The 23 x 13-metre mosaic is planted with 60,000 tulips and muscaris. The design symbolises tulip mania during the Golden Age.
Tulips from Amsterdam is known across the world. The typical Amsterdam atmosphere created in the Orange Nassau Pavilion includes, of course, an Amsterdam flower stall designed as backdrop for the flower shows. The Holland theme also highlighted in the restaurants, which include a traditional Dutch pancake restaurant. Events at Keukenhof are all about Holland, with Dutch music on 29 and 30 March, and a traditional Dutch weekend on 5 and 6 April. For the very youngest, Miffy – or Nijntje, the Netherlands most famous rabbit – will visit Keukenhof for Easter. And at Keukenhof on 26 and 27 April you can experience the Taste of Holland.
Kings Day from Buonamassa
Without further comments, five pictures=five million best wishes during Kings Day, 2014 in the Netherlands, directly from the lenses of Diplomat Magazine’s photographer Walter Buonamassa. 
Cameroon…Uncovering a Tourists Heaven
————————————————————————————————————————–By H.E Mrs. Odette Melono, Cameroon’s Ambassador to the Netherlands
Cameroon stands out with a genuine identity. An identity reinforced with references such as “Africa in miniature”, “All Africa in one”, “the throbbing heart of Africa”, “Small Africa”, “the melting port of Africa” and “Africa in Microcosm”. All these references for one country already tell you a lot of what Cameroon really is. She concentrates all the beauties of Africa as one of the most culturally diverse countries on the African continent which valuates ‘the essentials of Africa’. This explains why people consider that nobody could truly discover Africa without having visited Cameroon, because it provides tourists with a unique spectacle giving them the impression that they are visiting several countries at the same time. It is a nation that expresses dynamism, diversity, modernity and traditions, stability, and calm all at once.
Although Cameroon is universally known for its football legends like Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o, many are yet to discover Cameroon as a Tourist and cultural heaven. Cameroon is characterized by several (sultry mosaic of) volcanoes, white sand beaches, black volcanic sand beaches, Waza National Park, Dja Fauna Reserve, Korup National Park, the once-powerful Mandara Kingdom from 1500s or the Diy-Gid-Biy with 300 years old stone monuments; the 3000 years old man made Rupestral Engravings of Bidzar, the Archeological Remains of Shum Laka; the Bafut Chiefdom etc. There are rainforests with exceptional variety of flora and fauna, magnificent landscapes, the legendary 4100m high Mount Cameroon likened by Hano the Carthaginian navigator to the biblical “Chariot of the Gods”. There is the relation between tribal societies and modern cities, the cohabitation of traditional and democratic leadership, two official languages and more than 250 tribes and dialects. Why invest in Cameroon Peace is one of Cameroon’s priceless advantages. With a friendly and hospitable population, abundant natural resources, high literacy rate, investors easily find a ready-made labor force. Cameroon has 65% fertile agricultural land making it one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon maintains her long-stated goal to be an emerging market economy by 2035. Investors have opportunities in Agriculture and forestry, Energy, Mining, infrastructure, Transport, Telecommunications sectors etc, and benefit from a new investment code since 2013 given new tax incentives and exemptions on VAT and duties. Cameroon’s 50th Anniversary of Reunification The recent celebration of Cameroon’s 50th anniversary of Reunification this year consolidated Cameroon’s unity. On 1 October 1961, French and British administered Cameroons officially reunited after 45 years of separate administration. 1 October 1961 has tremendous significance as one of the most important dates in Cameroon’s history. This date beckons on all Cameroonians to accept, recognize and protect the various diversities in the country because it is a pacifying sign of inclusion and recognition…a sign that should be replicated in every facet of our daily interactions.