On Thursday 08 November, SC 133 travelled from Berlin to The Hague. Their first appointment on arrival was an afternoon visit to the Parliament, where the group were briefed by parliamentarians from the Committee on Security and Defence. There was also a very rewarding Q&A period.
The next day they visited the Defence Staff at the Ministry of Defence, where they were received by COL Sylvia M. Babusch, International Military Cooperation Branch. The first part of the morning was dedicated to a panel discussion on resilience, with the following participants: Mr Willy Steenbakkers, Senior Safety and Security Advisor at the National Crisis Centre, Ministry for Security and Justice; Mr Jan-Jaap Gerards, National Coordinator Counterterrorism and Security; Mr Marcel van Eck, Project Director, National Security and Directorate of General Policy Affairs; and COL Erwin Hoogland, Senior Military Advisor to the MFA.
After a coffee break VADM Ben Bekkering, Permanent Military Representative to NATO and the EU, gave a very interesting lecture on the international context, focusing on the degree of resilience shown by NATO and the EU, and how this relates to the Dutch model.
The afternoon was spent at the Peace Palace, where Course Members received an extensive explanation of the work of the ICJ by Mr Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court. This was followed by an excellent Q&A period.
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