IWPR Launches Dutch charity

In March, staff in the Hague office celebrated becoming a registered Dutch charity – Stichting IWPR-Nederland – at a ceremony attended by journalists, diplomats, legal experts and jurists from international tribunals, including the ICC.

According to Justice Julia Sebutinde, a judge in the trial of Charles Taylor at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone, IWPR’s output is very important

“The Hague is the international city of peace and justice, so it is fitting that IWPR-Nederland is established here to strengthen the Institute’s long-standing commitment to international justice reporting,” said Frans Kok, secretary of the board of IWPR-Nederland, and former political editor of Holland’s leading daily newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, at the ceremony.

IWPR has reported on trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, since the court was established in the 1990s.

“The Hague is committed to international justice, and we are proud to have IWPR in our city,” said Hague mayor Jozias van Aartsen, a former minister of foreign affairs, at the gathering.

Justice Julia Sebutinde, a judge in the trial of Charles Taylor at the Special Tribunal for Sierra Leone, which is taking place at the ICC, said IWPR’s output was very important.

“Journalists have a vital role in communicating the detailed proceedings of international courts of justice to people in the countries affected,” she said, “especially in cases where international courts are convened away from the conflict area. In this regard, I am very impressed by the work of IWPR.”