The Dutch Ambassador to the United States, Renée Jones-Bos, spoke yesterday at UNC's School of Law in Chapel Hill, NC.

A visit to the Tarheel state

The event was part of a two-day visit to North Carolina. On Monday she was in Greenville, NC at Dutch pharmaceutical company DSM, which has nearly 1,200 employees in the state. Says Jones-Bos: "Over 22,000 American jobs in North Carolina are supported by Dutch-American trade and investment. In fact, the Netherlands is the 6th largest foreign investor in the state."

Human rights and international law

The ambassador's speech was introduced by Jack Boger, Dean of the UNC School of Law: "This a great opportunity for students because it’s clear that the world is becoming more international", he said.

In her speech ambassador Jones-Bos explained the position of the Netherlands on human rights and international law. Prior to her appointment to Washington, Ms. Jones-Bos served as Ambassador-at-Large for Human Rights, and she is clearly passionate about the topic. The ambassador mentioned the historic ties between USA and the Netherlands that date back 400 years.

About 35 students and faculty attended the meeting. The UNC School of Law has an exchange program with Radboud University in Nijmegen. Several students from the Netherlands were in attendance.

In the Q&A session students asked several questions about the Netherlands and international law, for example about the experiences of the Netherlands in hosting the International Criminal Court.

After the visit to UNC Ms Jones-Bos attended a performance by the Nederlands Dans Theater at the Carolina Performing Arts Center, the only eastern United States performance of this renowned Dance Group.

About 35 students and faculty attended the session.

The ambassador spoke about human rights and international law.

Renée Jones-Bos, Dutch Ambassador to the United States, Jack Boger, Dean of the UNC School of Law, Suzanne de Groot, First Secretary Economic Affairs of the Embassy, Gerard ter Wee, honorary consul of the Netherlands to North Carolina and several students of the UNC School of Law.