Ban Ki-moon Visits Willem-Alexander

King Willem-Alexander and queen Máxima received on Tuesday UN leader Ban Ki-moon and his wife at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. The king has invited the couple to dinner at the palace. Princess Beatrix was also present, reported the Government Information Service (RVD). Ban Ki-Moon is in the Netherlands for the celebration of 100 years Peace Palace in The Hague. It is the seat of the International Court of Justice, the only principal organ of the UN that is not based in New York. The Secretary-General gives a lecture there on Wednesday. King Willem-Alexander will receive a commemorative book and Prime Minister Mark Rutte will speech. Peace Palace The Peace Palace was opened on August 28, 1913, in the presence of queen Wilhelmina and the American patron Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie had financed the construction of the palace. It was to serve as the seat of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). That should help states with their disputes. This should be done without war, but on a peaceful, legal way - hence the name Peace Palace. After the First World War, the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League of Nations was also housed in the Peace Palace. That was after World War II replaced by the International Court of the United Nations.