the hague

Corneliu Bjola and Ilan Manor of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group on The Hague Digital Diplomacy Camp that occurred earlier this month.

The Hague Digital Diplomacy Camp

The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers a video recap of the February 2 unconference that took place in The Hague.

Former U.S. officials and analysts say the State Department will launch a public diplomacy campaign after the ruling is handed down, arguing that it is a landmark decision that can set an example for the peaceful resolution of disputes both in Southeast Asia and beyond. “I think the U.S. strategy is to encourage as many countries as possible to come out in favor of the court and to encourage China to abide by it,” said Glaser of CSIS. 

MH17 has left Dutch society in a state of mid-summer anaesthesia. Exactly 25 years after the end of the Cold War, and 20 years after the Srebrenica genocide that left more than 8,000 dead in a UN ‘safe area’ under Dutch command, the shooting down of KLM double tagged Malaysian Airlines MH17 is another defining moment for the Netherlands’ external relations.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague rightly ordered Japan to stop its current whaling program in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary around Antarctica, a large reserve established by the International Whaling Commission. The United Nations’ highest court came down clearly on the side of conservation and international opinion.

Over the last eight months, a series of surprise rulings at the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has sparked extraordinary controversy in the staid world of international law. Critics say the decisions weakened World War II-era precedents that hold commanders responsible for war crimes. Supporters say their impact is being exaggerated and the judge associated with them is being unfairly maligned.

President kibaki, PM raila and mediator kofi Annan: No one disputes the fact that the power sharing arrangement did not turn out as expected as Kibaki and his side of the coalition grabbed more power than envisioned in the coalition and basically reduced Raila to a minority partner.