Keynote speech Dries van Agt

At the RiMUN 2010 Opening Ceremony, we were honored to welcome Dries van Agt, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and member of the United Netherlands Board of Recommendation as our keynote speaker. In a very interesting keynote speech, Mr. Van Agt addressed some of the great challenges that the world faces in these Times of Trial. The former Dutch Prime Minister spoke among other things about climate change, arms control, reform of the United Nations and relations between the West and other societies.

With regard to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Mr. Van Agt addressed the non-compliance of NPT member Iran as well as the (assumed) nuclear capabilities of non-member of the NPT Israel. He noted in that regard that the most imminent threat is perhaps not Iran and its nuclear activities but nuclear security issues in Pakistan. According to Van Agt, an even bigger threat to global security is a destabalized situation in nuclear-armed states, such as Pakistan, as that could give terrorists the opportunity to get hold on nuclear weapons. On the clash of civilizations between the West and Islam, a concept that is widely believed to exist, Mr. Van Agt noted that this concept is “nonsense.” Mentioning various examples of Muslim groupings fighting each other as well as Muslim countries that do not pose a threat to global security, Van Agt underlined the danger of the lack of differentiating by Western people between different states and groupings. The former Dutch Prime Minister, who is a jurist in heart and soul, concluded his keynote speech by referring to the international tribunals, established in the Hague as well as the International Criminal Court. According to Van Agt, the existence of these institutions are a leap forward as it shows that “a tormented world does not turn its back to horrible crimes.”