Second meeting of ‘The Hague Gateway to the World’
Mr Mayor, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
On 14 February 2005, Rafiq Hariri died in a massive car bombing in Beirut, which killed 22 other people. Consequently, the UN Security Council adopted a Resolution calling for the establishment of a Special Tribunal. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, officially invited the Netherlandsto consider hosting the Tribunal and cited the “unique and essential role of the Netherlands” in the development of international justice and the rule of law. On 15 August 2007, the Dutch Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, informed the Secretary-General that the Government of the Netherlandswas favourably disposed to hosting the Special Tribunal in the city of The Hague.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Hague plays an important role in international law. Many organisations of international law have their headquarters here, and the city is also home to international courts and tribunals. It is no coincidence that the Netherlands and the city of The Hague have attained a prominent position in the area of international law. This is part of our history. Following the rebellion against the Spanish crown in 1581, the Netherlands became the second true republic in Europe, after Venice. This made it completely different from the other sovereign states. The Dutch Republicestablished a tradition of intellectual and, to a certain extent, religious tolerance and became a true civilian society, with an economy based to a large extent on foreign trade and therefore with a great interest in international peace. This attitude has always been a constant in our foreign policy.
Answering to a growing need for rules to settle cross-border private law disputes, the first conferences on international private law were organised in The Hagueat the end of the 19th century. It was for this reason that the tsar of Russiachose The Hagueas the city in which to hold the first international peace conference in 1899. Unfortunately, and despite a second Peace Conference of The Hague in 1907, just fifteen years later we saw the outbreak of the First World War.
Ladies and gentlemen,
As one of the smaller European nations, the Netherlandshas always been willing to give up some of its sovereignty in favour of international arrangements. In my opinion, this is the only way to achieve a peaceful world order under the rule of law. Peace and the rule of law form the basis on which to build safety and security.
As matters presently stand within the European Union, the reluctance of some Member States to give up part of their own sovereignty is an obstacle to more effective cooperation in the area of justice. And such cooperation is sorely needed. Therefore, within the concept of Europeat variable speed, some Member States decided to act together and lead the way before the others in the framework ofthe Prüm Convention. This convention provides for cross-border cooperation to combat terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration. In this convention, Austria, Germany, Spain, France and the Benelux countries have committed themselves to give up a small part of their national sovereignty, so as to make possible a more effective operational cooperation, combined with a good system of data protection. This is a necessary step if we are to improve our cooperation in criminal law in Europe.
In the coming years, combating terrorism will continue to be decisive for further developments in cooperation by judicial and police authorities. But let us not be mistaken: it implies a watershed in our cooperation. Thus far, our cooperation was based on requests for mutual assistance, requests for aid in investigating and prosecuting crimes that had been committed. Combating terrorism involves crimes that have not yet been committed, in which interventions must be made without prior requests. The Member States must be able to rely on it that, when one Member State discovers a conspiracy against another one, without being so asked, it will take the same actions as if it were a conspiracy against itself. It should make no difference whether we trace, observe and possibly even arrest persons who are planning an attack in our own country or in another one.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Security is an important theme at the national level as well. The present Coalition Agreement on which this administration is based, devotes a chapter to the very subject. It places emphasis on the prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour. The project – Security Starts with Prevention – is based on integrated actions by local authorities and the national government, on preventive efforts in combination with repression. Themes include aggression and violence, anti-social behaviour and inner-city rehabilitation, organised crime, crime in business and industry and many more.
In the past decades, there has been a strong rise in aggressive behaviour and violence in our society. This causes not only much suffering and great losses to the victims but contributes to feelings of insecurity in society as a whole. All the more reason to make substantial investments in reducing the number of violent crimes.
People generally feel less safe in dilapidated areas and places that in some way invite anti-social behaviour. Here too, cooperation between the various players is the solution. Only if local authorities and other parties cooperate very closely in this, we may achieve the much needed results.
In addition, we aim for a more robust approach to organised crime, fraud and cybercrime. Organised crime threatens the integrity of society as a whole. This demands a powerful and effective response.
A safe entrepreneurial climate is crucial for our economies and our society. Additionally, business undertakings are important links in the security chain of every municipality, every local neighbourhood. For this reason we want to take concrete measures so that crime against business and industry can be considerably reduced within the foreseeable future.
But the way in which we fight crime is also of great influence on the result. And so we opt for a personal approach to young people who are at risk and to repeat offenders. Sometimes this will have to be a hard-nosed approach, sometimes there are other ways of getting delinquents back on the rails, sometimes we will need a combination of the two.
Under the inspiring leadership of Mayor Deetman, the municipalityof The Hague is working hard to make the city safer. During working visits we saw how the municipality tries to prevent multiple offenders from committing even more offences; how the Quality Mark for Safe Enterprise leads to joint initiatives of local businesses, the local authorities, the police and fire department, and how The Hague achieves results with its bicycle theft project (a typically Dutch problem.) So here too, The Hague may rightly call itself a city of Peace, Safety and the Rule of Law.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Former Finnish president Urho Kekkonen once said, “Security is not achieved by building walls, but by opening doors.” To achieve security, we cannot remain introverted, not at an international, not at a national, and not at a local level. Only by understanding one another better, by trusting one another and by venturing to give up something of our own powers do we open the door to a safe society, for ourselves and for our children.
Thank you for your attention.