Toespraak door Jan van Zanen bij de viering van de viering van de onafhankelijkheid van Midden- Amerika, 12 september 2024

 

Sus Excelencias, Presidentes,

Señoras y señores,

Estimados asistentes,

 

En primer lugar, muchísimas gracias por la invitación a esta celebración.

Les deseo muchas felicidades para este día tan especial.

Es todo un honor el poder acompañarles hoy.

Permítanme que siga en inglés.

 

Today you celebrate the anniversary of your countries’ independence.

A good time to reflect on the phenomenon of independence.

This not only affects countries and nations, but also individuals.

At some point, for example, we become independent from our parents.

Vice versa, parents must at some point let go of their children and respect their independence.

However, independent does not mean severing all contact.

As independent individuals, we cannot do without the people around us: family, friends, neighbours, colleagues.

Independent states do not operate in a vacuum either: they maintain lateral and multilateral contacts.

The Hague, traditionally a centre of diplomacy, is happy to facilitate those contacts.

I have yet to visit Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

I did, however, visit Costa Rica.

In April this year, I had the opportunity to visit San Jose.

There, I participated in a meeting of the Executive Bureau of United Cities and Local Governments, UCLG.

On that occasion, several aspects related to sustainable cities came up for discussion.

In October, The Hague will host UCLG’s World Council.

I hope to greet representatives from your countries here as well.

VNG International, the international arm of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities, plays an important role in this.

It is worth mentioning in this context that COMURES, the Association of Municipalities in El Salvador, was one of VNG International’s first cooperation partners in Central America.

The Hague is a city where the world feels at home.

This is largely due to the presence of you, ambassadors, diplomats and your partners and families.

Moreover, since the First Peace Conference 125 years ago, The Hague has emerged as the international city of peace and justice.

You will therefore understand that the recent news of the indictment of the suspects in the murder of four Dutch journalists in 1982 was received with extra interest here.

This is indeed a ‘historic milestone in the fight for justice for the victims and their families’, as referred to by the Salvadoran Human Rights Association.

Justice, that is also what the UCLG Peace Prize is all about.

This prize is awarded once every three years to a local authority that works to prevent or overcome conflict in their own community.

Or that helped other governments in their pursuit of peace and justice.

In doing so, the UCLG Peace Prize underlines the fundamental role municipalities worldwide play in preventing and resolving conflict and promoting reconstruction.

I would like to draw your attention to the next UCLG Peace Prize award ceremony next year.

Last, but certainly not least, I warmly congratulate you and all those present on this day dedicated to the independence of Central America.

I wish you and all your compatriots all the best and above all: peace and prosperity.

Thank you.