The life and work of Bertha von Suttner (1843-1914) for a world free of war and oppression continues to inspire people today. Her appeal to ‘Lay Down Your Arms!’ has become even more urgent in a world armed with nuclear weapons.
Her vision, efforts, and achievements deserve to be remembered, celebrated, and built upon. The Bertha von Suttner Peace Institute is therefore celebrating the 175th anniversary of her birth. The Hague, the world’s capital city of international peace and justice, and the Peace Palace, are an ideal location for such a programme of events.
Peace History Event in The Hague
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the restoration of Polish independence, the Polish embassy in The Hague organized a seminar on the contributions of Poland to international law. The event, held on 15 November 2018 in the historical reading room of the Peace Palace, was chaired by Ambassador Marcin Czepelak and opened by Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, president of the International Court of Justice. Peter van den Dungen was invited to speak about Jan Bloch, the father of the First Hague Peace Conference (1899) and pioneer of peace research and peace education before World War 1. The texts of the several speeches are (scheduled to be) published on the embassy’s website.