17 minute read
GRAND DUCHESS MARIA TERESA
Some two and a half years after launching the Stand Speak Rise Up! platform at an international forum hosted in Luxembourg, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa is still hard at work raising awareness and providing concrete help to the victims of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Guy Wolff Photo
“It is Luxembourg that I am exporting,” says Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Stand Speak Rise Up!
The elegant setting of her favourite room in the Château de Berg may seem far removed from the subject being addressed, but Grand Duchess Maria Teresa speaks with serene clarity and sometimes fervent passion about her efforts to bring to the world’s attention crimes against humanity that for too long have been ignored.
Some two and a half years after it was launched, the Stand Speak Rise Up! platform has not only raised awareness but also proven to be of vital help to the victims of sexual violence as a weapon of war in conflict zones and fragile environments. Indeed, the château has special memories for the grand duchess in the context of the first forum she hosted in Luxembourg in 2019. Ahead of a gala event to raise awareness and funds, the grand duchess recalls getting to know 50 survivors she had invited to Luxembourg for the launch event. They had spent a week in the grand duchy and that included a visit to the château. “It was important for me to know them, and for them to know me before this big event started, so that they would feel, with the horrors that they’ve gone through, as comfortable as possible,” the grand duchess explains.
Beautiful resilience “I was very grateful when they started really confiding in me and doing what they never do. They do not cry in front of people that they do not know. And they do not tell their story. And each one of them told their story. We cried together. We were in each other’s arms really sobbing. At the same time, they have such resilience that we even ended up singing together. It was extraordinary, one of the most beautiful experiences of my life.”
That moment is testimony to the commitment and personal engagement that Grand Duchess Maria Teresa has for the Stand Speak Rise Up! cause. She has long been a champion of women’s and children’s rights and has committed to social and humanitarian issues. Back in 2019, she explained that this stemmed from reading a lot about social engagement as a young girl. “Little by little, it became evident that it was what I wanted to do later on,” she said at the time. When deciding what to study at university, she chose political sciences over law because she wanted a wider view of the geopolitical situation of the world. “So that maybe I would have more tools to defend those who cannot defend themselves.”
The inspiration to establish the platform came after hearing Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr Denis Mukwege speak at a conference.
Mukwege is a renowned gynaecological surgeon as well as the founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is recognised as the world’s leading expert on “repairing” the internal physical damage caused by rape. Together with his team, he has treated more than 50,000 victims in east Congo. In 2018, he received the Nobel Peace Prize, with Yazidi activist and rape survivor Nadia Murad, for his efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and in armed conflict.
The use of violence against women in war is a problem as old as history, the grand duchess has previously stated. But the scale is now worldwide, and that is what is frightening. “We are not only talking about war, but we are also talking about situations where there are guerrillas, situations in refugee camps.”
UN resolution Impressed by his work, the grand duchess later invited Mukwege to meet with her. “I was very moved by the stories of the victims, the horror of what was going on. I asked what can I, in my position, do to help you?” Mukwege’s answer was simple and effective, and proved to be a vital catalyst for what was to follow. “He said, ‘Well, these women need someone who can give them a platform.’ So we gave them a voice, we put the victims centre stage, which is not something that is usual at international meetings of this scale.”
What the victims said was shocking and broke taboos. As the grand duchess relates, they said that one of the major problems that nobody was addressing was the children born of rape during conflicts. “We put them on the map, thanks to the survivors,” she says now. “It is a topic that neither the United Nations nor anyone else had really addressed.”
Indeed, the grand duchess says she is “very proud” that the UN Security Council in 2019 passed a “landmark” resolution--number 2467--that strengthens justice and accountability, and calls for a survivor-centred approach in the prevention and response to conflictrelated sexual violence.
Crucially, Resolution 2467 also calls for “the provision of reparations for survivors as well as livelihood support to enable them to rebuild their lives and support their families, including the children born of sexual violence in conflict who are also stigmatised and suffer in silence and shame, often stateless, and acutely vulnerable to recruitment and radicalisation by armed groups.”
The adaptation of the resolution was down to the tireless work of the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten.
More recently, in July this year, a court in Bosnia and Herzegovina took the first significant step to grant children born of rape in war legal recognition within the newly adopted law on civilian victims of war. Today, there are between 2,000 and 4,000 children born out of that war.
That case was fought by innovative legal group Trial International, jointly with the association Forgotten Children of the War. Philip Grant, executive director of Trial International, is one of the scientific committee members of Stand Speak Rise Up!. “Giving the means to these women to have access to trusted international lawyers who know specifically this problematic and know how to defend these women is a concrete action,” the grand duchess asserts.
“So these are major advancements that came from the international forum of Luxembourg,” the grand duchess says. She takes pride in the fact that Stand Speak Rise Up! started in Luxembourg. “It is Luxembourg that I am exporting. It is Luxembourg prestige and knowhow, and it is my cause.”
The emphasis on the way in which the association and its work is helping put Luxembourg on the map is not coincidental. As a result of the so-called Waringo report into the royal household, the grand duchess has not been allowed to use resources or staff from the household to assist in Stand Speak Rise Up!. “Since two or three years, my humanitarian work has become my private life, as they have called it,” she explains. “I don’t have [institutional] help anymore. I have my private help. We are a group of four women, including me, organising everything.”
Ukraine rapes raise awareness In just three years, two of which were severely interrupted by the covid pandemic, the association has clearly achieved quite a lot. “We’re a young foundation, and fundraising
had not been easy in that time,” the grand duchess says.
But she has noticed a change in awareness of the problem of violence as a weapon of war and in interest for the association since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We heard that women in Ukraine were being raped in great numbers by Russians, and that was a big change. Because, all of a sudden, everybody realised that this is going on today and only a few hours away from Luxembourg, or Paris or London or Frankfurt. It really brought the subject home.”
To enhance awareness and collect more funds, Stand Speak Rise Up! held a gala event at the Hôtel du Palais in Biarritz on 15 October. Hosted by royal commentator Stéphane Bern and actress, screenwriter, comedian and film producer Charlotte de Turckheim, the event was attended by survivors. Invitees also included experts such as Pramila Patten and Dr Mukwege, as well as legal expert Céline Bardet, who specialises in war rape. Local artists that the grand duchess particularly likes, such as designer Anelore Baillardran Prats, calligrapher Nicolas Ouchenir and painter Pablo Elizaga, were also among the invitees.
“We rely very much on goodwill, which we find. For example, the Hôtel du Palais put their facilities at our disposal, for which we were so grateful.”
And, the grand duchess explains, donors at the event will learn exactly what their contributions are being used for. “Most organisations will invite you to a fundraising evening, and they will tell you it is for their association, and you have to trust them. We’re going to go further. This is for Stand Speak Rise Up! but precisely for a project in Congo, for a project in Ukraine, for this specific project that helps women to report rape and so forth.”
Concrete action “We need to move from emotion to action,” the grand duchess says. An example of this direct help is provided by the story of Tatiana Mukanire from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who is among the survivors invited to the Biarritz gala.
“She’s a sweetheart,” the grand duchess says. Mukanire and the grand duchess had kept in touch, but during the covid pandemic, the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had led to a severe lockdown. “Tatiana called me and told me she had a choice between
Attracting international media attention, Grand Duchess Maria Teresa with survivors and activists at the Stand Speak Rise Up! forum in Luxembourg in March 2019.
two evils.” Either she stayed in her cabane and she and her children would die of hunger or thirst, because she needed to work to buy food and drink. Or she risked her life by going to find work.
Inspired by the work of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the modern-day father of microfinance, the grand duchess came up with a simple but effective solution. “I told Tatiana that we were going to buy her some land around her property. I said, ‘Please get together with a group of women, and this is totally the inspiration of Professor Yunus, and we will send you money to buy seeds so you can plant the vegetables and wheat, or whatever you need to survive, and you can buy some chickens also. You eat what you need, and you can sell the rest to survive.’”
Mukanire, whose own local association for survivors in DRC helps implement other Stand Speak Rise Up! activities, had even published a book, Au-delà de nos larmes (Beyond our tears), about the struggle, determination and courage of the survivors.
A similar project being carried out with the Humanitarian Aid of the Luxembourg Red Cross will see the purchase of more building plots for survivors in the Panzi region. “I worked very closely with Mr [Rémi] Fabbri, the director of the Humanitarian Aid of the Luxembourg Red Cross, and we’re going to teach the survivors to do carpentry so that they can work and even help build their own houses.”
Despite such successes, the grand duchess remains grounded about what she can actually achieve. “I do not pretend, with a small association that is so young, to be able to solve all the terrible problems. What I do is build trust. I trust people who have the know-how, partner organisations, so that I can give funds in the knowledge that they are going to be well used. We supervise them, of course, but we definitely need the expertise and the support of those in the field.”
But, in addition to helping survivors and holding perpetrators to account, education is a significant key in the struggle to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. Even in privileged countries, sexual violence is a big issue. In situations of tension, of war, which explodes, the grand duchess says: “Dr Mukwege talks about positive masculinity, which I find very interesting. I think that there is a lot of work to do there and from a very young age. We also have to stop with the differences in education that we make between boys and girls and teach equality between the sexes.” UN SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE SECRETARY GENERAL ON SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT
In May, Pramila Patten signed in Kyiv a framework for cooperation with the Ukrainian government on the prevention and response to conflict-related sexual violence.
Just days into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, reports surfaced on “how sexual violence is being used, clearly as a tactic of war, to dehumanise, to destabilise the enemy,” she said.
Patten, whose mandate was only created in 2009, has previously said that “an active battleground is never conducive to accurate ‘bookkeeping’.” Ukraine is no exception. Whatever data available is “only the tip of the iceberg”--with an active battlefield, there’s a breakdown of normal services and support pathways. Compounding this is the stigma associated with sexual violence, which varies from culture to culture. “I met the mother of a victim who told me that her daughter was raped in front of her. It’s out of shame that [the daughter] just left, and the mother doesn’t know where she is.”
Moreover, “within this humanitarian crisis, you have a human trafficking crisis, which is invisible.” Her office is therefore working with the EU, OSCE and others in a bid to create a compact for refugee-receiving countries to address this issue.
Although more needs to be done in this area, there has also been some progress. For example, under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, work is being done for governments to recognise rights of children born as a result of sexual violence, who are often stigmatised or abandoned altogether. And one month ago, Guinean ex-dictator Moussa Dadis Camara and others were sent to prison following the 28 September 2009 massacre in Conakry stadium, during which at least 109 women and girls were raped.
Patten praises Grand Duchess Maria Teresa and her SSRU! initiative to create a global platform to raise awareness on the topic. The 2019 event was “no ordinary conference”, as it put survivors centre stage. “[Grand Duchess Maria Teresa] has refused to shy away from the harsh reality of women’s bodies being used as part of the battlefield,” Patten added. “She’s really helping survivors to challenge the shame, the isolation, the abandonment and the untreated trauma which normally would shatter their lives.”
PRAMILA PATTEN UN special representative
Funds
The global fund one-stop shop
Sponsored content by APEX GROUP
Luxembourg is an important part of the Apex Group’s push to offer a single, end-to-end solution for the asset management industry. Regional Head Pierre Weimerskirch explained.
Apex Group’s approach is based on several axes.
Global hub for funds The Apex Group’s goal is to offer the full range of financial, funds and corporate services that their global clients require across multiple jurisdictions. “We offer a comprehensive suite of services that give clients choice as they seek
Pierre Weimerskirch, Regional Head of Apex Group in the Luxembourg office.
operational efficiencies while improving governance and reducing costs,” said Mr Weimerskirch. Also comprehensive is the range of clients they are seeking to work for: from asset managers and financial institutions to corporates and family offices. Moreover, this offering seeks to meet the specificities of each jurisdiction.
Founded in Bermuda in 2003, the firm has 80 offices in 40 countries employing more than 10,000 people worldwide. These figures were boosted when Apex Group bought the global fund services provider Sanne, bringing with it 2,000 global clients and increasing its workforce by one-third. This was the latest of the 30 global acquisitions completed by the Group with the aim to
Marie Russillo (Maison Moderne) Photo
grow the firm’s global footprint and broaden its service offering.
Full service offering Sanne had significant operations in the Grand Duchy with 250 staff, and this acquisition moved Apex to become one of the top three fund services providers in Luxembourg. Mr Weimerskirch was previously the managing director at Sanne LIS, the management company of Sanne. There are now 1,200 staff working in this country, which is about half the group’s European workforce. The Luxembourg operation has more than €500bn assets under service with around 2,500 funds served.
Apex Group offers a full range of financial, fund and corporate solutions with a complete suite of services ranging from banking, full custody, depositary to fund administration, corporate and business services, and are thus able to meet the full needs of our clients. Given the importance of technology, we invest heavily in this area to support the sustainability and growth of our business and our ability to offer clients the best-in-class service offering. The digital banking solution is the latest enhancement to our platform and will ensure we continue to provide innovative solutions for clients.
“The group has an entrepreneurial approach, and keeps looking for new growth areas,” Mr Weimerskirch said. “The target is for double-digit growth globally and in Luxembourg.” The group is also focused on innovation, in terms of new products, how to address new client segments, and process improvement.
APEX GLOBAL AND LOCAL
10,000
employees globally, working in more than 80 offices.
1,200
staff in the Luxembourg office, with plans to grow by 10% in the short term.
$3trn
Global assets across administration, depositary, custody and under management globally.
€500bn
Assets under service in Luxembourg.
Advanced ESG support For example, highly relevant at the moment are the firm’s ESG Rating, Reporting & Advisory services. “This focuses on what ESG means in terms of fund strategy: what options do you have to position your fund if you want an article eight, or article nine product, and helping you to identify what are these criteria,” Mr Weimerskirch explained.
“The rating services provide tailored ESG analysis on a project-by-project basis, using benchmarks to assess the performance of funds, while highlighting any gaps, and tracking performance over time.” Then, there are the reporting requirements for fund investors and regulators to ensure alignment with ESG strategy and regulation.
Driven by Europe and Luxembourg “Traditional alternative managers are adding these strategies because they want to have a broader set of funds to offer to their LPs (limited partners, the investors), and particularly newer managers are launching impact funds,” Mr Weimerskirch commented. He added that European LPs appear to be more open to balancing financial returns with fulfilling ESG criteria. He is excited about the chance to make a positive difference in this key domain. “Luxembourg, with its fund industry importance, really has a unique opportunity to accelerate the change in ESG matters,” he said. Purpose is increasingly seen as being important in efforts to recruit and retain people. Sustainability plays into this. Apex talks of its goal being set “to drive positive change in the financial services space; for the environment, society, and with good governance to support a more sustainable, inclusive and responsible future for the industry.”
Like most employers in Luxembourg, Apex is having difficulty keeping pace with growth in terms of recruitment, with 100 positions open at the moment. “The advantage of being part of a larger global group is that we can attract people from other jurisdictions, and Apex has a dedicated programme to assist internal mobility.” Recent recruits have come from South Africa, Mauritius, Poland, and India, to name just four countries.
Reassessing the market These are difficult macroeconomic times, and this is leading LPs to reconsider their private equity investment strategies, with choices becoming a bit more complex. “Valuations of underlying projects generally have been quite stable, but we’re probably going to see the impact in Q4 and the beginning of next year,” said Mr Weimerskirch. “Financing has become a bit more difficult in this quite elaborate area, and this increases costs.” This compares to public markets which have fallen quite substantially over the last six, nine months. “This is an opportunity for credit funds, as banks are less inclined to provide leveraged finance on the transaction side.” Another promising avenue is the secondary private equity fund market, with some LPs seeking liquidity. PIERRE WEIMERSKIRCH BIO EXPRESS
September 2022
Pierre Weimerskirch is appointed as Regional Head, Luxembourg at Apex Group.
Single-source solution We are disrupting our industry for positive change by delivering service in a new way, a way no one else can.
5 key business elements
Agility, Experience, Inspiration, Knowledge and Scale.
2011
In 2011, Pierre co-founded Luxembourg Investment Solutions, a leading third-party AIFM.
For more information on the Apex Group, go to www.apexgroup.com
