Exchanging experiences on economic and social development
21 participants from various part of the world participated in the training course Local Economic Development, that was organised this month by The Hague Academy for Local Governance. They discussed strategies for fostering economic growth in relation to poverty reduction and social protection. Visits were paid to the municipalities of The Hague and Westland, where they learned about projects to promote entrepreneurship, agriculture and youth employment.
The participants came from:
Kenya (UNDP and Social Reform Centre)
BosniaHerzegovina (Municipality of Bijeljina)
Sudan (Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation)
South Africa (BuffaloCity, Amathole District and GeorgeMunicipality)
Palestine (Municipal Development and Lending Fund, GIZ and VNG International)
Jordan (Ministry of Interior)
Egypt (UNDP)
Ukraine (LvivMunicipality)
Ethiopia (BahirDarUniversity)
Rwanda (Association of Local Government Authorities)
Nepal (Gorkha District Development Committee)
Bangladesh (BetagaMunicipality)
Pakistan (East Karachi District)
Indonesia (Article 33 – NGO)
Comments from two participants:
“Excellent course, broad scope of content, excellent presenters with broad international experience. Maybe the single biggest plus for me was the international mix of inputs and shared learning” and: “We should try to give the message that, even a country is fragile and unstable in relation to government changes, LED could still bring some positive changes.”
First course for diplomats successful
The ‘High-level course on Dutch politics’ for foreign diplomats, organised by The Hague Political Academy, has been highly appreciated by the participants. Reactions from the first class ever were enthusiastic: ‘ Very interesting’, ’exactly what diplomats need’, ‘lecturer was knowledgeable and insightful’ and ‘guest speakers outstanding’ and also ‘warm informal atmosphere’ and ‘venue, organisation and service very good’. Suggestions from participants for next courses are being taken into account.
The course intends to familiarize members of the corps diplomatique in The Hague with political and cultural life in the Netherlands.
The main topics that were dealt with were: characteristics of the Dutch society and culture, the political system (monarchy, government, parliament) and the working of democracy in practice, populism, minorities, foreign and European policies, also in historical perspective, the cabinet Rutte-Asscher and the working of the old and new media in the Netherlands. Lecturer was Dr. Bob van den Bos, political scientist and a former member of the Dutch and European Parliament.
Several distinguished guest speakers also shared their experience and insights with the participants. Thom de Graaf, former deputy prime minister and minister for constitutional reform elaborated on the functioning of the democratic functioning of the institutions, prof. Laurens Jan Brinkhorst, former deputy prime minister, minister of agriculture, economic affairs and state secretary for Foreign Affairs treated in depth the European policies. The prominent journalists Jan van Groesen, former deputy chief of the National News Agency ANP and Mark Kranenburg, diplomatic editor of NRC-Handelsblad explained the working of the Dutch media. All the participants received a certificate at the end of the course.
Given the success of the first course The Academy will organise new courses in the Springtime.
STANDING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Boy Frank
Course Manager, The Hague Political Academy;
Adrian Banica
Trainee, Romanian Embassy;
Eugenio Matos.
Minister Counselor, Dominican Republic Embassy in The Hague.
Caroline Whelan, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ireland;
Lucia Rodriguez Fetzer, Consul, Embassy of Guatemala;
Thom de Graaf, Member of Parliament, Former Deputy Prime Minister;
Bob van den Bos, Director, The HaguePoliticalAcademy;
András Kocsis, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Hungary;
SITTING FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
Safe Kabbashi, Special Tribunal for Lebanon;
Mrs. Mayelinne De Lara.
Department of International Trade and Exportation, Dominican Republic.
Margie van Gijn, Head of Information, Protocol and P.R.
Cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten;
Josianne Fleming-Artsen, Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten.
Photo by: Marina Votyakova (Assistant Course Manager, The Hague Political Academy)
You will find more details in the upcoming editions of this Magazine.
Information: http://www.thehaguepoliticalacademy.nl
Prime Minister of Aruba Mr. Mike Eman in The Hague
For pictures about this event please click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98057281@N02/sets/ A special reception was hosted by the Prime Minister of Aruba Mr. Mike Eman and Mrs. Doina Eman-Neagoy to celebrate 200 years of kingdom of The Netherlands. At this occasion it was also time to say farewell to Minister Edwin Abath and Mrs. Dynia Abath-Muller. Mr. Abath represented Aruba for several years in the Netherlands and welcomed his successor Mr. Alfonso Boekhout and Mrs. Hanneke Boekhout-Koetse.
Action Plan for expediting the criminal process
Paper circulated by the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Action Plan for expediting the criminal process of the International Criminal Court
- The Court has now been in existence for over ten years. During this time a significant amount of experience has been collected relating to the conduct of proceedings. The Court has produced two reports on Lessons Learned.[1] In the first report a range of issues were identified. The eleventh Assembly of States Parties (ASP) endorsed a Roadmap aimed at expediting the Criminal process of the Court.
- Under the broad heading of ‘governance’, the Study Group on Governance (SGG) aims to facilitate an ongoing and constructive dialogue with the organs of the Court to increase the Court’s efficiency and expedite its proceedings. Apart from facilitating consultations on amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence (RPE), the proximity of the SGG to the Court in The Hague allows it to engage in a variety of ways with the Court. In doing so, the SGG works in close cooperation with States and other partners, including other international criminal courts and tribunals, experts and NGOs.
- The Study Group on Governance has, for the twelfth session of the Assembly, submitted proposals for amendments to the RPE, as well as proposals aimed at improving the Roadmap. The SGG has established an excellent working relationship with the Court in this area. The active participation of the Court in the process of expediting the criminal process has proven to be indispensable.
- Although important progress has been made, States Parties believe that work to expedite the criminal process of the court needs to be accelerated. It is therefore proposed that the ASP decides:
- that the Court further analyse issues under the “Pre-Trial and Trial relationship and common issues” cluster. Special attention should be given, in particular, to the issues of disclosure, additional evidence for trial, presentation of evidence and record of proceedings. Other issues under that cluster could also be addressed. The analysis should seek to identify the most important bottlenecks in these areas. This Court should propose measures to deal with these bottlenecks. Such proposed measures could include amendments to the RPE. Also other measures should, however, be considered as appropriate. The Court should present their proposed course of action early in 2014, with a view to presenting them to the SGG by summer 2014. The annual report, which would include the outcome of the presentation, should be provided in good time before the 13th session of the ASP.
- to welcome the intention of the Court to look further into the “Language Issues” cluster and make proposals including, but not limited to, amendments to the RPE. Such proposals should be processed in accordance with the revised Road Map.
- In its work the SGG could, where appropriate, take note of the relevant work by external stakeholders directed at improving the efficiency of the Court. The SGG might, on its own initiative, and in close cooperation with the Court, carry out further analysis based on such work.
- The SGG should at the next session of the Assembly present concrete proposals for decisions to be taken by the ASP in all the above areas.
Nuclear summit 2014 biggest ever
Nuclear security summit will be biggest ever in the Netherlands
From Dutch News, Amsterdam. The two-day nuclear security summit hosted in The Hague next year is the biggest international conference ever held in the Netherlands, according to foreign minister Frans Timmermans. Some 50 world leaders are expected to attend the March event, including Russian leader Vladimir Putin and United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. US president Barack Obama has not yet said if he will attend ‘but we have not yet heard that he is not coming,’ Timmermans told a news conference on Monday. The NSS is an Obama initiative and was launched in 2009 in an effort to ensure nuclear material does not fall into terrorists’ hands. The first summit was held in Washington in 2013, the second in Seoul last year. The Dutch summit will involve 5,000 participants and 3,000 journalists and will cost some €24m to stage, excluding security, the Volkskrant reported. King Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima will host a dinner for senior participants in the Huis ten Bosch palace on the first evening. – See more at: http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2013/11/nuclear_security_summit_will_b.php#sthash.h3N0b24p.dpufThe Prosecutor v. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
Direct from the ICC.
Situation: The Republic of Kenya
Case: The Prosecutor v. Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta
Today, 26 November 2013, Trial Chamber V(b) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reconsidered its previous decision excusing Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta from continuous presence at trial, in light of the legal clarifications provided by the Appeals Chamber in its recent judgment on the matter.
Trial Chamber V(b) held that as a general rule, Mr Kenyatta must be present at trial. Any future requests to be excused from attending parts of the trial will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Chamber reasoned that the Appeals Judgment, delivered on 25 October 2013 in the case The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang, provided important new information which justified the reconsideration. The Appeals Chamber had concluded that a Trial Chamber enjoys discretion under article 63(1), which states that “[t]he accused shall be present during the trial”, but that such discretion was limited. TheAppeals Chamber had ruled that absence is only permissible under exceptional circumstances, and must be limited to that which is strictly necessary. It further held that the decision as to whether the accused may be excused from attending part of his or her trial must be taken on a case-by-case basis.
Background: On 18 October 2013, Trial Chamber V(b) had conditionally granted the Defence’s request to excuse Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta from continuous presence at his trial, with the exception of the following sessions: the opening and closing statements of all parties and participants, hearings when victims present their views and concerns in person, the delivery of judgment, and any other attendance ordered by the Chamber. If applicable, his presence will also be required at sentencing hearings, the delivery of sentence, the entirety of victim impact hearings, and reparation hearings.
On 28 October 2013, the Prosecution filed a motion for reconsideration of the 18 October decision, in which it requested the Chamber to vacate the excusal decision and revert to the general rule under article 63(1).
Mr Kenyatta is charged, as an indirect co-perpetrator, with five counts of crimes against humanity consisting of murder, deportation or forcible transfer, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts allegedly committed during the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007-2008. Charges were confirmed on 23 January 2012, and the case was committed to trial before Trial Chamber V(b). His trial is scheduled to commence on 5 February 2014.
Further information on this case is available here.
Germany introduced Judge Bertram Schmitt
By Bonnie Klap.
Fridaynight His Excellency Mr. Franz Josef Kremp, Ambassador of Germany, hosted a cocktail-party in his residence Huis Schuylenburch to introduce Judge Bertram Schmitt, the candidate of Germany to the International Criminal Court 2014 elections.
Many members of the Diplomatic Corps and international organizations attended. Mr. Bertram Schmitt has been an ad hoc Judge at the European Court of Human Rights and is also an honorary Professor of criminal law at the University of Würzburg.
Since 2005 Mr. Schmitt is a Judge at the “Bundesgerichtshof,” Germany’s highest Court of Justice.
For more pictures about this event please click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98057281@N02/sets
Spectacular National Day Oman
By Bonnie Klap.
Click here for more beautiful pictures of this very special National Day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/98057281@N02/sets/
The Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Kingdom of The Netherlands, Muhammed bin Harub Al Said, hosted a grand reception on the occasion of the 43rd National Day Anniversary.
The Ambassador started his speech in excellent Dutch, which impressed not only the many Dutch guests, but for which he received ample praise from former Prime Minister Professor Jan Peter Balkenende and Professor Andreas van Agt, both guests of honour this evening. Hundreds of guests had come to congratulate the Ambassador underscoring the importance of the bilateral relations between Oman and The Netherlands.
Netherlands to launch bilateral cooperation forums with Israel and Palestinian Territories
From 7 to 9 December 2013, Prime Minister Mark Rutte will visit Israel and the Palestinian Territories to launch bilateral cooperation forums with the two administrations.
He will be accompanied by Frans Timmermans, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Lilianne Ploumen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. They will be joined later in Israel by Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs. Dutch trade delegations will travel to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The bilateral cooperation forums will strengthen the Netherlands’ good bilateral relations with Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The overarching theme of both forums is about innovation, with the initial emphasis on agrifood, energy, and water. For the Palestinian Territories, digital technology is also important. As well as government bodies, the forums’ participants include businesses, research institutes, and non-governnmental organisations. The Netherlands wants to use its good relations with Israel and the Palestinian Territories to contribute where possible to peace and security in the Middle East. The bilateral cooperation forums will be held once every two years, alternately in the Netherlands and respectively in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The Netherlands has similar cooperation agreements with France, Germany, and Poland.Angola ‘Rumo ao Progresso’
