Floriane Courtin
The abolition of the death penalty in Belgium happened only in 1996. However, the last execution took place in 1950, when 250 collaborators from the World War II were shot. My country succeeded to be, for a long time, a State of right that didn’t put into practice the death penalty anymore, but kept it as a supreme chastisement in the legislation.
Not so long ago, on May 3rd 2002, the secretaries of Foreign Affairs and the representatives of 36 States member of the European Council signed the Protocol number 13 to the European Convention to the rights of men. This text banishes the death sentence under all circumstances, doesn’t admit any exceptions, and presses the United States and Japan to end up this barbaric punishment. It reinforces the impossibility for the States’ members to extradite someone to a country that practices the death penalty. Among those 36 States figures between others Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Ukraine and Malta. Walter Schwimmer, the general secretary of the European Council, declared that: “ The European Council was already proud to have banished the death penalty in peace time (protocol 6). With the Protocol 13, it is again a pioneer by abolishing this punishment under all circumstances. We hope that it is a step towards the universal abolition of the death penalty, and we are going to strike for that.”
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Floriane Courtin
After the crash of the Columbia space ship that happened a few weeks ago, we thought that it would be interesting to show the implication of our countries in the space research. In this article, I’m going to show the role of Belgium in the ISS program (International Space Station). Indeed, via the ESA (European Spatial Agency), Belgium has an important role, especially for the development of new technologies. And don’t forget the science. Even if Belgium is only a small state member of the ESA, it contributes to 10% of the scientific equipment inside the European laboratory Columbus, which will be lashed to the ISS in 2004-2005. Belgium is really doing a considerable effort. Moreover, in October, ten years after Dirk Frimout (famous Belgian astronaut), a second astronaut, Frank De Winne, participated to a space trip. Accompanied with two Russians, he flew towards the International Space Station. The main goal of this flight was the replacement of the ship Soyouz, which was lashed to the ISS station, and was used as a safety vehicle. This mission, named Odissea, was a real success and proved that once again, our collaboration with Russia gives good results and deserves to be intensified. Odissea ended the 10th of November and rewarded long investments of Belgium in the space research.
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After the terrible topic of last week, let’s talk about something more pleasant: Love. As everybody knows, we celebrated last Friday St Valentine’s Day. In Belgium, like in a lot of other countries, this day is highly awaited and is very popular. However, I find this day nicer in my country. Indeed, the tradition is to give a red rose to the one you love and to spend the evening together. This day is supposed to be romantic and not a day of shopping. The 14th of February 2002 is a beautiful memory for me. Indeed, a year ago, I met a formidable guy, who makes me a little happier every day and who puts some sun in my life. So St Valentine’s Day is for me an important day.
I wish all the happiness to all the people in love.
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The topic proposed for this week is not the easiest one. Indeed, the pressure that the United States keeps against Iraq puts the different countries of the world in a complex situation, and produces a very perceptible tension in the countries around Iraq. In this article I am going to talk about the position of my country towards this possible war. A special meeting of NATO took place this Thursday in Brussels and was devoted to the situation in Iraq.
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My name is Floriane Courtin and I am an exchange student from Belgium. Maybe some of you never heard about that small country. It is located in Europe, bounded on the North by the Netherlands and the North Sea, on the East by Germany and Luxembourg and on the South and Southwest by France. The city of Brussels (where I am from), is internationally important as the headquarters of the European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It is the largest city of our country and has about a million inhabitants. The city is incredibly rich in architecture. We have splendid parks, imposing monuments and lots of beautiful buildings. It is really something to see!
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